About false blue indigo
Baptisia australis
Herbaceous perennial
Maryland Distribution: Mountain and Piedmont regions; status is now rare/threatened
Height: 3’-5’
Flowers: showy blue flowers on 10”-12” long spikes in May-June; insect-pollinated, primarily by bumblebees
Fall color: none; leaves turn black at the first fall freeze
Sun: full sun to partial shade
Soil: sandy-rocky soil; tolerates clay; pH < 6.8
Garden Uses: False blue indigo (Baptisia australis) is native to Maryland but now rare in its natural habitat - woodlands, streambanks, and floodplains of the Piedmont and Mountain regions. In the garden, this herbaceous perennial plant grows into an attractive shrub-like form. The medium blue flowers bloom for about 2-3 weeks in May-June and are followed by pea-like green pods that turn black in the fall. This plant was used by Native Americans for medicinal purposes and to make a blue dye. One of its common names, rattlebush, refers to the rattle sound made by the ornamental dried seed pods. The above-ground growth of false indigo dies with the first hard freeze and can be pruned down to the ground in late fall or early spring.
![native false blue indigo looks like a shrub](/iaa.umd.edu/sites/extension.umd.edu/files/styles/optimized/public/2022-05/HGIC-native-Baptisia-australis-habit-MT-600.jpg?itok=sVnKriwQ)
Cultivated varieties of false blue indigo offer different flower colors and more compact forms that grow to only 2.5’-3’ tall. Examples include: ‘Lemon Meringue’ (yellow), ‘Vanilla Cream’ (ivory), and ‘Cherries Jubilee’ (maroon), to name a few.
![black seedheads of native baptisia australis plant are ornamental](/iaa.umd.edu/sites/extension.umd.edu/files/styles/optimized/public/2022-05/HGIC-native-Baptisia-seedheads-600.jpg?itok=ZnsHb3PT)
Use for: mass plantings, accents, hedges, cut flowers, rain gardens, and pollinator gardens.
Wildlife: False blue indigo supports several species of moths, butterflies, and other insects. It is deer-resistant.