Routine scouting should be sufficient to determine the presence of any pests or diseases. The primary insect pests are spider mites, and the most common diseases are leaf spots, powdery mildew, rust and root rots. Growth regulator applications are most effective when applied early in production begin applications when the plants reach 6 inches tall.Ĭompared to many perennials, the occurrence of insect pests and diseases are usually minimal with baptisia. Spray applications of paclobutrazol provide less height reduction than a drench application and would require multiple applications using 30-45 ppm. There has been limited research done on controlling the height of blue false indigo, with some success when applying a drench of paclobutrazol (Bonzi, Piccolo or Paczol) at 12-18 ppm using the "watering-in" method. Baptisia can be grown with slightly below-average amounts of irrigation.īecause of baptisia's growing habit, it often gets taller than growers would like in container production. They are moderate feeders requiring a controlled-release fertilizer at a rate equivalent to 1.0-1.2 pounds of nitrogen per yard of growing medium or nitrate levels of 100 ppm under a constant liquid fertilizer program. Maintain the media throughout the production cycle with a pH between 5.8 and 6.5. To promote branching, pinch them prior to transplanting and again several weeks later it is not necessary to pinch baptisia that was planted from bareroot.īaptisia performs best in a growing mix with good water-holding characteristics and, more importantly, adequate aeration many bark-based growing mixes work well. Bareroot starting materials are also available and should be planted so the crown is slightly below the soil surface. When propagating them from cuttings, they require a light misting regime for the first seven to 10 days and will reach a transplantable size in six to seven weeks.īaptisia are best produced in large containers (one gallon or larger) and should be planted even with the soil line of the plug it was previously produced in. From sowing, it will take eight to 10 weeks to produce a transplantable plug when grown at 65¡ F. Germination will occur over a period of two to three weeks with temperatures of 68-75¡ F. Do not cover them after sowing it is beneficial to cover them lightly with growing media after the radical has emerged. Sow one to two seeds per cell when using Jelitto's Gold Nugget or fresh seed, and sow two to three seeds per cell when using regular (untreated) seed. It is best to sow them in plug trays with large cell sizes (no smaller than 72-cell). Jelitto offers baptisia as Gold Nugget seed, which is pretreated to help improve the germination rate and bypasses the need for stratification. Many growers use a hot water soak over night to soften the seed coat and bypass the need for stratification. Older seed can be used but will require stratification or scarification prior to sowing and will usually have a significantly lower germination rate compared to fresh seed. The best results are obtained when using freshly harvested seed. Germinating seed can be challenging because of its hard seed coat, providing variable results over time. It grows best in full sun but will perform well in locations that receive light shade avoid placing them under heavy shade as they tend to require staking and may not flower under these conditions.īaptisia australis can be propagated by seed or with vegetative tip cuttings. Blue false indigo is a native species of North America and is commonly grown throughout USDA Hardiness Zones 3 to 8. Baptisia provides a terrific backdrop for other perennials and groundcovers, makes a wonderful specimen plant on its own or can be used effectively in small groupings, or native or meadow plantings. It forms attractive shrub-like clumps reaching 3-4 feet high and up to 6 feet wide at maturity. Additionally, baptisia attracts butterflies into the garden and is resistant to deer feeding. These seed pods remain well into the winter months and provide winter interest sought by numerous gardeners and landscapers. Following the impressive display of blooms, it develops numerous 2- to 3-inch-long puffy seed pods that emerge green and turn charcoal black as they ripen in the late summer or early fall. Its common name, blue false indigo, was derived from its use as a substitute for true indigo (Indigofera) from the West Indies, which was used to make blue dye.īaptisia provides four seasons of interest beginning in mid- to late spring, when foot-long spires of intense indigo-blue flowers arise above the attractive, trifoliate, soft blue-green foliage. These attributes, combined with its striking garden appeal, has led to its selection as the Perennial Plant Association's 2010 Plant of the Year. Baptisia is one of the most reliable, long-lived and easy-to-grow perennials in the landscape.
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