Plant Library

Other Names:  Fumitory

Description:

Striking, fragrant sky-blue trumpet flowers rise above mounds of blue-green foliage in late spring, then again in late summer; leaves bronze in summer heat but this variety does not go dormant; a vigorous grower, great for containers and perennial beds

Ornamental Features

Hillier™ Porcelain Blue Corydalis has masses of beautiful clusters of fragrant sky blue tubular flowers at the ends of the stems from late spring to early fall, which are most effective when planted in groupings. The flowers are excellent for cutting. Its ferny compound leaves remain bluish-green in color with hints of coppery-bronze throughout the year.

Landscape Attributes

Hillier™ Porcelain Blue Corydalis is a dense herbaceous evergreen perennial with a mounded form. It brings an extremely fine and delicate texture to the garden composition and should be used to full effect.

This is a relatively low maintenance plant, and should only be pruned after flowering to avoid removing any of the current season's flowers. It is a good choice for attracting butterflies to your yard, but is not particularly attractive to deer who tend to leave it alone in favor of tastier treats. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Hillier™ Porcelain Blue Corydalis is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Rock/Alpine Gardens
• Border Edging
• General Garden Use
• Naturalizing And Woodland Gardens
• Container Planting

Planting & Growing

Hillier™ Porcelain Blue Corydalis will grow to be about 12 inches tall at maturity, with a spread of 18 inches. Its foliage tends to remain dense right to the ground, not requiring facer plants in front. It grows at a medium rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for approximately 5 years. As an evegreen perennial, this plant will typically keep its form and foliage year-round.

This plant does best in full sun to partial shade. It prefers to grow in average to moist conditions, and shouldn't be allowed to dry out. It is not particular as to soil type or pH. It is quite intolerant of urban pollution, therefore inner city or urban streetside plantings are best avoided, and will benefit from being planted in a relatively sheltered location. Consider applying a thick mulch around the root zone in both summer and winter to conserve soil moisture and protect it in exposed locations or colder microclimates. This is a selected variety of a species not originally from North America. It can be propagated by division; however, as a cultivated variety, be aware that it may be subject to certain restrictions or prohibitions on propagation.

Hillier™ Porcelain Blue Corydalis is a fine choice for the garden, but it is also a good selection for planting in outdoor pots and containers. It is often used as a 'filler' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination, providing a mass of flowers against which the thriller plants stand out. Note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.