Plum Rosy is an elegant bicolor false indigo. Its newest flowers open mauve pink and fade to near white with age, so both shades appear on each spike in late spring and early summer.
It grows into a full, shrub-sized plant three and a half to four feet tall and wide, a good statement piece in place of a shrub. It takes a couple of seasons to establish, then lives for many years. It is very drought tolerant and should not be disturbed once settled. Deer leave it alone.
What it looks like
Upright spikes 10 to 12 inches of pea-shaped flowers opening mauve pink and fading to near white, with both colors present on the same spike for a soft two-tone look. Spikes rise on sturdy stems above the leaves. Leaves are three-parted with oval blue-green leaflets. The plant is a full, rounded, shrub-like mound 42 to 48 inches tall and wide. At peak bloom mauve and white spikes cover the mound.
Growing it with lavender
Plum Rosy thrives in the same dry, lean, well-drained soil and sun as lavender, and its mauve and white spikes blend softly with lavender's purple as one bloom season hands off to the other.
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: Mauve pink fading to near white
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Foliage: Blue-green
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Growth habit: Full, rounded, 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: Late-May
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Peak bloom: Early-June
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Bloom pattern: Single Flush
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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.