Thursday, August 11, 2011

Low Maintenance Plants
Plant Name: Baptisia australis
Overall Low Maintenance Rating:                            5 Stars

Overview
My preference is for plants a little out of the ordinary, ones that not everybody may have seen, and one of my favorites is baptisia (Baptisia australis), also known as false indigo. Baptisia forms a huge mound of blue-green foliage topped with blue spires of pea-like flowers in the spring, looking a bit like a gigantic lupine. It can get 3 to 4 feet tall and 4 to 5 feet wide and is quite hardy in our area. Full sun is must as it can get sort of floppy in the shade.
While the common variety is blue, other selections have different flower colors. ‘Carolina Moonlight’ is a lovely pale yellow while another species, Baptisia alba, has white flowers. There is even one named ‘Screaming Yellow’ and the name is entirely apt! I added one this year called ‘Solar Flare Prairieblues’ which has bright yellow flowers that fade to orange. The Prairieblues line also includes some different shades of blue including a rich midnight blue named, appropriately, ‘Midnight Prairieblues’. I have not yet seen this one in person, but I’m told it looks like a large, bushy delphinium.
Baptisia 'Carolina Moonlight' with Iris 'Sultan's Palace'
There is also a dwarf form (Baptisia australis var. minor) which is a bit harder to find, but well worth it if you have limited space, as it only gets around 2 to 3 feet tall and wide. I’ve only seen it available in 2 places, both online – Well Sweep Herb Farm in New Jersey and High Country Gardens in New Mexico. Both companies are ones I’ve ordered from in the past and been very happy with.
Baptisia australis var. minor
If I had to give baptisia any negative points it would have to be for permanence. The root system on baptisia is impressive. You’ve probably heard that they have a tap root (a single root reaching down anywhere from 2 feet to hell)? Well, these plants don’t have just one tap root, they have many that go to hell and part way back. And if you damage them, the plant will die. It makes them nearly impossible to transplant. Once it’s full grown, you’re pretty much stuck with it where you planted it so site it carefully.
Disease                                                                             5 Stars
I have never experienced or heard of a disease affecting baptisia.
Pests – Insects                                                                  5 Stars
Ditto
Pests – Animal                                                                  5 Stars
The only animal pests that have affected my baptisia have been voles and they don’t do any permanent damage. In the winter, the little varmints gnaw off the stems, sending the dried plant tumbling across the garden like a huge tumbleweed. I would have cut them off in the spring anyway and the plant always re-sprouts, so no harm is done.
Kind of weird seeing it roll across the snow in January, though.
Invasiveness                                                                     5 Stars
Baptisia is not invasive, but it can get large. Treat it as you would a medium sized shrub.
General Maintenance – Water                                       5 Stars
Baptisia has an extremely long and deep root system, allowing it to search near and far for water if none is forthcoming from the skies or the gardener.
The usual caveat applies to newly planted baptisias. All baby plants require extra care till they are established.
General Maintenance – Fertilizing                                  5 Stars
Another plant I would be afraid of fertilizing; baptisia does just fine on its own!
General Maintenance – Pruning/Cleaning                     5 Stars
Baptisias are actually better if you don’t mess with them. The flowers are self-cleaning, meaning the dead ones fall off without any help, and the seed pods it forms are quite attractive and last the rest of the season.

10 comments:

The Sage Butterfly said...

I really like this breakdown for plants...very nice! I have had baptisia on the list of plants I want to add to my cottage garden, and this really helps me see the whole picture. Welcome to Blotanical!

Sunray Gardens said...

I love the Baptisia. Very pretty choices you have there. I found you on Blotanical and am your new follower. Come on by when you have a chance and would love a follow back.
Cher Sunray Gardens

TSG said...

Thank you both for visiting! I can tell I'm really going to enjoy Blotanical!

Cher, I'm so glad you posted again - I meant to visit you last time and forgot completely! I'll check you out tomorrow. It's supposed to rain here all day - bleh!

SB, thanks for the mentoring - I'm sure I'll need it, LOL! Baptisia is a lovely garden plant if you have the room for it. Or just get the dwarf version.

Becky said...

I really wanted to pick your post, but sadly I couldn't get things to work. Welcome to Blotanical from another upstate New York Blogger. So if a Baptisia gets too big can you dig it up without a back hoe or are we talking about a stump grinder?

TSG said...

Oh, no - you can dig it out OK, but it will die. The roots are fairly fragile and break easily so getting rid of it is a breeze but it's almost impossible to transplant.

Voice of experience here. That Carolina Moonlight in the post was poorly placed (mea culpa) and started pulling the hardware for our pond apart. It was no problem to dig out - it was a bit harder putting our pond pipes back together, LOL!

Jordyn said...

I love the bio you give! As a student in college studying landscape, nursery, and greenhouse management, your blog could become useful!

Casa Mariposa said...

I just added baptisia 'Prairie Blues' to my garden this spring. It withstood a hellish heat wave with absolute grace while I was inside trying not to have a heat stroke. :o) Excellent breakdown of plant features!

TSG said...

Thanks, Jordan and Casa!

Jordan, I really envy you the chance to study garden anything in college. I thought about going to Cornell to study horticulture but it didn't happen for various reasons. Best of luck in your studies!

Casa, which of the PrairieBlues did you choose? Solar Flare is the only one I have, but I'm thinking about getting Midnight next year. I have another called Purple Smoke but it doesn't flower as much as I would like.

TSG said...

Jordyn, sorry I misspelled your name!

Unknown said...

Would it chock out other plants like boxwood and clematis if planted to close?