A perennial cultivar of large, ornamental, light blue flowers. Recommended for domestic garden flower beds.

WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE: Flowers large, 12–15 cm across, light blue, built of 4–8 elliptically prolonged sepals with wavy margins and stamens of purple anthers on lemon-coloured filaments. Blooms moderately between June and August.  

HOW IT GROWS: A perennial. Firm shoots do not attach themselves to supports but lean on them; require tying, similarly to climbing roses. Left without support, the plant trails over the ground. Reaches 2 m height.

WHERE TO PLANT: Tolerates all locations, as long as they are not too shaded, and average soil. Frost hardy (zone 4–9).

HOW TO PLANT AND MAINTAIN: Before planting immerse the plant container in water for 10-30 min. Place the plant in a 60 x 60 x 60 cm hole with a 10-cm layer of pebbles and gravel at the bottom. Cover the roots with a bucket of well-rotten manure or compost and fill up with fertile soil. Place the plant base 1 cm deeper than it was before. Plant at least 30 cm from walls or other plants. The base should be in a shade. Cover the ground around the new plants with bark mulch and for winter protection pile it up to 10 cm. Fertilize with Osmocote 5-6 M, water generously in vegetation season.   As a perennial its previous year shoots die back and in March need to be pruned just above the ground.

HOW TO APPLY: Particularly suitable as a feature in a perennial bed or among lower shrubs.

ORIGIN: Raised by Hiroshi Hayakawa, Japan, ca. 1996. The name Kagura originates from traditional music pieces dedicated to Japanese gods.

SIMILAR CULTIVARS: ‘Arabella’, ‘Sizaia Ptitsa’, ‘Justa’, ‘Juuli’.