Baptisia australis is a beautiful native shrub in the SE United States. False Indigo has purple-blue colored flowers on 12" long racemes above attractive blue-gray-green foliage. The racemes work well in fresh arrangements. Ornamental charcoal pods appear after the racemes drop can be used in dry arrangements. This plant was once used for making dye and is natural to mesic/gravel prairies, rocky river banks, and woodlands. This native plant will also attract birds to your garden. This plant is also a larval host plant for a variety of butterflies including: Orange sulphur, Clouded Sulphur, Frosted Elfin, Eastern Tailed Blue, Hoary Edge, and Wild Indigo Duskywing, and is beneficial to the threatened Persius dusky wing butterfly. Care Easily grown in average, dry to medium, well-drained soil in full sun to part shade. Best in full sun. Tolerates drought and poor soils. This plant is effective in the landscape when used for borders, cottage gardens, prairies, meadows and native plant gardens. Can also be effective in naturalized settings. It looks best as a specimen or in small groups in gardens. Best grown in zones 3-9. Growth Habit Blue false indigo is a long-lived, hardy herbaceous perennial that forms a bushy, shrub-like mound about 3–4 feet tall and wide. It's a slow grower but it features blue-green foliage, deep taproots, and bright indigo-blue flower spikes in late spring, followed by decorative black seed pods. Toxicity Generally considered safe for pets, but it can be considered midly toxic. The plant contains a milky sap that can cause skin irritation upon contact and mild gastrointestinal issues (vomiting, diarrhea, appetite loss) if eaten in large quantities. Highly regarded as deer resistant.
