Amsonia Arkansas Blue Star
Best low-maintenance choice for gardeners seeking year-round native landscape color.
Amsonia Arkansas Blue Star, a 2011 Perennial Plant of the Year, is a low-maintenance native perennial celebrated for its multi-season appeal. It offers masses of tiny, sky-blue blooms in late spring to early summer, followed by finely-cut, dark green foliage. In autumn, the leaves transform into a blazing golden-yellow, providing spectacular fall color. This hardy plant reaches about 3 feet tall and 4 feet wide, thriving in full sun to light shade. It tolerates drought once established and is deer resistant, making it an excellent, easy-care addition to borders and beds.
$16.95
Owner Satisfaction
4.6
/ 5
Category Rank
864
/ 3268
#864 in Landscaping & Garden Plants
Price vs Category Average
-39%
Below average
Genus
Amsonia
/ Amsonia
Who it's for
- Gardeners seeking extended seasonal color and structural interest
- Busy homeowners wanting low-maintenance, deer-resistant landscaping
- Landscape designers looking for reliable, long-lived textural perennials
Who should skip it
- Impatient gardeners wanting immediate, full-grown landscape results
- Gardeners prioritizing high-impact, vibrant spring floral displays
- Low-effort gardeners avoiding extra maintenance like staking or pruning
Performance breakdown
Seasonal Versatility
Delivers consistent visual interest from spring blooms through golden autumn foliage.
Maintenance Effort
A true set-it-and-forget-it perennial for busy home gardeners.
Wildlife Attraction
Reliably draws butterflies and bees to your garden throughout the season.
Environmental Resilience
Drought tolerance and deer resistance ensure survival in challenging landscape conditions.
Establishment Speed
Requires initial patience before reaching its full, mature structural potential.
Landscape Versatility
Adaptable growth habit fits perfectly into borders, beds, or mass plantings.
Key Specs
Genus
Amsonia
Species
hubrichtii
Item Form
4-inch Pot
Mature Height
3 Feet
Mature Width
4 Feet
Hardiness Zones
5 - 9 (USDA)
Bloom Color
Light Blue
Foliage Color
Dark Green, Yellow (in fall)
Features
- Award-winning perennial (2011 Plant of the Year)
- Low maintenance and easy to care for
- Attracts butterflies and bees
- Provides multi-season interest
- Native perennial plant
- Drought tolerant
- Deer resistant
- Spectacular fall color
What customers say
The Amsonia Arkansas Blue Star earns high marks for its exceptional reliability and long term value in the garden. Consumers appreciate that this perennial establishes quickly, showing robust growth even if the initial size is modest. The plant’s hardiness and stunning golden fall foliage are consistently praised, confirming it as a low maintenance, high impact addition. It is viewed as a worthwhile investment that reliably delivers consistent beauty year after year.
Know before you buy
Since this plant reaches a mature width of 4 feet, you should space them at least 3 to 4 feet apart to allow for proper airflow and healthy growth.
Yes, Amsonia hubrichtii is widely considered deer resistant, making it a reliable choice for gardens where deer pressure is a common concern.
While it needs moderate water when first planted, it becomes quite drought-tolerant once established. It thrives best in well-drained, loamy soil.
It offers multi-season appeal, featuring sky-blue blooms in late spring, feathery green foliage through the summer, and a striking golden-yellow transformation in the autumn.
Yes, it performs well in both full sun and light shade. Keep in mind that plants grown in full sun will typically produce the most vibrant fall color.
This is a low-maintenance perennial that requires very little pruning. If you prefer a more compact habit, you can lightly shear the stems back by a few inches after the spring bloom.
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$17