Ageratum 'High Tide Blue'

‘High Tide Blue’ is a vigorous bedding ageratum with rounded clusters of blue to pale purple flowers and a dense, mounded form. It suits sunny borders and large mixed containers, adding color from spring through summer and, in suitable climates, into autumn. ## Form and flowering The High Tide series from [PanAmerican Seed](https://www.panamseed.com/Eurasia/MarketingPDF.aspx?blobid=269) is described as continuously flowering and self-cleaning, so routine pinching of faded blooms is unnecessary. [Ball Seed](https://info.ballseed.com/UK_WEBTRACKPLANTINFO.ASPX?PHID=001804529000616&env=P) lists spring, summer, and late-summer flowering, while the [RHS profile for this cultivar](https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/255628/ageratum-houstonianum-high-tide-blue/details) describes flowers from summer into autumn. Ball describes the series as upright and strongly branched; the overall display forms a rounded, dense mound. ## Size and siting Plants reach about 14–16 inches (35–41 cm) tall. Published spread varies: Ball gives 12 inches, while RHS places this cultivar in a broad 0.1–0.5 m maximum-spread band. Grow in full sun and moist but well-drained soil. PanAmerican recommends at least six hours of direct sun daily and moderately moist soil. A [North Carolina State Extension profile](https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/ageratum-houstonianum/) describes the species as a frost-tender annual; plant outdoors after frost danger has passed. The flowers are blue in PanAmerican’s cultivar material and pale purple to blue in the RHS description. ## Maintenance Keep the soil evenly moist while plants establish and during flowering; avoid leaving it waterlogged. Ball recommends feeding every two weeks, while PanAmerican suggests one or two feedings monthly with general-purpose fertilizer. Follow the fertilizer label and local growing conditions. High Tide is promoted as self-cleaning, so deadheading is optional.