The Perennial Plant Association has chosen blue false indigo, Baptisia australis, as its 2010 perennial plant of the year. Other common names for the plant are wild indigo, baptisia, indigo weed, rattleweed and rattlebrush.
The Perennial Plant Association describes the plant as follows: “Newly emerging shoots produce violet-blue, lupine-like flowers in erect 10- to 12-inch racemes atop flower stems extending well above the foliage mound of clover-like, trifoliate, blue-green leaves.” Many of several sources researched mention the dramatic combination of leaf and flower color in the early blooming season.
Blue false indigo grows three to four feet tall and four feet wide, making it a good plant for the back of the border. The first few years, the plant will have just a few stems and appear sparse. It will take three years or so for the plant to reach full size, so keep that in mind when placing other plants around it.
Blue false indigo is a native prairie plant, It grows best in full sun and is drought tolerant. Plants grown in shade may become floppy and require staking and produce fewer and less vibrant flowers.
This plant has a taproot, a single root like a carrot, so decide where you want it and plan to leave it there as it is almost impossible to transplant and cannot be divided. With luck you can expect indigo to live for 20 years or more.
Blue false indigo blooms in spring and early summer and then produces large pods which turn charcoal black when ripe. The dried pods are beautiful in flower arrangements and rattle in the wind, thus the common names rattleweed and rattlebrush. In earlier times, children used the pods as rattles. The name “indigo” refers to use by early Americans as a dye, although it was inferior to the true indigo of the West Indies.
Blue false indigo is a good plant for cottage gardens, native plant gardens, prairies and meadows. Since it has a shrub-like habit, it is also useful as a specimen plant or planted in small groups.
Butterflies are attracted to the flowers. There are no serious insect or disease problems and deer seldom bother it due to its bitter taste.
Blue wild indigo is propagated by seed. You may find seedlings growing under your plant that can be transplanted when very young. If you collect dried seed to grow on your own, the outside of the hard seed must be scratched with a metal file or sandpaper or nicked with a sharp knife to weaken the seed coat to allow it to germinate.
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