Baptisia Decadence Series Dutch Chocolate - False Indigo

Baptisia 'Dutch Chocolate', also known as Indigo Lupin, is a new flowering hybrid from the "Decadence" series, recently selected in the USA for its compact habit and unusual coloured pea-like flowers. This beautiful perennial plant loves the sun and remains stunning even in poor soils. It is also distinguished by its spectacular flowering, with flowers that combine brown and purple in a dark and nuanced harmony. The flower spikes appear in June for 3 weeks and are grouped at the top of a cut leaf foliage that has an interesting texture, even outside of the flowering period. This perennial is ideal in borders, in a romantic or natural garden. It is also a hardy, undemanding plant that is drought-resistant once well established. It should be grown in full sun, in well-drained neutral or acidic soil, even poor soil.

Baptisia 'Dutch Chocolate' is a perennial plant from the legume family resulting from extensive research and hybridization. Its ancestors, including the well-known Baptisia australis, all originate from the meadows and woods of the eastern and central United States (Texas, Oklahoma). They grow among tall grasses without any special care, tolerating frost and dry summers perfectly.

The 'Dutch Chocolate' variety forms a bushy and ramified clump reaching 80cm (32in) to 1.10m (4ft) in all directions. The flowering takes place in June, in the form of spikes of papilionaceous flowers with very unusual colours for hybrids. The overall impression when looking at this flowering is a dark and vibrant profusion resulting from a mixture of velvety brown, purple-violet, and yellow. The foliage, which disappears in winter, is also very ornamental as it sways in the wind. It is composed of green-blue leaves, divided into three rounded leaflets, resembling those of alfalfa or clover. This very perennial plant is capable of living for many years in the garden without any special care once well-established.

Baptisia are close cousins of lupins, which are much more well-known in Europe, but they are much less demanding in terms of humidity, although they share a preference for acidic soils. They have very robust roots that allow them to live for a long time in our gardens but require time to establish themselves. A true all-terrain plant, the 'Dutch Chocolate' indigo lupin will find its place in a romantic garden, a dry garden, or in natural areas. It is also useful for decorating a degraded land, which often surrounds a recently built house. It looks stunning when paired with the 'Cherries Jubilee' variety, roses, Camassia leichtlinii 'Alba Semiplena', Eremurus himalaicus, or Allium bulgaricum. It also pairs well with purple linarias or hybrid mulleins, which are equally spectacular.

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