Baptisia australis (Blue False Indigo)
$8.00
Out of stock
Size: 3-4’ tall / 2-4’ wide
Sun: Full Sun to Part Sun
Soil: Average, Medium-Dry, Well-Drained
Bloom Time: Spring - Early Summer
Deer Resistance: 2/5
Ecotype: Unknown
Blue False Indigo is a slow-growing, clump-forming perennial that spends the first few years putting energy into its root system. It is well worth the wait, for it is a long-lived and reliable perennial, providing beautiful dark blue flowers in the spring and attractive seedpods and leaves throughout the summer. Given this type of growth, it is recommended not to move Baptisia once it is established. It's happiest in medium to dry soils in full sun, though can tolerate part sun as well. It has a taproot that makes it exceptionally drought-tolerant, and as a member of the Fabaceae family, its roots fix nitrogen in the soil.
Baptisia is a good early nectar source for bees, and it serves as a larval host plant for at least 20 butterfly and moth species, including the Clouded Sulphur butterfly, Io moth, and Polyphemus moth. It is not deer resistant, so we recommend providing protection while getting established and planting it among other plants that are deer resistant.