Baptisia australis – Wild Blue Indigo

Sweet Pea-shaped, violet-blue flowers appear on open spikes up to one foot long. Elongated charcoal-gray seedpods can be left for winter interest. Ornamental blue-green foliage remains blemish-free throughout the year. A true attention getter in any garden, but slow to develop – give plants 2 or 3 years to become sizable, and a couple more to reach full potential, at which point they will be almost shrub-like in character. Host plant for Wild Indigo Duskywing, a mottled brown butterfly with both a spring and summer flight in our area.