Ground cover

• Deciduous perennial
• Zones 2-10, 14-24, 29-41
• Full sun or partial shade
• Moderate water

Vivid blue flowers bloom from midsummer to midautumn, carried at the ends of wiry 6- to 12-inch stems. Bronzy green, 3-inch-long leaves turn reddish brown in fall. Dwarf plumbago spreads by underground stems; it grows best in areas where the growing season is long. It takes a wide range of soils, from claylike to sandy.

Stems die back after bloom; shear or mow plantings before new growth starts in spring. Space about 1 1/2 feet apart.