You can find them in some cottage gardens or in an occasional garden center. Generally, those who are more inclined to give them a shot of a potent herbicide scorn those of us who tout their virtues. One showy wildflower along Mississippi highways is the wild ageratum, or mistflower. I have wondered why the mistflower hasn't found a more prominent position here as in other states. This attractive and carefree perennial gives weeks of blue ageratum color on tall plants at a time when our hybrid ageratums are in decline.
Mistflowers do best in full sun but tolerate a little shade.
They get tall on roadsides but can be cut back in the spring and summer and still produce an outstanding show of color for late summer and fall. These plants spread by rhizomes and can multiply quickly in luxuriant soils. In other words, they can become a little invasive. Tight soils can keep their aggressiveness in check. Mistflowers look great in areas where they are allowed to spread and naturalize, but I don't mind weeding unwanted plants.