We no longer grow this plant.
To find other selections you may like, please see the bottom of this page or use My Plantfinder

Blue False Indigo

Baptisia australis

Pronunciation: bap-TIS-ee-uh aw-STRAL-iss
SKU #00219
3-9

Your climate might be too cold for this plant:

Change Location
LIGHT: Full sun, Partial sun
WATER: Drought tolerant once established
SIZE: Moderate grower to 4 ft. tall and wide.
$0.00

Retailers Near You

No Retailers found within 100 miles of your zipcode

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.
Bloom Time Late spring to early summer
Deciduous/Evergreen Herbaceous
Special Features Attracts Butterflies, Waterwise, North American Native, Attracts Pollinators
Problems/Solutions Deer Resistant
Growth Rate Moderate
Flower Attributes Flowers for Cutting, Showy Flowers
Landscape Use Border
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 Instructions 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.
History Blue false indigo is a native wildflower found through much of the eastern United States but most commonly in the South. It is classified into the Pea Family and like other legumes it is capable of fixing atmospheric nitrogen into its root system.
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.
Details
DescriptionShort 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.
Bloom TimeLate spring to early summer
Deciduous/EvergreenHerbaceous
Special FeaturesAttracts Butterflies, Waterwise, North American Native, Attracts Pollinators
Problems/SolutionsDeer Resistant
Growth RateModerate
Flower AttributesFlowers for Cutting, Showy Flowers
Style
Landscape UseBorder
Design IdeasA 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 ColorBlue
Foliage ColorBlue-green
Companion PlantsForsythia (Forsythia); Bee Balm (Monarda); Lilac (Syringa); Eastern Snowball, (Viburnum); Salvia (Salvia)
Care
Care InstructionsFollow 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.
History
HistoryBlue false indigo is a native wildflower found through much of the eastern United States but most commonly in the South. It is classified into the Pea Family and like other legumes it is capable of fixing atmospheric nitrogen into its root system.
LoreNative Americans used this as a dye plant for blue coloring even though it was vastly inferior to the indigo of the tropics and trade.

About Us

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.