Blue False Indigo
Baptisia australis
Also known as: Wild Blue Indigo
Tall spires of blue-violet pea flowers rise above clean, clover-like blue-green foliage in late spring, followed by dark inflated seedpods that rattle in autumn winds. A long-lived, nitrogen-fixing perennial that forms a bushy, shrub-like mound over time. Its deep taproot makes it virtually unshakeable once established.
- Family
- Fabaceae
- Type
- wildflower
- Lifespan
- perennial
- Height
- 3–4 ft
- Spacing
- 3–4 ft apart
- Light
- sun
- Soil moisture
- moist
- Soil pH
- acidic
- Bloom
- April, May, June, July
- Bloom colors
- blue, purple
- Wildlife value
- pollinators, butterflies, hummingbirds, larval host
- Caterpillar hosts
- ~15 butterfly & moth species
- Landscape uses
- border, rain garden
- Native states
- AL, DC, GA, IA, IN, KY, MD, OH, PA, TN, TX, VA, WV
Related native plants
More Baptisia species
- White Wild Indigo (Baptisia alba)
- Cream Wild Indigo (Baptisia bracteata)
- Yellow Wild Indigo (Baptisia tinctoria)
- Yellow Wild Indigo (Baptisia sphaerocarpa)
- Gopherweed (Baptisia lanceolata)