About Blue Hawaii Flowers

The Blue Hawaii flower, or Ageratum houstonianum, goes by several aliases. Floss Flower is the most common name and refers to the fluffy, threadlike blooms. Other monikers include Bluemink, Blueweed, Blue Cap and Garden Ageratum.
Attractive to butterflies, bees and birds, the lovely Blue Hawaiis are excellent for cutting, drying and preserving. The plant is suitable for growing in the garden and in containers.
Enthusiasts who grow the flower should always inspect any new plants before adding them to the collection. They are prone to root rot, which is sure to develop in soils with poor drainage.

Identification

The Blue Hawaii flower, as the name suggests, features dense, rounded clusters of lavender to amethyst blue, fluffy blooms on strong stems. The hairy leaves are rounded, soft and slightly quilted.
Removing spent blooms from the frost-tender annuals helps keep the plants looking tidy and promotes the uninterrupted blooming habit throughout the growing season.

Size

The handsome Blue Hawaii flower adorns a tall plant, growing to a height of about 30 inches and spreading to a width of almost 2 feet. Its size makes it the perfect background for shorter plantings in borders and gardens.

Features

The Ageratum grows quickly and the plant is covered with continuous bloom all summer and into the fall. Blue Hawaii produces plants that often feature different blue shades, adding interest and diversity to the garden within a single species.
It also has an unusual method of self-defense when it comes to insect pests. Ageratum possesses a chemical that, when eaten by an insect, affects the pest's hormonal system, rendering its offspring sterile.

Time Frame

The long-lasting blooms of the Blue Hawaii begin in June and last until the first frost.

Geography

The Blue Hawaii flower is a native of Southern Mexico to Guatemala on the Pacific Coast, and easterly on the Caribbean to Belize. The easy to grow plant adapts well to almost any conditions and has been introduced to and naturalized in many areas worldwide.

History

The Greek word for nonaging, referring to the long-living blooms, gives rise to "Ageratum." In the early 1700s, William Houston (1695-1733) collected the first recorded Ageratum houstonianum specimen plants in Mexico.

Misconceptions

To some, the name Blue Hawaii might suggest that the plant is native to Hawaii. It does indeed grow in Hawaii today, but only as a result of importation and naturalization. In fact, some of the most beautiful and exotic flowers in the world are found on and associated with the Hawaiian Islands. But they are not native plants, either.
The amazing reality about all of the flowers of Hawaii is how they got there in the first place. Hawaii was formed millions of years ago from volcanic lava. There were no flowers, or any other vegetation, either, when Hawaii came to be.
That fact tells scientists that most of the vegetation that grows on the islands today descended from airborne pollen that landed there. Flying insects and birds also contributed by carrying and dropping seeds from their bodies and wings onto the land. Seeds sprouted, pollens pollinated and plants began to sprout from the previously barren soils.
People who began to populate Hawaii introduced new species of flowers and other plants, which flourished in the tropical climate, adding to the growing collection of vegetation on the islands.

Resources

• Learn to Grow the Beautiful Blue Hawaii