Pollinating insects such as bees & butterflies will love these plants as well. Gardeners usually plant Baptisia in flower gardens, wildlife sanctuaries, in garden planters or in rock gardens. The plants will only get 2 to 4 feet tall and wide. False Indigo is winter hardy in growing zones 4 to 9. Once established, these plants shouldn’t need any care or maintenance. The Best Way To Use False Indigoīecause this plant is native to North America, it is very hardy against drought and harsh winters. These plants are also known as blue wild indigo or blue false indigo. This desirable plant typically has dark green foliage that highlights the flowers that can be blue, white, purple or yellow. This flowering perennial is native to North America and commonly found in the midwest growing wild at the edge of the woods, next to streams and in meadows. Plants will be ready for sale six to eight weeks following potting.Īllen Bush is director of special projects for Jelitto Perennial Seeds.False Indigo the common name for Baptisia australis. Baptisia australis is ideally suited for quart-size (4.5-in.) containers its first year. Within four to six weeks of germination, seedlings can be shifted into containers and grown on. Germination should occur within two to four weeks. A downside to this method is subsequent machine sowing of soggy seeds and reduced germination percentage. Better results sometimes occur with a repeated soak. Bring water to a boil, and then allow it to cool for five minutes. Seed flats shouldn’t be discarded because subsequent germination will occur after repeating the process.Īn alternative hot water soak bypasses moist/cold stratification. Greenhouse temperatures are then warmed to 68 to 75F (20 to 24C) and germination takes place irregularly over a three to four-week period. Before the introduction of Gold Nugget Seed, growers sowed seed and provided warm conditions for the first week, and then fluctuated cool temperatures in a range from 32 to 40F (0 to 4C) for three to four additional weeks. Penetrating the seed coat is accomplished in nature by cold, moist conditions or shifting gritty soils that abrasively soften the seed coats. The difficulty is the seed coats their hardness inhibits water and gaseous exchange through the tough membrane. Other germination methods require extra steps, and more time (four to six weeks), but will result in similar germination approaching 75%. We recommend using 40 grams of regular seed to produce 1,000 plants (70 seeds per gram) or 20 grams of Gold Nugget seed, one to two seeds per cell, to produce 1,000 plants (60 seeds per gram). Two to three seeds can be sown in each cell. Seeds can be sown into deep open flats or into 72 cells. Gold Nugget seed should always be sown within two to three weeks of receipt. These treated seeds can be ordered several weeks prior to sowing and germination will begin evenly over a period of two to three weeks with warm greenhouse temperatures of 68 to 75F (20 to 24C). The easiest and quickest method is with Jelitto’s Gold Nugget seed. There are three methods to accomplish germination. Heavy flowering can’t be counted on until the third season, but if you begin seed production this winter, some flowers will result by spring 2010, when demand created by the PPA award kicks in. When spring arrives, it’s often too hot for mist to cool the leaf surfaces. Once baptisia winter cuttings are rooted, they are able to build sufficient reserves to make it through the first winter more successfully than if they were taken later. After the first two seasons the blooms are increasingly showy as the plant matures into a shrub-like form around 4’ high. In its first few years this long-lived plant develops mostly below ground. Force cutting stock in winter to take cuttings between January and March. Description Blue False Indigo (Baptisia australis) is a large bushy perennial, with dense clusters of deep blue flowers on long upright spikes. Seed propagation is the most economical propagation method, though tissue culture and tip cuttings are possible. flowering racemes carrying blue-purple lupine-like blossoms that work well as cut flowers. The attractive blue-green leaves are highlighted in May and June with 12 to 18-in. It develops an extensive root system that enables it to endure dry conditions, though it’s happy in any reasonably drained soils. minor is about half the size of the straight species and extends the plant’s range to Nebraska and south to Texas.Ĭommonly known as false blue indigo, Baptisia australis grows 3 to 4 ft. The species grows over most of the eastern United States and Ontario. Baptisia australis, a native North American species, is the Perennial Plant Association’s newly elected 2010 Plant of the Year and was previously awarded the Royal Horticultural Society’s Award of Garden Merit.
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