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colorful fall leaves of rhus aromatica
Rhus aromatica ‘Gro-Lo’ (Fragrant Sumac) Photo © Mary Free
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Baptisia australis (Blue Wild Indigo)

Glabrous, glaucous stem and glabrous calyxes with short-ciliate margins of native Baptisia australis (blue wild indigo)
Baptisia australis (Blue Wild Indigo) flowers in May. Photo by Elaine L. Mills, 2017-05-15, Glencarlyn Library Community Garden.
Brown-belted bumble bee on Baptisia australis (blue wild indigo) in May.
Baptisia australis(blue wild indigo) in the Master Gardener Tribute Garden, FCC in May. Native prickly pear is in the foreground.
Peck's skipper (Polites peckius) on Baptisia australis (blue wild indigo) in May.
Baptisia tinctoria and B. australis (yellow and blue wild indigo) in May
Baptisia australis (Blue Wild Indigo) seed pod details in June. Photo by Elaine L. Mills, 2015-06-16, Pollinator Garden opposite Gulf Branch Nature Center.
Baptisia australis (wild blue indigo) seedpods in July Photo © Mary Free
Legumes dehisce along two sutures from top to bottom as illustrated by Baptisia australis (Blue Wild Indigo)

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Baptisia australis Blue Wild Indigo Tried and True Native Plant Selections for the Mid-Atlantic This prized garden plant with attractive gray-green foliage produces beautiful racemes of showy, pea-like, indigo flowers followed by blue- black seed pods (legumes). Although Blue Wild Indigo is native to NoVA (except for Prince William County), it is rare in the Mid-Atlantic Region.* Perennial Flowers En Masse and Close-up, Fruit Height: 3–5 feet Spread: 3–4 feet Bloom Color: Blue Characteristics Upright, bushy, clumping, rhizomatous perennial Alternate, trifoliate, gray-green leaves with persistent stipules on branched, glabrous, glaucous stems Showy, pedicellate flowers with winged & keeled corollas on erect, terminal racemes May–June Beaked legumes mature to yellow to blue-black Attributes Tolerates clay soil, dry soil, shallow-rocky soil, erosion, drought, and rabbits; intolerant of soggy winter soil; no serious pests or diseases; deer rarely severely damage Seed pods used in dried floral arrangements Attracts bumble bees, butterflies; larval host for ~20 lepidopterans, including Io moth & Clouded Sulfur Growing and Maintenance Tips Soil Requirements: Average, well-drained Excellent Replacement for Coronilla varia - Crown Vetch Light Requirements: Sun, Partial Shade Delphinium exaltatum - Tall Larkspur Water Requirements: Dry, Moist Space young plants about 3 feet apart Trim after bloom to avert need to stake (this also will prevent formation of attractive seed pods) Digitalis purpurea - Foxglove Deep root system does not transplant easily Lupinus spp. - Lupine Lythrum salicaria - Purple Loosestrife Use as specimen or in small groups in back of border, meadow garden or native plant garden *It is native to DC and absent in DE. It is found in Montgomery, Prince Georges, and Washington counties in MD, and mostly in the western part of PA. In VA, it is rare in the Piedmont and mountains. Hardiness: USDA Zones 3a–9b developed by Master Gardeners of Northern Virginia, serving Arlington and Alexandria Images by Mary Free (top, bottom), Sunny Garden and Elaine Mills (middle), Pollinator Garden (near Gulf Branch Nature Center)

Tried and True Native Plant Selections
for the Mid-Atlantic

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Baptisia australis (Blue Wild Indigo)

This prized garden plant with attractive gray-green foliage produces beautiful racemes of showy, pea-like, indigo flowers followed by blue- black seed pods (legumes). Although Blue Wild Indigo is native to NoVA (except for Prince William County), it is rare in the Mid-Atlantic Region.*

*It is native to DC and absent in DE. It is found in Montgomery, Prince Georges, and Washington counties in MD, and mostly in the western part of PA. In VA, it is rare in the Piedmont and mountains. You can view the VA counties in which it has been reported here.

A brown-belted bumble bee (Bombus griseocollis) attempts to navigate the pea-like flowers of Baptisia australis (blue wild indigo) at the Master Gardener Tribute Garden in May.
Video © Mary Free

Learn more about other Mid-Atlantic plants: 
Tried and True Native Plant Fact Sheets