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Baptisia australis
Wild Blue Indigo, Blue False Indigo

Photo by Jean Pol Grandmont

Wild Blue Indigo is a tall (three to four feet), sturdy, sun-loving, shrub-sized perennial with upright racemes of pea-like flowers ranging from bright blue to deep indigo held above the foliage. Being a legume, it can fix nitrogen and therefore tolerates poor soils gracefully. It blooms in May and June. The blue of the flowers complements the bright green foliage which remains attractive all summer, even after blooming. The flowers are wonderful as cut flowers, and the ensuing dark black seed pods are valued for dried arrangments as well. It often has low seed viability, but it does reproduce by rhizomes. Being deeply rooted, Wild Blue Indigo is difficult to move once established, but also fairly drought tolerant. This is a long lived plant, flowering for many years. It is known to be host to some beautiful butterflies, among them the Eastern Tailed Blue, Orange Sulphur and Clouded Sulphur butterflies.

Last Updated: May 21, 2019

Key Info

Scientific Name: Baptisia australis (L.) R. Br.
Common Names: Wild Blue Indigo, Blue False Indigo
Family Name: FabaceaeFabaceae (Pea Family)
Plant Type: Herbaceous perennial
Uses: Perennial Border, Shrub Border, as seasonal herbaceous shrubs.
Light Requirement: Full sun
Moisture Requirement: Dry, Medium, Moist well drained
Bloom Times: Apr, May, Jun, Jul
Flower Color: Blue
Special Characteristics: Attracts bees, Attracts butterflies, Drought tolerant, Fixes atmospheric nitrogen, Rhizomatous, Long lived, Candidate for management by fire, Reportred to be deer resistant

Additional Info

Habit: Upright, multi-stemmed shrubby perennial with very deep roots
Height: 2'-4'
Spread: 3'-4', up to 6' at maturity
Growth Rate: After the first or second year, Baptisia will reach its full height each year and grow in girth.
Soil Conditions: Medium to dry soils, neutral to slightly acid pH, sandy, clay, loam
Leaves: Leaves are trifoliate, arranged alternately on the mostly unbranched stems. They blacken rapidly in fall.
Flowers (or reproductive structures): Upright racemes of blue/purple clusters of flowers typical of pea flowers, with an upper banner petal and two wing petals spread out to the sides and partly enclosing a "keel" petal. The blooms occur on long racemes, maturing from the bottom up.
Fruit: Inflated bean-like pods develop from the flowers. Pods emerge greenish, turning black in fall, conaining brownish, hard, rounded seeds ripening 6 weeks after flowering.
Natural Distribution: Wood edges, meadows
USDA Hardiness Zone: 3 to 9
USDA Wetland Indicator Status in NC: FACU
Pollination: Queen bumblebees are the primary pollinators of the flowers, where they feed on nectar primarily
Wildlife Connections: The flowers attract large numbers of native bees and bumble bees. Also Baptisias are host plants for the larvae of several butterfly species (including Orange Sulphur, Clouded Sulphur, Frosted Elfin, Eastern Tailed Blue, Hoary Edge, Wild Indigo Duskywing, and the Jaguar Flower Moth) as well as a range of others: skippers, moths, weevils, beetles, bugs and thrips (Illinoiswildflowers.info).
Downside: no serious pests or diseases
Propagation: By seed (collect when pods begin to split) or by divsion in fall or spring when the plant is dormant.
USDA/NRCS Plant Distribution Map: View Map at USDA.gov
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Cure Nursery is a small nursery propagating and selling native plants for the Southeastern U.S. We are located near the town of Pittsboro, Chatham County, in central NC.

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