![]() ![]() Wildlife: False blue indigo supports several species of moths, butterflies, and other insects. Wild Blue Indigo is native from PA to south IN, south to GA and TN, introduced in New England, Canada (hardy in USDA zones 4-9) rare near the Gulf and Atlantic. Use for: mass plantings, accents, hedges, cut flowers, rain gardens, and pollinator gardens. Examples include: ‘Lemon Meringue’ (yellow), ‘Vanilla Cream’ (ivory), and ‘Cherries Jubilee’ (maroon), to name a few. Talabac, UMEĬultivated varieties of false blue indigo offer different flower colors and more compact forms that grow to only 2.5’-3’ tall. Native false blue indigo is a herbaceous perennial with a shrub-like growth habit. Flowers showy, in the typical pea-family configuration, blue to violet, on upright racemes that can be 12 inches long. ![]() The above-ground growth of false indigo dies with the first hard freeze and can be pruned down to the ground in late fall or early spring. Blue False Indigo Poisonous Scientific Name Baptisia australis Family Fabaceae (Beans) Description A native bushy perennial with 3-parted compound leaves and showy, upright stalks of blue pea-flowers. One of its common names, rattlebush, refers to the rattle sound made by the ornamental dried seed pods. This plant was used by Native Americans for medicinal purposes and to make a blue dye. The medium blue flowers bloom for about 2-3 weeks in May-June and are followed by pea-like green pods that turn black in the fall. In the garden, this herbaceous perennial plant grows into an attractive shrub-like form. Garden Uses: False blue indigo (Baptisia australis) is native to Maryland but now rare in its natural habitat - woodlands, streambanks, and floodplains of the Piedmont and Mountain regions. Soil: sandy-rocky soil tolerates clay pH < 6.8 Maryland Distribution: Mountain and Piedmont regions status is now rare/threatenedįlowers: showy blue flowers on 10”-12” long spikes in May-June insect-pollinated, primarily by bumblebeesįall color: none leaves turn black at the first fall freeze ![]()
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