How to Grow and Care for False Indigo

But growing from seed is a lengthy process, as the plants will take three to four years before developing the size required for meaningful blooms. Thus, most people propagate these plants through stem cuttings.

Baptisia australis

Blue False Indigo is a native herbaceous perennial plant in the bean family that grows in forests or natural areas in woodland borders. It grows from 3 to 4 feet tall, and with its showy blue flowers it is a spring highlight. Plant it in full sun to part shade but in the shade it tends to get leggy and droop over. It forms tall clumps which are especially attractive planted next to wooden fences. The bright, indigo blue flowers are attractive when combined with yellow or white flowering perennials.

If you desire a round appearance, would prefer to not add support to the plant, and do not want the seed pods to develop, then after the flowers bloom (but before the seed pods set), you could prune back the leaves. The best way to propagate this plant is to collect seeds in late summer as soon as they mature and sow them directly where you want them to grow, but they may not grow into a flowering plant until years later. Cuttings taken in April or May will also root fairly easily if they are taken while the growth is still soft. If you have different colored cultivars and allow them to seed, they may hybridize and produce different colors.

This plant was selected as the 1992 NC Wildflower of the Year, a program managed by the North Carolina Botanical Garden with some financial support from the Garden Club of North Carolina.

Another plant option: B. tinctoria, a yellow-flowered species of Baptisia, is also native to the eastern USA and grows well in warm, sunny gardens.

Fire Risk: This plant has a medium flammability rating.

Seasons of Interest:

Blooms: Spring Nut/Fruit/Seed: Late summer

Insects, Diseases, or Other Plant Problems: No major diseases or insects problems. If plants get tall in partial shade, a support may be helpful.

VIDEO created by Andy Pulte for “Landscape Plant Identification, Taxonomy and Morphology” a plant identification course offered by the Department of Plant Sciences, University of Tennessee.

• ‘Carolina Moonlight’
  Soft yellow blooms, 3-4 feet tall
• ‘Screeming Yellow’
• var. minor
  dwarf

• ‘Carolina Moonlight’
  Soft yellow blooms, 3-4 feet tall
• ‘Screeming Yellow’
• var. minor
  dwarf

• Attributes: Genus: Baptisia Species: australis Family: Fabaceae Uses (Ethnobotany): Uses by indigenous people included rattles (from the ripened seed pods) for children and blue dye. The beautiful blue flowers have been used to make a blue dye nearly comparable to dye made from the flowers of indigo. Life Cycle: Perennial Recommended Propagation Strategy: Root Cutting Seed Country Or Region Of Origin: Central and Eastern U.S.A Distribution: PA south to NC and TN Fire Risk Rating: medium flammability Wildlife Value: Its flowers are attractive to butterflies, bees, and other insects. This plant is also a larval host plant for a variety of butterflies including: Orange sulphur, Clouded Sulphur, Frosted Elfin, Eastern Tailed Blue, Hoary Edge, and Wild Indigo Duskywing. Play Value: Buffer Particularly Resistant To (Insects/Diseases/Other Problems): Drought, salt, poor soil, rabbit, erosion, dry soil, clay soil, shallow-rocky soil, highly resistant to deer damage Dimensions: Height: 3 ft. 0 in. – 4 ft. 0 in. Width: 2 ft. 0 in. – 4 ft. 0 in.

• Whole Plant Traits: Plant Type: Native Plant Perennial Maintenance: Low

• Cultural Conditions: Light: Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day) Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours) Soil Texture: Clay Soil pH: Acid ( <6.0) Soil Drainage: Good Drainage Occasionally Wet Available Space To Plant: 12 inches-3 feet 3 feet-6 feet NC Region: Coastal Mountains Piedmont USDA Plant Hardiness Zone: 3a, 3b, 4a, 4b, 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b, 9a, 9b

• Fruit: Fruit Color: Black Fruit Value To Gardener: Good Dried Showy Display/Harvest Time: Winter Fruit Type: Legume Fruit Length: 1-3 inches Fruit Width: 1-3 inches Fruit Description: Puffy, inflated seed pods filled with many seeds appear after bloom. They ripen when they are very black and up to 2.5 inches long in late summer. People enjoy the seed pods’ appearance for ornamental interest or even dried flower arrangments (when the seed pod is with the stem).

• Flowers: Flower Color: Blue Gold/Yellow Purple/Lavender White Flower Inflorescence: Corymb Insignificant Raceme Spike Flower Value To Gardener: Long Bloom Season Showy Flower Bloom Time: Spring Summer Flower Shape: Irregular Lipped Flower Petals: 4-5 petals/rays fused petals Flower Description: On spikes and arranged on 16-inches-tall racemes, flowers are generally purple/blue (about .75-in.). Plant it in full sun to part shade but in the shade tends to get leggy and droop over. It forms tall clumps which are especially attractive planted next to wooden fences. The bright, indigo blue flowers are attractive when combined with yellow or white flowering perennials. Flowers are either on long-stalked clusters above the leaves or axillary. They bloom in late spring (sometimes around early summer) in white, blue, purple/blue, or yellow and are irregular and pea-shaped.

• Leaves: Leaf Color: Blue Green Leaf Feel: Slippery Smooth Leaf Type: Compound (Pinnately , Bipinnately, Palmately) Leaf Arrangement: Alternate Leaf Shape: Subulate Leaf Margin: Entire Hairs Present: Yes Leaf Length: < 1 inch Leaf Description: Trifoliate leaves look similar to clovers but are blue/green: these leaflets can be as long as 2 inches and have smooth edges. The alternate leaves have a smooth margin (entire). This perennial herb has 3-parted leaves, turning black upon drying.

• Stem: Stem Buds: Smooth/Hairless Stem Description: Stems with seed pods are valued additions to dried flower arrangements.

• Landscape: Landscape Location: Houseplants Vertical Spaces Woodland Landscape Theme: Butterfly Garden Children’s Garden Drought Tolerant Garden Fairy Garden Native Garden Rain Garden Water Garden Design Feature: Accent Border Hedge Mass Planting Attracts: Bees Butterflies Hummingbirds Pollinators Resistance To Challenges: Deer Diseases Drought Dry Soil Erosion Fire Insect Pests Poor Soil Rabbits Problems: Allelopathic Problem for Cats Problem for Children Weedy

• Poisonous to Humans: Poison Severity: Low Poison Symptoms: THIS PLANT CAUSES ONLY LOW TOXICITY IF EATEN. Poisonous through ingestion. All parts are poisonous. Symptoms: Nausea, vomiting, diarrhea Poison Toxic Principle: Baptisin and cytisine Causes Contact Dermatitis: No Poison Part: Bark Flowers Fruits Leaves Roots Sap/Juice Seeds Stems

Baptisia australis

NC State University and N.C. A&T State University work in tandem, along with federal, state and local governments, to form a strategic partnership called N.C. Cooperative Extension, which staffs local offices in all 100 counties and with the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.

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How to Grow and Care for False Indigo

Marie Iannotti is a life-long gardener and a veteran Master Gardener with nearly three decades of experience. She’s also an author of three gardening books, a plant photographer, public speaker, and a former Cornell Cooperative Extension Horticulture Educator. Marie’s garden writing has been featured in newspapers and magazines nationwide and she has been interviewed for Martha Stewart Radio, National Public Radio, and numerous articles.

Mary Marlowe Leverette is one of the industry’s most highly-regarded housekeeping and fabric care experts, sharing her knowledge on efficient housekeeping, laundry, and textile conservation. She is also a Master Gardener with over 40+ years of experience and 20+ years of writing experience. Mary is also a member of The Spruce Gardening and Plant Care Review Board.

False indigo is a large, upright perennial with leaves that are grey-green and beautiful long racemes of indigo-blue flowers that appear in April through June. The pea-like flowers are followed by black seed pods that can be left on the plant for winter interest. With its stately shape, false indigo makes a good architectural statement in the garden even after the flowers have faded. When started from nursery plants, false Indigo takes only about a year to reach its full height, but plants started from seed can take three to four years to flower. False indigo is generally planted in spring after the danger of frost has passed.

All parts of this plant are mildly toxic to humans and to animals. The alkaloid compounds that cause nausea and vomiting in people and animals may also be responsible for making this plant unpalatable to insects and thus a relatively trouble-free garden plant. Accidental ingestion by humans is often attributed to the fact that the young stems look much like asparagus as they emerge in the spring. However, the toxicity is mild enough that not all official lists bother to include the plant on their registers of dangerous plants.

Pruning

The only pruning required for this plant is to remove the dead stems at some point, either in the late fall or early winter, or in the spring before new growth begins. Because this plant takes on such a shrub-like appearance, you can also shape it by pruning, which is best done immediately after its flowering period is over.

Propagating False Indigo

Because false indigo plants have long taproots, they are difficult to divide; however, they do grow well from stem cuttings. Here’s how to do it:

1. In April to early May, use a sharp pruner to take stem cuttings about 6 inches long, containing at least two sets of leaves and at least one set of leaf buds near the bottom of the cutting.
2. Dip the end of the cutting in rooting hormone and plant it in a small pot filled with standard potting mix. Moisten the potting mix.
3. Place the pot and cutting in a plastic bag or another form of plastic covering. Keep the pot in a bright, uniformly warm location, monitoring it frequently and lightly watering it if the potting mix dries out. In about eight weeks, the cutting should be rooted.
4. When the cutting has rooted, remove the plastic and continue growing the new plant until it is large enough to plant into the garden.

How to Grow False Indigo From Seed

Growing false indigo from seed is possible, though not recommended. False indigo seeds have a hard outer coating, and some type of scarification will improve germination. Soaking them in hot water for at least eight hours prior to scarifying them would be even better, although some gardeners have luck simply planting the seeds in the fall and allowing the winter weather to soften the seed coat.

But growing from seed is a lengthy process, as the plants will take three to four years before developing the size required for meaningful blooms. Thus, most people propagate these plants through stem cuttings.

Overwintering

There is almost no required winterizing routine for these plants. Many people cut off the stems to ground level as winter approaches, but even this can be omitted if you want to leave the seed pods in place for winter interest. And in borderline zones where winters are damp and above freezing, clearing the ground of plant debris is a good idea to keep the soil from being too soggy and possibly causing root rot.

Common Pests and Plant Diseases

Fungus diseases such as leaf spot, powdery mildew, and rust can occur if grown in crowded, damp conditions. Be sure to provide good air circulation around your Baptisia plants.

Weevils have been known to eat Baptisia seeds, but this is a problem only if you are saving the seeds to plant.

How to Get False Indigo to Bloom

Getting false indigo to bloom is usually just a matter of patience, as it can take three or four years, or even more, before the clump is mature enough to make a meaningful display. A plant growing in shady conditions may experience reduced blooming; prune out nearby trees and shrubs that shade the plant to increase its blooming. Finally, flowering can be compromised if you prune too early, before the flower buds have developed. If you need to prune the plant for shape, make sure you wait until summer, when the flowering is done.

Common Problems With False Indigo

Few plants are more trouble-free than false indigo. But rarely, there are a couple of issues you may need to address.

Flopping Plants

When the plant is growing in shady conditions, the stems may grow leggy in their effort to reach the sun, causing the stems to eventually flop over, usually from the center outward. Sometimes, pruning of surrounding trees can increase the amount of sun and prevent this flopping. Or, a large segmented hoop support can help keep the stems upright. Relatively hard pruning after flowering is complete can also keep the plants shorter and bushier, eliminating the flopping problem.

Crown Rot

In soils that are too water-saturated for long periods, false indigo may develop root rot that causes the plant to turn mushy and collapse. Soil amendments around the plant can improve the soil’s drainage. Some earthmoving to redirect water can also help eliminate puddling that causes root rot. Badly affected plants are not salvageable and will need to be removed.

False Indigo (Baptisia australis) is a native wildflower. Its common name is traced to early European settlers and traders who paid Native Americans to grow this plant for the dye they could make from the blue flowers. True indigo was extremely expensive and Baptisia australis made a passably good substitute—and it grew like a weed.

• Baptisia albescens(spiked white indigo) has white flowers and copper seed pods. It is native to the Southeast U.S. and grows to 2-4 feet in height.
• Baptisia bracteata(false cream indigo) is a compact, 24-inch plant with long sprays of pale yellow flowers. It is native to the Eastern U.S.
• Baptisia sphaerocarpa(yellow false indigo) is native to the lower Midwest and Gulf states. Growing 2 to 3 feet tall, its long yellow flowers spikes are 12 to 15 inches long. ‘Screaming Yellow’ is a popular cultivar.
• Baptisia tinctoria (also known as yellow false indigo) is native throughout the East Coast and Midwest. It has bright yellow or creamy flowers and blooms later than other Baptisias, in later spring through early summer. Growing 2 to 3 feet tall, its flower clusters are usually only about 4 or 5 inches long.

False Indigo blends beautifully with pastel, late spring bloomers, like peonies, as well as with shocking colors. Spiky plants, such as iris, salvia, and tall alliums, complement both the color and the texture of Baptisia. The blue blossoms really bring out the chartreuse of Lady’s Mantle. Since it is a large plant and it only blooms once, be sure to put your false indigo plant somewhere in your garden where its foliage will continue to offer interest. Snuggling it between other plants will prevent the branches from falling open under the weight of the flowers and seed pods. This plant is also a good addition to wildlife gardens, as it serves as host to several species of butterflies.