Perennials

Plumbago - Live Plant

Zones 8b–11bLive Plant
$12.00
$12.00
(-0%)

Sky-blue phlox-like clusters on a loose shrub that flowers through the hottest stretch of the year.
Plumbago - Live Plant

Quantity
Wade Greens™
Perennials

Plumbago - Live Plant

$12.00
Perennials

Plumbago - Live Plant

$12.00
Description

Plumbago auriculata, Cape leadwort, is one of the few true blues that holds up to Alabama heat. It grows as a sprawling, semi-woody shrub with slender arching stems that can be left to mound, tied to a trellis, or cut back hard in late winter to keep it tidy. Flowering starts once the nights warm and does not stop until frost, and butterflies stay on it all afternoon. In zone 8a it usually freezes to the ground and returns from the roots, so plant it where a late spring start is not a problem, or grow it in a pot you can move. Offered in 4-Inch Pot, shipped well-rooted from our Lineville, Alabama nursery.

Specifications
  • Mature size: 3-6 ft
  • Grows best: Outdoors - Hardiness USDA 8b-11; roots survive most winters in zone 8a
  • Pet safety: Not considered pet safe; plant where cats and dogs will not chew it
  • Sourcing: Nursery-grown by Wade Greens; ships healthy from our Lineville, Alabama nursery to the lower 48 states.
Care Instructions
  • Light: Full sun to part sun
  • Water: Weekly once established; tolerates dry spells
  • Soil: Well-draining garden soil
  • Feeding: Feed in spring and again midsummer
Growing Zone

Hardy in zones 8b–11b. It won't take a hard freeze, so north of its range grow it in a pot and bring it in for winter.

Full colour is zones 8b–11b, where this plant is hardy in the ground. Lower 48 shown — that's where we ship. 2023 USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map, via the PRISM Climate Group.

Questions & Answers

How big does it get?
3-6 ft, sprawling; shorter where it dies back each winter.

How much light does it need?
Full sun to part sun.

Is it safe for pets?
No. Plumbago is not considered pet safe and can irritate the mouth and skin if chewed.

How is it shipped?
Packed to arrive healthy and shipped from our Alabama nursery to the lower 48 states.

Shipping & Returns

Ships to all 48 contiguous states from our farm in Lineville, Alabama.

What it costs

Based on your order total: $12.95 under $35 · $16.95 to $75 · $21.95 to $125 · free over $125.

Ship days

Mondays and Tuesdays only — see below.

Getting it ready

1–3 business days to pot up, water back and pack.

Where we can't go

Alaska, Hawaii, U.S. territories, P.O. boxes, and outside the United States.

Why we only ship Mondays and Tuesdays

A plant in a dark box is on a clock. Shipping early in the week means it reaches you before the weekend instead of sitting in a warehouse from Friday to Monday. It costs us a day or two of lead time and saves a lot of plants.

Practically: an order placed Wednesday, Thursday, Friday or over the weekend goes out the following Monday. We'd rather tell you that now than let you find it in a tracking number.

How long it takes once it leaves

Typical ground transit from Lineville, Alabama after the ship day. Estimates, not guarantees — weather and carrier backlogs happen.

  • 1–2 days Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, Mississippi, Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, Louisiana, Arkansas, Kentucky
  • 2–3 days The rest of the Southeast and Midwest, Texas, the Mid-Atlantic and the Northeast
  • 3–5 days The Plains, the Mountain West and the West Coast

Tracking is emailed the moment your box is scanned.

If something arrives unhappy

A little leaf drop or travel stress is normal and usually sorts itself out within a week or two of settling in. If a plant arrives genuinely damaged, email support@wadegreens.com within 48 hours of delivery with a photo of the plant and the box, and we'll make it right.

Plant Traits

The facts that decide whether it takes root, in the order that matters.

Sunlight

Full Sun (6+ hrs) · Partial Sun (4-6 hrs)

Six or more hours of direct sun. With less it stretches toward the light and flowering thins out.

Water

Low

Water to establish, then only through a real dry spell. Too much water kills these faster than too little.

Mature Size

3-6 ft

Where it settles once established. Plan the spacing for this, not for the size it arrives at.

Foliage

Semi-Evergreen

Keeps most of its leaves through a mild winter and drops them in a hard one. Both are normal.

Works As

Border & Bed · Containers & Patio · Accent & Specimen · Foundation Planting

Traits

  • Heat TolerantKeeps photosynthesizing and holds its flowers through July and August here, when most plants stall out.
  • Drought TolerantDeep or fleshy roots and less leaf surface let it ride out a dry spell once established. Established means a full season in the ground — year one it still needs water.
  • Attracts ButterfliesFlat or clustered flowers give a landing surface, with nectar deep enough for a proboscis. Adults feed here; their caterpillars still need a host plant nearby.
  • Attracts PollinatorsOpen, shallow flowers with nectar a generalist bee can reach. These are the visitors that set fruit on everything else in the garden.
  • Long BloomingKeeps setting new buds across the season instead of one flush. Removing spent flowers keeps it making buds rather than seed.
  • Deer ResistantDeer feed by scent first. Aromatic oils, fuzzy leaves and milky sap all read as "not food," so this gets browsed last — though a hungry herd in late winter will test anything.

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