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Plant profile · Austin & Hill Country

Eastern Bluestar

Amsonia tabernaemontana
native · Central Texas

Eastern Bluestar is a perennial wildflower native to Central Texas that grows 1 ft tall and 3 ft wide. It wants full sun or part shade and high water. Blooms blue and purple in Mar–May. Good for bees, butterflies and hummingbirds.

Wet ground only. Usually found in wetlands and creek bottoms. It wants reliably moist ground and struggles in a dry upland bed.

Will it grow in your yard?

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The facts

5 sources
Type
Perennial wildflower
Sun
Full sun to part shade (3–7 hrs of direct sun)
Water
High
Height
1 ft
Spread
3 ft
Bloom
Mar–May · blue, purple
Foliage
Deciduous or dies back in winter
Soil
Recorded on loam, moist, poor drainage, sand, wet
Wildlife
Supports bees, butterflies and hummingbirds

Where it grows

Recorded in these EPA Level IV ecoregions in the Austin and Hill Country launch area:

Northern Blackland PrairieSouthern Post Oak SavannaFloodplains and Low TerracesSan Antonio Prairie

4 occurrence records in Central Texas (GBIF).

Can you buy it?

Also grows here — hard to find. Native and recorded growing in Central Texas, but not on the grower stock lists we read. Sourcing varies: some are stocked widely, others you will have to hunt for.