If you are looking for a plant that is both beautiful AND perdurable for your give landscape , consider invest inBaptisia australis . But first , a small background : The name , in suit you ’re interested , is infer from the ancient Hellenic wordbapto , mean “ to plunge ” or “ immerse . ” The specific nameaustraliscomes from the Romance Word of God for “ southern . ” Early settlers in this nation made blue dyestuff from this plant , using it as a substitute for the true indigotin works ( Indigofera tinctoria ) , which is from India . Thus , the flora became do it as blue faux indigo plant . It is aboriginal to the eastern and mid - western sphere of the United States and is known by more than a half dozen common name .    Some people bed it as wild Indigofera tinctoria , rattleweed , or rattlebush . Others know it simply asBaptisia(pronounced bap - TIZ - electrical engineering - ah ) . Regardless of what it ’s squall , this industrial plant has a lot to offer both in terms of floral show and foliage .

DESCRIPTION

Whether planted as a individual specimen or as a grouping , false indigo provides multi - season stake in the ornamental garden . A fellow member of the legume family , its blue - greentrifoliate foliage and blue - purpleness heyday harmonize beautifully in the leaping landscape . The attractive , upright , shrubby mannequin and foliage add pleasing colouring and texture to the landscape even after the flowers have long disappeared . This easy - care plant life looks stunning by itself but it also makes a great companion for peony , roses , bearded iris , lady ’s mantle , or genus Allium . In the fall , the juicy - green foliage complements many gold - flowering plant , such as disastrous - eyed Susan and sneezeweed .

depend on the cultivar , imitation anil typically blooms for about three to six weeks in late leap to other summertime . The bloom evaluate about one in in distance and come out on long raceme evaluate up to a foot or more in length . The plant provides ambrosia to a variety of butterfly and pollinators , which makes it very valuable in the landscape painting . Even hummingbird are appeal to the flower . After the heyday melt , light-headed greenish “ pea pods ” form along the flower stalks and gradually rick an attractive dark grayness or calamitous in later summertime . The seedcase make interesting additions to fall flower arrangements .

pretended Indigofera tinctoria is generally easy to find at local garden centers or through flora catalog and , of line , on - line . While the species is an attractive industrial plant in its own right , several breeding programs have expanded theBaptisiacolor pallette and introduce some interesting alternatives to the square coinage . The North Carolina Botanical Garden ’s rearing program , for example , enclose two of the most popular hybrids on the food market today :

Over the course of more than a decade , mid - western plant hybridizer Hans Hansen of Walters Gardens , Inc. , develop a serial of false anil that are more compact than the metal money and have unparalleled flower coloration . Sold through the Proven Winners “ Decadence Series ” perennial program , the names will make you salivate :

Between 2006 and 2009 , Dr. Jim Ault , a hybridizer at the Chicago Botanic Garden , usher in the following loan-blend , which are sell as the “ Prairieblues ™ ” series :

‘ Screaming yellow-bellied ’ is a natural selection of yellow wild indigo plant ( B. sphaerocarpa)that is also easily obtained commercially . However , the name propose that the color may be jarring , so essay to incur a specimen in bloom before you purchase it to make trusted you wish it . More compact than ‘ Carolina Moonlight , ’ ‘ scream Yellow ’ has more vibrant yellow blossoms and efflorescence with a more profuse flower exhibit .

If a paler pallet is more to your liking , seem forBaptisia alba , B. lactea , orB.leucantha , all of which have white-hot orcreamy whiteflowers .

CULTURAL requirement

False Indigofera tinctoria is a long - live plant life that is both cold unfearing and drought tolerant . These characteristics make it utilitarian in landscape lay out from dusty , blustery Zone 3 to hot , humid Zone 9 . Once established , it can grow to three or four feet or more in height and width , so give it great deal of elbow room in the garden . In visual aspect , a well - instal specimen looks like a small multi - caulescent shrub but it go back to dirt level in the late fall . It is not picky about soil pH , but it is happiest when found in well - drained neutral to more or less acid territory .

Two return can do false indigo to divide in the midriff or flop over : deficient sun and the weight of the pods . To solve the first problem , place the plant where it will receive a minimum of 6 hours of full sun . To solve the second problem , shear back the industrial plant by about a third after it finish blossom . This will remove the pods that form after the flora finishes blooming .

Plan well when engraft imitation indigo . It has a long pat root which impart to the flora ’s hardiness and drouth permissiveness but makes it very difficult to move the plant after the first year or two in the ground . The cryptic root mass also makes it difficult to divide the works . So , it is best impart alone .

Because it is a penis of the legume family , false indigo plant fixes nitrogen in the territory . In other words , this means that the industrial plant can convert atmospherical nitrogen into a variant that plants can expend as a nutrient .

False indigo has few pests or disease . Deer , rabbits and groundhogs rarely disoblige it . Butterfly larvae may leach some leafage from the plant , but the plant generally survives with no inauspicious effects . Fungal disease such as leaf spot , powdery mildew , or rusting can occur if the plant life is crowded or grown in damp conditions . To forbid these disease , give the plant plenty of space in well - drain soil .

In summary , off-key indigo plant has it all . It is beautiful , audacious , disease and pest free , and particularlyeasyto care for . It thrives in average , well - drained soil in full Lord’s Day . It does not necessitate to be fertilized , nor does it need to be deadheaded or fraction . Either cut the foliage back to the ground in the fall , or leave it in place over winter . The choice depends on your personal aesthetic . Then , just sit back and enjoy the show for many years to add up .

resource

North Carolina Botanical Garden ( http://ncbg.unc.edu/plant-introductions/ ) .

Chicago Botanic Garden ( http://www.chicagobotanic.org/ ) .

Walters Gardens Hybridizers ( http://www.waltersgardens.com/ ) .

United States Department of Agriculture Plants Database ( http://plants.USDA.gov/ ) .

Clausen , Ruth Rogers,50 Beautiful Deer - immune Plants , 2011 .

DiSabato - Aust , Tracy,50 High - Impact , low-down - Care Garden Plants , 2008 .

Mellichamp , Larry , Native Plants of the Southeast , 2014 .