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Aristea ecklonii 'Little John' (Small Blue Stars) - A hardy herbaceous perennial resembling a Sisyrinchium that has fans of 1-foot-long bright green blade-like leaves. The flower stalks reach above the foliage with clusters of three to four star-like bright blue flowers that have purple stamens.
Plant in full coastal sun to light shade and irrigate regularly (full sun) to occasionally. Hardy to about 20 degrees F. A great little plant for the shade garden or companion plant for a large container planting.
Aristea ecklonii is native to central and southern Africa from South Africa north to Cameroon and Tanzania. The genus name is either derived from the Latin word 'arista' meaning "awn" or from the Greek word 'aristeides' meaning "the best" and the specific epithet honors the Danish apothecary, traveler, and plant collector Christian Ecklon (1795-1868), born in Denmark.
This dwarf form of the species we given to us by John Bleck so we named it for him and grew and sold it from 2011 to 2015.
The information about Aristea ecklonii 'Little John' that is displayed on this web page is based on research conducted in our nursery's horticultural library and from reliable online resources. We will also include observations made about this plant as it grows in our nursery gardens and other gardens that we have visited, as well how the crops have performed in containers in our nursery field. We also incorporate comments that we receive from others and welcome hearing from anyone with additional information, particularly if they share cultural information that aids others growing this plant.
Please note that after 46 years in business, San Marcos Growers will be discontinuing nursery operations by the end of 2025 and the property will be developed for affordable housing.
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