Baptisia australis - easy and lovely Want to attract butterflies instead of deer to your landscape? Consider Baptisia australis, named 2010 Perennial of the Year by the Perennial Plant Association.
Commonly known as blue false indigo or wild indigo, Baptisia australis contains several alkaloids having a bitter taste, making it unpalatable for browsing deer.
The butterflies, however, love it. And so will you.
Baptisia australis, or blue false indigo, loves the sun.
That’s because this blue beauty is an excellent plant to anchor the back of the border, grow in cottage gardens or in native plant gardens. Batisia grows three to four feet tall and three to four feet wide in an upright habit. Drought tolerant, blue false indigo has a tap root and prefers a permanent location in full sun.
Newly emerging shoots produce violet-blue, lupine-like flowers in flower stems extending well above the foliage mound of clover-like, bluish-green leaves.
The spring flowers are present for three to four weeks and give way to inflated seed pods that turn charcoal black when ripe – perfect for dried flower arrangements. In earlier times, the pods were popularly used by children as rattles.
Blue false indigo can be used with bulbs and other spring flowering perennials to make interesting combinations. Try it with various Heuchera selections to create a skirt with leaf colors either echoing or contrasting the flower color.
Another plus – this plant is low maintenance and has no serious insect or disease problems. That makes it easy for you to sit back and enjoy it in your landscape.
Serving our central Ohio customers since 1988. P.O. Box 528, Galloway, OH 43119
