Baptisia australis Caspian Blue - False Indigo

Baptisia 'Caspian Blue' is a rare variety of Indigo Lupin available for sale, which combines the vigour of its North American ancestor, the Indigo Lupin, with a abundant flowering, of a fantastic blue, almost a Gentian blue. This particularly bushy and lively plant is adorned with beautiful floral spikes adorned with very blue pea flowers, but also with a clover foliage whose texture is interesting even outside the flowering period. Baptisia australis takes its time to settle, but it is undemanding, very perennial, and proves to be very water-efficient once well established.

The 'Caspian Blue' Baptisia is a perennial plant of the Fabaceae family derived from the Baptisia australis, native to the centre of the United States. All Baptisias grow spontaneously in meadows and woods, mostly on poor, non-limestone soil, among tall grasses, without any care, perfectly tolerating frost and dry summers. They can live up to 100 years.

The 'Caspian Blue' variety has a rather spreading habit in its young age, then forms over time a well-bushy clump reaching an average height of 1m (3ft), with a similar spread. Its growth is quite slow. The flowering takes place in June-July, in the form of spikes of papilionaceous flowers reaching about 35cm (14in). Each one blooms from a dark blue bud, then it blossoms in ultramarine blue, with a keel (the lower petal) barely spotted with white. The fruit of this Baptisia, quite decorative, is a green pod that turns black when ripe. The deciduous foliage, which disappears in winter, is also very ornamental when swaying in the wind. It is composed of leaves divided into three rounded leaflets, resembling those of alfalfa or clover. This plant develops from a particular root system, which dives very deeply into the soil to extract and transform nutrients thanks to the presence of symbiotic bacteria lodged in small nodules. Like all Fabaceae, this Baptisia contributes to enriching the soil that welcomes it.

Baptisias are close cousins of lupins, which are much better known in Europe. But they are much less demanding in terms of humidity, even though they share a preference for acidic soils. Anchored on very robust stumps, they can live long in our gardens but take time to settle. The 'Caspian Blue' false indigo can perfectly replace a small bush in a sunny border. It will find its place in a romantic garden, a dry garden, or in natural areas, for example with Linaria 'Peachy', sainfoin, and Indigofera gerardiana. It is also very useful for decorating a degraded plot, which often surrounds a recently built house. It is also superb in the company of pastel blooms in late spring, such as roses or peonies, or conversely with the bright pink flowers of Salvia grahamii. Very vertical perennials, like irises or tall alliums, are very complementary to Baptisias, both in terms of colour and texture. Finally, its very blue flowers highlight the chartreuse blooms of lady's mantle.

The vernacular name 'false indigo' comes from the use that some Native American peoples made of these dye plants. Indeed, they provide dye pigments comparable to those of true indigos (from the Antillean genus Indigofera), but of lesser quality.