Baptisia Decadence Series Vanilla Cream - False Indigo

Baptisia 'Vanilla Cream' is an excellent perennial for poor and dry soil, also known as the Indigo Lupin. It is a hybrid variety belonging to the 'Decadence' series, developed very recently in the USA. It stands out for its particularly compact habit, in a dense clump, its young bronze foliage, and its generous flowering in pastel and bright colours: a very pale yellow, made of a mix of pale yellow buds and white-cream pea-like flowers. The floral spikes appear in late spring, for 3 weeks, and are grouped at the top of blue-green alfalfa-like foliage with an interesting texture, even outside of the flowering period. This false lupin will be cultivated without worries in full sun, in well-drained, light, even poor and dry in summer soil.

Baptisia 'Vanilla Cream' is a perennial plant from the Fabaceae family resulting from long research and hybridization work. Its ancestors, including the most 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 'Vanilla Cream' variety forms a bushy and branched clump that does not exceed 80cm (32in) in all directions. The flowering takes place in June, in the form of spikes of butterfly-like flowers in cream and vanilla ice cream tones, very visited by butterflies. The young foliage of this variety has a rather original bronze colour. Deciduous in winter, it is very ornamental when swaying in the wind. It is composed of leaves divided into three large rounded leaflets, slightly bluish green, resembling those of alfalfa or clover. This Baptisia, like many plants of the Fabaceae family, secretly develops a powerful and deep root system underground, capable of fixing nitrogen from the air through specific bacteria housed in small nodules. This plant, as perennial as many shrubs, slowly widens over time.

Baptisias are close cousins of lupins, which are much better known in Europe, but perhaps have a more natural, graceful appearance, and above all, are much less demanding in terms of soil and moisture than their cousins. They have very robust roots that allow them to live long in our gardens but require time to establish themselves. A true all-terrain plant, the 'Vanilla Cream' indigo lupin, with its modest stature, will find its place in a city garden, a romantic bed, 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 alongside roses ('Alissar, Princess of Phoenicea', 'The Fairy'...), Camassia leichtlinii 'Alba Semiplena', Eremurus himalaicus, or Allium bulgaricum. It also pairs well with purple toadflaxes or hybrid mulleins and spectacularly with hollyhocks.