Ageratum houstonianum, commonly known as flossflower, bluemink, blueweed, pussy foot or Mexican paintbrush, is a cool-season annual plant often grown as bedding in gardens.
Ageratum houstonianum, commonly called floss flower, is a frost-tender annual of the aster family that provides continuous bloom for beds, gardens or containers from late spring to frost. Features fluffy flowers (basically asters with ray flowers absent) in flattened to slightly rounded clusters atop compact, mounded plants generally ranging from 4” to 18” tall. Some taller varieties (e.g., the triploid ‘Blue Horizon’) are more erect and grow to as much as 30” tall. Species flowers are medium blue, however many cultivars are available in commerce in various shades of blue, pink, red, white and bicolor. Leaves are typically rounded, cordate-at-the-base, hairy, slightly quilted and soft green. Taller varieties make good cut flowers. Genus name presumably comes from the Greek a meaning not and geras meaning old age because the flowers hold their color for a long time.
