Baptisia Decadence Series Pink Truffles - False Indigo

Baptisia 'Pink Truffles', eager for sun, is an excellent perennial for poor and dry soil, also known as Indigo Lupin. It is a recently developed hybrid variety belonging to the 'Decadence' series in the USA, producing compact and ramified plants in dense clumps, with a generous flowering in various colours, from bright to pastel, to adapt to every garden style. The spikes of 'Pink Truffles' are soft pink when they bloom, turning into a beautiful lavender shade when mature. They appear in late spring, for 3 weeks, and are grouped at the top of a greenish-blue foliage of alfalfa, whose texture is interesting even outside of flowering. This false lupin can be grown without worries in full sun, in well-drained, light, even poor and dry soil in summer.

Baptisia 'Pink Truffles', introduced in 2015, is a perennial plant of the legume family resulting from extensive research and hybridization. Its ancestors, including the well-known Baptisia australis, are all native to the prairies and woods of the eastern and central United States. They grow among tall grasses, without any fuss, perfectly tolerating frost and dry summers.

The 'Pink Truffles' variety forms a bushy and ramified clump reaching 80-90cm (32-35in) in all directions. Flowering takes place in June, in the form of papilionaceous flower spikes in shades of pale pink and lavender, highly visited by butterflies. The foliage, which disappears in winter, is also very ornamental when swaying in the wind. It consists of leaves divided into three large rounded leaflets, a slightly bluish-green, resembling those of alfalfa or clover. This Baptisia, like many plants of the legume family, develops secretly underground a powerful and deep root system capable of fixing nitrogen from the air through specific bacteria housed in small nodules. This very perennial plant slowly expands over time.

Baptisias are close cousins of lupins, which are much better known in Europe, but they are much less demanding in terms of soil and moisture. They have very robust roots that allow them to live for a long time in our gardens but require time to establish. A true all-terrain plant, the 'Pink Truffles' 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 newly built house. It looks stunning when accompanied by roses ('Alissar, Princess of Phoenicea', 'The Fairy'...), Camassia leichtlinii 'Alba Semiplena', Eremurus himalaicus or Allium bulgaricum. It also pairs well with purple linaria or hybrid mulleins and spectacular trillium roses.