Indigo Spires forms a densely branched, fully rounded clump of glaucous green leaves that reach far down the stems, avoiding the bare, leggy look of some baptisias. In early summer, long spikes of deep violet purple flowers with yellow accents appear all around the plant, not just on top.
Secondary spikes keep it blooming into midsummer. At three and a half to four feet tall and wide, it can easily replace a shrub and will live for many years with little care. Deer leave it alone.
What it looks like
Long spikes 12 to 15 inches of pea-shaped flowers in deep violet purple with small yellow keel accents, borne on all sides of the plant. Leaves are three-parted with oval leaflets in glaucous blue-green, densely covering the stems nearly to the ground. The plant is a dense, fully rounded, shrub-like clump 42 to 48 inches tall and about 42 inches wide. At peak bloom violet spikes radiate from the entire dome of foliage.
Growing it with lavender
Indigo Spires grows in the same sunny, lean, well-drained soil as lavender, and its deep violet spikes overlap with lavender's first bloom for a layered purple planting.
Care
Plant in full sun to part shade in lean to average, well-drained soil; the deep taproot makes it drought tolerant once established. Hardy in USDA zones 4-9. Choose a permanent spot, since established plants do not like to be moved; expect a couple of seasons to settle in, and cut back in late fall or leave the seed pods for winter interest.
At a glance
-
Botanical name: Baptisia
-
Flower color: Deep violet purple with yellow accents
-
Foliage: Glaucous blue-green
-
Growth habit: Dense, fully rounded, shrub-like clump
-
Mature size: 42 in–4 ft tall × 42 in wide
-
USDA hardiness zones: 4–9
-
Light: full sun, part sun to part shade
-
Bloom start: Early-June
-
Peak bloom: Mid-June
-
Bloom pattern: Long Blooming
-
Deer resistance: Resistant
-
Pollinator value: Great
Sizes and shipping
Dormant bare-root plant, sold in boxes of 25 per variety (order in multiples of 25). Bare-root plants ship or are picked up March 1–May 31 only. They are soil-free, so they may ship to every state in that window. Dormant plants often show little or no top growth on arrival; plant or heel them in promptly.