Cream False Indigo
Treasured for its gorgeous clusters of lush cream flowers, Cream False Indigo is a compact low-growing, mounded legume, with branches that cascade under the weight of its foot-long flower spikes. The velvety leaves and attractive seed pods provide …
Soil Type | Loam, Sand |
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Soil Moisture | Dry, Medium |
Sun Exposure | Full Sun, Partial |
Height | 1' - 2' |
Bloom Color | Cream |
Bloom Time | May, June |
Spacing | 2' |
Zones | 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 |
Root Type | Taproot |
Benefits | Butterflies, Pollinators, Host Plant, Deer Resistant |
Seeds per Oz | 1700 |
Propagation | Moist Stratification, Rhizobium, Scarification |
Days to Moist Stratify | 30 days |
Direct Sowing | Fall |
Treasured for its gorgeous clusters of lush cream flowers, Cream False Indigo (Baptisia bracteata) is a compact low-growing, mounded legume, with branches that cascade under the weight of its foot-long flower spikes. The velvety leaves and attractive seed pods provide season long interest, as they turn black in the fall, lending a dramatic contrast to grasses in the autumn garden.
Cream False Indigo is extremely long-lived, and individual plants can live for decades. An early bloomer, the flowers are essential for queen bumblebees emerging from their winter hibernation. Easily grown in average, dry to medium, well-drained soil in full sun or light shade, it tolerates hot and humid summers, poor soils and drought. The flowers will be showier on dry sites. This species can be damaged by strong winds. Other common names include Cream Wild Indigo and Longbract Wild Indigo.
Cream False Indigo is a host plant for the Black-Spotted Prominent, Wild Indigo Duskywing, Hoary Edge, and Frosted Elfin butterflies.