Description
False indigos (Baptisia) produce large, spiky flower clusters in late spring to early summer. The bushy plants eventually reach 3 to 4 feet tall in bloom. U.S. native. Full sun for best flowering. Perennial; Zones 3 to 9.
A few years ago, I collected seeds from light purple ‘Purple Smoke’ growing close to pale yellow ‘Carolina Moonlight’, blue Baptisia australis, and bright yellow B. sphaerocarpa. They flowered for the first time in the spring of 2019. The photo above shows the range of flower colors I ended up with on these natural hybrids: a variety of blues as well as yellows, peach, copper, and white, as well as bicolors. The plants had a range of habits (from low and bushy to more narrowly upright), and a few had dark stems. I collected the seeds for sale here from what I considered the most interesting and colorful of those open-pollinated plants. I can’t guarantee what colors you will end up with, though. If you want a specific flower color, you’re better off buying a flowering plant of a named cultivar. But if you have space to fill and enjoy surprises, I think you’ll enjoy growing out these seeds as much as I have.
Harvested in August 2020. At least 15 seeds.
Deanna Clarkson (verified owner) –
I had excellent germination from my Baptisia seeds from Hayfield. More of the seedlings seemed to germinate and survive than those I had received from other vendors, so I was very pleased with their success rate. As Nan says, they do take some years to mature, but I happily imagine that taproot sinking in deep to help them survive conditions like this summer’s drought, holding off on flowers until they are nice and settled. I purchased more of Nan’s Baptisia this fall in the hopes that as they all mature I can select some with interesting color variations. Regardless, they will be an excellent addition to the meadow-in-progress.
Thank you so much for the update, Deanna. You’ll probably start noticing variation in the foliage of the seedlings next spring, and maybe a few flowers then too. Then they’ll just keep getting better year after year!
-Nan