Beth's Blue^® Star Flower Isotoma axillaris

I was excited to see and purchase this sweet plant the middle of May. I planted them in the back garden around a birdbath and what a delight it was watching it grow. The plant consistently bloomed and required no deadheading which was such a definite plus for me. Then the temperatures hit the 90’s and within a week the plants turned yellow and brittle. I left them in the ground and cut them back just to see if they would rebound but so far no sign of life. Such a disappointment to have plants for only 1 1/2 months and then they are gone.

This spring I received an isotoma plant as a gift and didn't know what to expect. I planted it in the ground in a sunny spot. It grew about a foot tall and wide. It produced lots of little star-like blooms until late August. After that it had no more flowers but the foliage still looked okay. It was a very pretty little plant for most of the summer.

I bought several of these this year at the nursery where I work, as they were absolutely charming. After a month, one started dying and gradually they all died, although the last one made it to the end of July. We had a fabulous mild extended spring for South Carolina, but that didn't seem to help the first one. As it started getting hot in June, they just looked worse and worse. I have sandy soil amended with compost and we had decent rainfall and I watered during dry spells, so am not sure what is going on. I will give them one more try next year, but I hope to ask some of our customers how theirs did. The pink ones did the same thing. I would love to know what went wrong.

Deer do not eat them

Love this flower! It's beautiful in my container plantings! Very easy to grow and maintenance free!