Lemon Smoothie is a tall, elegant false indigo with long spikes of cheerful yellow flowers. It blooms later than many yellow baptisias, extending the season, and strong secondary branching keeps new spikes coming for an extended period.
Reaching three and a half to four feet tall and wide, it makes a bold presence at the back of a border, in meadow plantings or as a specimen. It is easy care, very long lived once established and deer resistant.
What it looks like
Long, upright spikes 12 to 15 inches of pea-shaped flowers in clear butter yellow, with many secondary side spikes branching from the main stems. Leaves are three-parted with oval blue-green leaflets. The plant is a tall, full, rounded, shrub-like mound 42 to 48 inches tall and wide. At peak bloom it is covered in yellow spires over blue-green foliage.
Growing it with lavender
Lemon Smoothie shares lavender's love of sun and lean, well-drained soil, and its later yellow spikes overlap lavender's first bloom for a bright yellow-and-purple combination.
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
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Botanical name: Baptisia
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Flower color: Butter yellow
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Foliage: Blue-green
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Growth habit: Tall, full, shrub-like mound
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Mature size: 42 in–4 ft tall × 42 in–4 ft wide
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USDA hardiness zones: 4–9
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Light: full sun, part sun to part shade
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Bloom start: Early-June
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Peak bloom: Mid-June
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Bloom pattern: Long Blooming
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Deer resistance: Resistant
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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.