Bog rosemary 'Blue Ice'
Andromeda polifolia 'Blue Ice' · Ericaceae
Narrow, leathery leaves of an icy, powdery blue, with clusters of small, pink, urn-shaped bells in spring.
- Size
- 16 in tall, 24 in wide
- Zones
- 2 to 6
- Light
- Full sun to part sun
- Flowers
- Early May to late May
- Pets
- Toxic (severe)
- Job in a bed
- Drift
A bed built around bog rosemary 'Blue Ice'
The planner designed this bed around bog rosemary 'Blue Ice' when this page was made: a 12 × 6 ft (3.7 × 1.8 m) English border in zone 6, full sun. It chose the other plants from the 251 that suit those conditions and its wet soil, and says below why bog rosemary 'Blue Ice' stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Bog rosemary 'Blue Ice' × 3, pink
- 2 Himalayan fleeceflower 'Darjeeling Red' × 6, pink
- 3 Mouse-ear coreopsis 'Nana' × 14, yellow
- 4 Astilbe 'Purple Candles' × 3, purple
- 5 Garden phlox 'Jeana' × 3, pink
- 6 Inkberry 'Gem Box' × 1, dark green leaves
- 7 Snowdrop × 5, white
Why this plant
- Part of the bed's structure. Shrubs and grasses keep their shape when the perennials die down. So does inkberry 'Gem Box'.
Why here
- In the middle. At 16 in it is the step between Himalayan fleeceflower 'Darjeeling Red' (10 in) in front and inkberry 'Gem Box' (2½ ft) behind: each is seen over the one before.
- 3 plants in one group. Massed, one kind reads as a single shape. Scattered, it would look spotty.
Why now
- In flower for five weeks. From early May to late May.
- Fills a gap. For one of those weeks nothing else on the plan is in flower.
- One of two evergreens. They are what the bed has to show from November to March.
Planned as an English border: 6 of the 7 groups (86%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. The flowers run from early March to early October, but stop for 4 weeks from early April. Cool colours (pink and purple) with yellow as the warm note, and white to calm things between them.
The planner's own design check: 10 Excellent, 6 Good, 1 Satisfactory.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where bog rosemary 'Blue Ice' goes in a border
At 16 in it belongs at the front of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is short (12 to 18 in).
Its job: drift. Planted in a small group of three or five, and repeated further along in the other number.
A bog plant from the far North: it needs acid, peaty soil that never dries and cool summers. Where those are met, the blue foliage is striking all year.
- Bog and peat gardens
- Blue evergreen foliage
- Cold-climate rock gardens
What to plant with bog rosemary 'Blue Ice'
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Highbush blueberry: in flower together for four weeks, from early May; tall enough (6½ ft) to stand behind it.
- Royal fern: its green leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after; tall enough (5 ft) to stand behind it; happy in the same wet soil.
- Summersweet: takes over when it finishes, flowering from mid July; spires rising out of its mound; tall enough (6½ ft) to stand behind it.
Questions about bog rosemary 'Blue Ice'
Does bog rosemary 'Blue Ice' need sun or shade?
Bog rosemary 'Blue Ice' grows in full sun (6 or more hours of direct sun a day) and part sun (4 to 6 hours of sun, including some afternoon sun).
It wants moist to wet soil, rich in organic matter, and plenty of water. It copes with soil that stays wet.
What zones does bog rosemary 'Blue Ice' grow in?
USDA zones 2 to 6. It is hardy to zone 2, which means it survives winter nights down to about −40 °F (−40 °C).
Above zone 6 it struggles: the zones measure winter cold, but a plant's top zone usually means the summers are too hot or the winters too mild for it to rest.
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
When does bog rosemary 'Blue Ice' flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers early May to late May. As a spring flower it moves about a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer, later where it is colder.
| Zone 3 | Mid May to mid June |
|---|---|
| Zone 4 | Early May to early June |
| Zone 5 | Early May to late May |
| Zone 6 | Late April to late May |
Worked out from Hopkins' bioclimatic law: spring arrives about four days later for each degree of latitude north, and one zone is roughly two degrees. A warm spring or a cold one moves any garden two weeks either way.
How far apart should bog rosemary 'Blue Ice' be planted?
18 in (45 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 24 in (60 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 16 in (40 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many bog rosemary 'Blue Ice' plants do I need?
At 18 in apart, set out in staggered rows:
- 5 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
- 7 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
- 17 to fill a 4 × 8 ft bed on its own
In a mixed border, plant it as a group of three or five, with a second group further along in the other number.
In the bed above, the planner used three in one group.
Is bog rosemary 'Blue Ice' poisonous to dogs and cats?
Yes: severe toxicity to people, dogs, cats and horses. All parts contain grayanotoxins and are highly poisonous if eaten, affecting the heart.
Rated from NC State Extension. Where references disagree, the more cautious rating is used.
Is there a pet-safe plant like bog rosemary 'Blue Ice'?
These come closest to doing what bog rosemary 'Blue Ice' does, and no toxicity is recorded for them:
- Heather: the same job in a bed, the same size and the same colour; flowers late July to mid September, wants average soil.
- Deutzia 'Yuki Cherry Blossom': the same job in a bed, the same flowering time and the same colour; 4 in taller, not evergreen.
- Pink tickseed: the same job in a bed, the same size and the same colour; flowers late June to early September, not evergreen.
Matched the way the planner's Swap button matches plants: the same job in a bed, then size, then flowering time.
Do deer eat bog rosemary 'Blue Ice'?
They may. NC State does not list it as resistant to deer or rabbits. Where they visit, protect it, or plant it among ones they avoid.
What flowers after bog rosemary 'Blue Ice'?
Bog rosemary 'Blue Ice' is over by late May. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:
- Lady's mantle: from late May to early July, 18 in tall.
- Creeping thyme: from early June to mid July, 3 in tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
- Butterfly weed: from late June to early August, 24 in tall.
What does bog rosemary 'Blue Ice' look like in winter?
Bog rosemary 'Blue Ice' keeps its blue-green and silver leaves all winter, so it is one of the plants that hold a bed together from November to March, when the perennials have gone.
In these guides
- Plants for wet soil and rain gardens
- Garden plants toxic to cats
- Garden plants toxic to dogs
- Evergreen shrubs for structure
- Shrubs under 4 feet for small gardens
- Silver and grey-leaved plants
Zone guides: Zone 3 · Zone 4 · Zone 5 · Zone 6
In flower in: May
Every fact on record
- Type
- Shrub
- Size
- 16 in (40 cm) tall, 24 in (60 cm) wide
- Plant
- 18 in (45 cm) apart
- Height class
- Short (12 to 18 in)
- Place in the bed
- Front
- Flowers
- Early May to late May; hanging bells; pink
- Leaves
- Fine texture, evergreen; blue-green, silver
- Shape
- Mounding, spreading
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 2 to 6
- Light
- Full sun, part sun
- Soil
- Rich, moist to wet
- Water
- High
- Feeding
- None needed
- Family
- Ericaceae
- Comes from
- Northern (sub Arctic) Europe, Asia, and North America
- Stands up to
- Wet soil
Checked against NC State Extension and VASCAN (plants of Canada). Flowering times are for zone 5: later in colder zones, earlier in warmer ones. Toxicity and spread information is a general gardening guide, not veterinary or medical advice, and invasive status varies by region. If a person or pet eats a plant, contact poison control or a vet. Check your local invasive species list before planting anything with a spread warning.