Although not actually a spirea, blue beard or blue spirea (Caryopteris x clandonensis) includes similar thin leaves and fast-growing twiggy stems with flowers that bloom on new wood. Unlike spring-flowering spireas, nevertheless, caryopteris retains off thriving until late summer and graces gardens at U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 6 through 9 using clouds of blue blossoms during autumn. The deciduous shrub is frost-tender, and although it rises back from its origins, it must just be pruned in late winter to early spring to prevent sending out tender new growth that succumbs to chilly.
Examine your blue beard in late winter or early spring for emerging buds along the twiggy stems.
Cut down to live buds, removing any winter-damaged leading growth anywhere from 3 inches to 1 foot above the ground. Cut the stems at a 45-degree angle 1/4-inch above the bud.
Prune plants back by half to control their size whenever you are in a climate. Trim shorter around the outside of the plant, but leave it taller in the center to encourage tidy, circular growth.
Cut blue beard back from one-third to one-half in early summer once the plant isn’t growing in complete enough. Thicker growth rises from the point of the cuts. Blooming may be delayed by several weeks, and the plants may blossom in a shorter height.
Clip off wrapped flower heads to get rid of self-seeding.
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