Blue False Indigo
Baptisia australis
Description | Short spikes of indigo-blue, pea-like flowers cover dense, blue green foliage. This showy, long-lived, bushy perennial is excellent for massing or at the back of the border. Attractive seed pods in early summer follow the flowers. Great cut flower. |
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Light | Full sun, Partial sun |
Watering | Drought tolerant once established |
Blooms | Late spring to early summer |
Mature Size | Moderate grower to 4 ft. tall and wide. |
Deciduous/Evergreen | Herbaceous |
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Special Features | Attracts Butterflies, North American Native Selection, Waterwise |
Growth Rate | Moderate |
Flower Attributes | Flowers for Cutting, Showy Flowers |
Landscape Use | Border |
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Design Ideas | A big bushy plant to flesh out sparse border with rich blue flowers. Combines well with most American native species and blends well with grasses for meadow gardens. Grow as a cut flower. Particularly good massed for a large sea of delicious cool blue. |
Flower Color | Blue |
Foliage Color | Blue-green |
Companion Plants | Forsythia (Forsythia); Bee Balm (Monarda); Lilac (Syringa); Eastern Snowball, (Viburnum); Salvia (Salvia) |
Care | Follow a regular watering schedule during the first growing season to establish a deep, extensive root system. Feed with a general purpose fertilizer before new growth begins in spring. Prune old flower heads to encourage more blossoms. |
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Lore | Native Americans used this as a dye plant for blue coloring even though it was vastly inferior to the indigo of the tropics and trade. |
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This Plant's Growing Zones: 3-9

Your USDA Cold Hardiness Zone:
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Monrovia grows beautiful plants for every region
We have been pioneers and craftsmen in the art of growing plants for nearly
100 years. Since our founding in Southern California by Harry E. Rosedale, Sr.
in 1926, we have been absolutely dedicated and obsessed with quality.
We have been pioneers and craftsmen in the art of growing plants for nearly 100 years. Since our founding in Southern California by Harry E. Rosedale, Sr. in 1926, we have been absolutely dedicated and obsessed with quality.