I have a lot of plumbago, it comes back for me, no problem. I mulch all my bed with leaves in the fall, and that's how the plumbago is mulched - I don't do anything "extra" to it. It is a later riser, though, so don't panic if you don't see new growth before mid-May or so next year. But it fills in quickly once up - and man those electric blue blooms are gorgeous in the fall!

Let's use the full Latin names so we know what we're talking about. There are a number of "plumbagos" that are not hardy. One is, however: Ceratotostigma plumbaginoides. If you have that one, it will be perfectly hardy for you, and that's the one the poster is referring to.

And if you bought Plumbago auriculata it will not be hardy for you, so either enjoy it as an annual or return it.

It says on the tag auriculata, so it's going in a 5-gal pot then. It's so pretty, I want to enjoy it. They had a bigger, much more expensive one at another nursery, and I just admired it and had to walk away.

I'll put it in the sunroom for the winter and see what happens. It's supposed to be evergreen but must need a period to rest a little, probably will mean cutting it back some.

Maybe I ought to mix some sand in with the potting soil, not a whole lot, try to watch for manganese deficiency and can add half strength miracid now and then.

I've grown P. auriculata for years as a blooming potted plant for the summer, it looks great paired with bright raspberry reds and orange/mango colored flowers. Like many things that bloom constantly, it is a heavy feeder, so fertilize regularly (according to package directions) with something like Miracle Gro. You will get more bloom if you deadhead, but even with no deadheading the bloom is constant and copious.

It's very easy to winter over, and if your window is sunny enough, it will bloom on and off all winter. It will get leggy inside regardless (blooming or not), so you just need to give it a good haircut before putting it out in the spring. I usually cut it back to about 6" to 8" tall and it sprouts out all over the place. I often take the opportunity to repot at haircut time, knocking much of the soil off the roots and replacing with fresh. After a few years it will get pretty woody at the base and doesn't come back as well from the hard prunings, at which point I usually get a new one. But, if you hate to throw away a plant, it does sucker and you can separate them and start new plants. I've read it's easy to propagate from root cuttings, but have not tried it myself.

It's one of my favorite plants for summer color, that shade of blue is just unbeatable.

- Steve

Plumbago auriculata makes a nice patio container plant for me. Looks lovely with some of the non-hardy blue sages.

Ceratostigma plumbaginoides is also not hardy for me. I have tried it 3 times in different locations & only 1 plant out of a dozen has ever made it through the winter. I presume it dies from winter wet, not necessarily cold. It is sometimes listed as a zone 5 plant, sometimes zone 6, but it definitely is a waste of money in my garden.

Thanks, steve and leslie. I knew nothing about the stuff until I saw it in the first nursery, was in awe at the beautiful shade of blue and fell in love with it.

I will follow the instructions, and do have several very sunny windows in the winter, have a sunroom facing south, got several things through the winter and new plants started that way for this year. I bought a humidifier but found that setting two large-surfaced containers of water by the heat register seemed to work just as well.

Like everything else, I will have to work with it a bit before I get a feel for it.

I can see I am getting in over my head :-). I just ordered some exotic clematis seeds I fell in love with that won't grow in my zone (if I get enough babies, dream on, I can use them as annuals), some weeping birch for which I have no room left in my yard, and the deep blue bell-shaped clematis. I have 20 redbud seedlings almost ready to transplant, plus tomatoes in six-packs I started, plus zinnia, plus delphinium, and the squirrels dug into my canterbury bells so there will only be a few of those left.

If all these things grow, I'm going to have to come up with a plan. I do have a farm 50 miles away, might have to figure something out there.