Leadwort

* Common name: Leadwort (or plumbago)

* Botanical name: Ceratostigma plumbaginoides

* What it is: Low-growing, creeping, spreading perennial that gets cobalt-blue flowers in late summer, followed by leaves that turn glossy red in fall before dropping.

* Size: Grows 12 to 15 inches tall and spreads until you or something solid stops it.

* Where to use: Works best as a colorful groundcover planted by itself under trees, on a partly shaded bank or other large area where you don’t want grass. Ideal site is morning sun and afternoon shade or dappled sunlight all day.

* Care: Cut to ground after leaves brown, either in late fall or early spring. A lawn mower, weed-whacker or rake does the deed quickly. Use a shovel to stop leading edges from creeping where you don’t want it. (It spreads but is easy to stop.) Plants are late to leaf out in spring, usually in late May.

* Great partner: None. Use it by itself so it doesn’t creep over neighboring flowers or small shrubs.