amsonias: dependable, beautiful bluestars, with mt. cuba’s sam hoadley

EARLY ON IN making my garden decades ago, I bought a nursery pot of bluestar, or Amsonia, at a native plant sale, and planted it in a border here. It has never asked anything of me, never had any pests or diseases, and just keeps delivering sky-blue spring flowers and vivid gold fall color, year in and year out, and looking pretty handsome in between.

My very unofficial results with my Amsonia would not surprise today’s guest, Sam Hoadley of Mt. Cuba Native Plant Center in Delaware, whose trial garden team there just completed a 10-year evaluation of a range of bluestars.

Twenty different Amsonia were studied over a just-completed trial at the renowned native plant garden and research facility, where Sam is manager of horticultural research. He joined me to report on the findings, and talk about how we can incorporate bluestars into our gardens.

Read along as you listen to the March 4, 2024 edition of my public-radio show and podcast using the player below. You can subscribe to all future editions on Apple Podcasts (iTunes) or Spotify (and browse my archive of podcasts here).

amsonias with sam hoadley

Margaret Roach: Hi, Sam. Longer days, longer days. Waiting for spring, waiting for spring.

Sam Hoadley: Yes. Absolutely, yes.

Margaret: Oh, my. So like what I said in the introduction, I don’t think I’ve had a perennial with me as long as this Amsonia—it’s a tabernaemontana—that literally just performs. It has never said a thing, has never said, “Margaret, I need this,” or, “Margaret, I need that.” It just performs[laughter].

Sam: Yep. Yeah, they’re wonderful plants. They don’t ask for much and they just give so much year after year, and arguably get better and better. We saw that for a decade in the trial garden, and I’m