Vanilla Cream II is an improved creamy white false indigo that keeps a compact, well-rounded shape while blooming earlier with longer flower spikes. Dark charcoal stems hold dramatic 16 to 18 inch spikes of creamy white flowers.
Branching stems add a second and third flush of blooms, and seed pods form right after flowering and darken into fall. At about three and a half feet tall, it is easy care, drought tolerant, deer resistant and a great choice for low-maintenance native plantings.
What it looks like
Long, branched spikes 16 to 18 inches of pea-shaped flowers in creamy white to soft vanilla, held on dark charcoal stems above the leaves, with secondary spikes branching off. Leaves are three-parted with oval blue-green leaflets. The plant is a compact, well-rounded mound about 42 inches tall and 36 inches wide. At peak bloom creamy spikes on dark stems rise all over the rounded mound.
Growing it with lavender
Vanilla Cream II grows in the same lean, well-drained soil and sun as lavender, and its creamy white spikes and blue-green leaves make a clean, bright partner for purple lavender.
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: Creamy white
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Foliage: Blue-green
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Growth habit: Compact, well-rounded mound
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Mature size: 42 in tall × 36 in 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: 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.