Baptisia Blue Mound

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3 Bedrooms

2 Bathrooms

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So perfectly shaped, you will think it was sheared.

The inch-wide dusty violet-blue flowers of this selection are borne above attractive blue green foliage from mid-May into early June (USDA Zone 5). ‘Blue Mound’ develops into and maintains a perfectly uniform mound all summer, which you will think was sheared! It is equally tolerant of acidic and alkaline soils. Developed by crossing the larger, cold-hardy Baptisia australis var. australis with the compact and heat tolerant B. australis var. minor, this vigorous selection is intermediate in size to both parents, but has the heavier blooming of the larger parent and the more uniform, broad-rounded habit and finer foliage of the smaller parent. ‘Blue Mound’ offers the best of both parents!

Cultural Details

TYPE

Perennial

U.S. NATIVE

YES

Light:

Full sun
Soil:

Moist, but well-drained, fairly adaptable to many soils
Moisture:

Drought tolerant once established
Hardiness Zone

4-9
Bloom Time:

Late spring/early summer
Bloom Color:

Deep blue
Fruit Time

Fall
Fruit Color

Gray
Size:

3' tall by 4' wide
Diseases & Pests:

False indigos exhibit good to excellent disease resistance. A seed weevil will predate the seed, but this does not detract from either plant health or display value. The genista broom moth caterpillar (Uresiphita reversalis) can seriously defoliate plants of Baptisia, but this tends to be more of a problem in warmer climes.

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What Makes Me Special?

A dense mound of cornflower blue flowers held on strong stems make it the perfect front to middle of the border perennial.

Landscape Use

Borders, foundations, mass plantings, matrix plantings, naturalized gardens, commercial plantings

Origin

The Prairieblues™ false indigos were developed by Jim Ault, Ph.D., at the Chicago Botanic Garden from crosses made between 1999 and 2004. The selections were developed from crossing Baptisia albescens (formerly B. alba), B. australis var. australis, B. australis var. minor, B. bracteata (formerly B. leucophaea), B. sphaerocarpa, and B. tinctoria in various c ombinations. All parent plants and selections were grown in-ground at the Chicago Botanic Garden (USDA Zone 5b) during the breeding and selection process.