Baptisia Species, False Indigo, Blue Wild Indigo

On Jan 20, 2016, coriaceous from ROSLINDALE, MA wrote:

A beautiful perennial. Lovely blue-green foliage looks good till hard frost. The flowers resemble lupines but are looser and more relaxed.

My one wish is that the flowering season were longer.

Baptisias can take up to five years to reach their full size.

On Jun 25, 2014, Krootie from Weirton, WV (Zone 6a) wrote:

A must have in the garden. Indestructable and growing as a backdrop to our birdbath for over 10 years.

On Oct 27, 2013, Rockguy1 from Calgary,
Canada wrote:

I planted this about six years ago. It now grows from the ground into a "semi-shrub" about 4' tall and wide each year. I'm impressed with its frost hardiness - it can take up to -10C and still be green and leafy well into November. I haven't had a huge number of blooms, maybe 10-15 sprigs on the whole plant each spring, but they are pretty (as are the seed pods) and the foliage itself is quite attractive.

On Sep 4, 2013, ms_greenjeans from Hopkins, MN (Zone 4a) wrote:

My rating is neutral only because I screwed up and planted this too close to a black walnut tree. I did not know at the time that I had black walnut trees or that they emit a substance toxic to certain plants. So in my experience, baptisia is NOT juglone tolerant. This poor thing struggled valiently for a year and then died -- but it whetted my appetite for baptisia in general and now I have some lovely ones in other areas of my yard.

On Jun 20, 2013, sandy1230 from Sioux City, IA wrote:

I have had my Baptisia plant for 7 years now. All I can say is BEAUTIFUL!!!! I have outside the front of my house, and it is monstrous! All day Full Sun, it thrives there! I live in Iowa, harsh cold winters..... extreme heat, it gets bigger and bigger! Mine produces blue purplish flowers.... Gorgeous! I decided to pour miracle grow on it this year, HOLY MOLY, I have surpassed the 5ft mark!!!!! Im guessing 6 ft tall, 6 ft wide. I did once, open the pods in the fall, froze them, and tried to plant in spring. No luck. Also tried to split the root ball, NOT HAPPENING, too big! So now just living with the one monstererous beauty I have. :)

On May 3, 2011, kmm44 from Dayton, OH wrote:

I got a start of this plant last April at a historic home garden attraction my garden club went to. There had been a sale the previous weekend and we were allowed to browse the left-overs. They made a fortune off of us, lol. I was thrilled to see the baptisia because I had been looking for some that wasn't expensive like the mail orders. I planted it in a front bed with full sun. It did well last summer and is coming back up. I don't know if if will bloom this year, but I am glad it survived the icy winter.

On Apr 25, 2011, peteunia from Clear Spring, MD wrote:

I have had these plants for years and most of them are in part shade.
They bloom every year without fail. However, I have one that only has one shoot coming up. This plant was one of my best bloomers but I don't understand why I only have one shoot. I have coneflowers coming up close to it. Could they have wrapped their roots around the shoots before they had a chance to pop through? I've carefully dug out the coneflowers and hopefully the Baptisia will still have a chance.

On Apr 25, 2011, hinshawbaker from Liberty, NC wrote:

I first saw this plant in blue/purple at the Botanical Gardens in Chapel Hill, NC. It was about 4 ft tall and in full bloom. It was so close to being blue that I just had to have one. That was about 4-5 years ago and the seedling I started out with was VERY small. Now, it reaches a smidge over 4 ft, and is covered with blooms each year. My plant is on the end of my house which faces west, so it gets full sun from mid-day until about an hour before sundown. It is very hot in that location, but it seems to handle it just fine. I have had seedlings pop up around it, but have not attempted a transplant yet. In the same bed I also have a white version and an electric yellow version which both have the same cultural requirements, but don't get as large as the blue/purple. The yellow see... read moreds freely, but the white only produces a few pods. This past weekend I purchased 2 new False Indigos called Carolina Moonlite from Big Bloomers Flower Farm in Sanford, NC. Judging from the mature plant I saw at the farm, it will attain approx. the same size as the blue. The color is a very soft buttery yellow. I was told that it takes several years to attain the size I saw, which puts it on par with the others I have. I have also heard from my mother (who lives in Tx) that she has a pink False Indigo. She is an avid gardener, so I trust that she has it, but I have not seen the plant nor pictures.
I have never fertilized any of my Indigos. (they dont seem to need it.) They grow very well, get large and flower freely. We have heavy red clay soil here & the only amendment that I made before planting was to till a good amount of peat moss into the soil.

On Jul 27, 2010, bizzielizzie from Montgomery, TX wrote:

I love this plant. It's in full sun here in hot and humid Texas and it bloomed beautifully this year which was it's second year. The first year it was puny and dissapointing.Then the leaves turned black and shrivelled and I found loads of tiny caterpillars all over it so I cut it back about 3 weeks ago. Then it started sprouting again and is about a foot tall but again the caterpillars are back and are stripping the plant and turning the leaves black. Does anyone have any experience of these wretched things. They are nearly an inch long, greeney yellow with black markings. I'd rather not use inecticides and I guess the best way will be to try and pick them off. Any advice will be appreciated.

On Jan 20, 2010, JonthanJ from Logansport, IN wrote:

We planted several of these in late 2003. They have developed handsomely. They come up so quickly that people should think of it as a late spring flower with handsome growing foliage through the summer and into the fall. The mature clumps are so big that they hold up against our big clumps of ornamental grasses. Seedlings have come up under several of ours. We even appear to have a shoot coming up from a root that had grown out through the bottom of a pot.

The available plants are surprisingly variable seedlings. Different plants will give flowers at different places on the scale from sky blue to nearly purple. They will also bloom at slightly different times and display slightly different growth habits. One of the big garden differences is the degree to which individ... read moreual shoots will bear blooming branches. The more the shoot branches and blooms, the longer it will be in bloom.

While the continuing growth of new leaves does keep the plant looking fresh, the clump will darken and show a silvery dusting as the summer progresses. Just under the ground, the crown will set far more buds than it will grow on. As with Pokeberry, this is a scheme to deal with the loss of shoots to grazing and really hard frost. When the hormones from the removed shoots stop keeping them down, some of the extra buds will sprout.

4 November 2010

Voles did considerable damage to my several of my clumps this spring and to nearby Daylilies as well, but there are seedlings, and I planted a half dozen clumps of named varieties as well.

On Jul 10, 2009, littlelamb from Virginia Beach, VA (Zone 8b) wrote:

Love this plant! The color of the leaves are grey/green and the flowers are a beautiful purple for the Spring. It remains very attractive once the flowers are gone so it makes a great backdrop plant for later blooming plants. It's also great for hot/humid areas and can go awhile between waterings/rain. If you have the space, it's a care-free must have.

On May 18, 2009, Brella from Greenville, OH wrote:

We moved into a rental and this large shrub like plant was growing there. Very unusual, but beautiful! Nobody knew what it was. We moved two years later and took a cutting with us. That was two years ago, and it it thriving. We have clay soil and the plant is in a morning sun only location. It didn't bloom last year, but is doing so this year. It has about 12 stalks and is about three feet high now. The original plant that we took a clipping from was about five feet high. Just wanted to let everyone know that you can grow this plant from cuttings.

On Apr 11, 2008, Malus2006 from Coon Rapids, MN (Zone 4a) wrote:

Definitely need more light - I have two - one is too new to judge yet, and the other one is in more shade - partial from the look of the things. It makes healthy foliages and develops into a large clump but the flowers are fewer, shorter and more "shy" - almost hidden in the foliages. Very touchy about transportation so it's better to get new plants than to transport old speciments. I just enjoy the foliages since that speciment is over 6 years old now while the trees to the south of it have grown taller, blocking the sun and good sunny locations in my yard is hard to come by.

On Jul 5, 2007, Windy from Belleville , IL (Zone 6b) wrote:

I have two plants growing next to my driveway. I noticed the one at the bottom, nearest the street had been stripped of the seed pods while still green. We have deer across the street in a wooded area. I believe they ate the seed pods leaving just the naked stem which carried them.
Another plant to protect from deer if that is possible.

On Jan 4, 2007, frostweed from Josephine, Arlington, TX (Zone 8a) wrote:

False Indigo, Blue Wild Indigo Baptisia australis is Native to Texas and other States.

On Jul 27, 2006, patp from Summerville, SC (Zone 8a) wrote:

We also love this plant and were pleasantly surprised when an anole resting on a leaf changed to the same blue-green color.

On May 29, 2006, CaptMicha from Brookeville, MD (Zone 7a) wrote:

I adore this plant. It's so easy! I started it from seed 3-4 years ago and this year I have my first flowers.

False indigo loves the sun and the heat and tolerates drought without batting an eye. I fed it with bloom fertilizer and I don't know if that made a difference or not.

Even when it wasn't flowering, the foliage was a beautiful blue-green and had that interesting leaf shape charactoristic of other plants that share it's genus.

My plants are growing very close together at the base and arch out, creating a beautiful fan of flowers.

I don't know if any one else has noticed but the flowers are fragrant, especially at night. Their delicious scent reminds me of the pineapple mandarin cake my mom makes.

On Feb 28, 2006, TBGDN from (Zone 5a) wrote:

A native flowering perennial of the eastern U. S. with an appetite for long term growth and expansion. Quite nice in any perennial garden, but give it lots of space since it can easily cover a square yard in 3-4 years. And it can grow to 4-5' in height. Late spring blooms add a verticle dimension to borders. Very hardy, drought tolerant plants have attractive foliage and flowers. There is also a natural hybrid of the species in white, and another in purple. I have it planted in three spots with one in light shade.

On Aug 30, 2004, smiln32 from Oklahoma City, OK (Zone 7a) wrote:

Blue-green foliage is an attractive background plant. Showy seed pods are useful in dried arrangements. Used by the Native American as a purgative and anti-inflammatory. Studies have shown this plant to be an immune system booster.

On Jun 27, 2003, Noodles from Olympia, WA wrote:

Wonderful plant, now 5 years old. No pests, nice large lupine-like flowers (good for cutting). I cut back to the ground in early spring; also cut back about 1/3 after bloom. Floppy the first two years, but now does not need staking, although it gets only about 3-4 hours of morning sun. Highly recommend.

On Jan 4, 2001, lantana from (Zone 7a) wrote:

Grows in Heat Zones 9-2.