Baptisia Blue Mound
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!
Who Am I?
-
Common Name:Bue Mound false indigo
-
Botanical Name:Baptisia australis 'Blue Mound' PP25902
-
Type:Perennial
-
U.S. Native:YES
Cultural Details
TYPE
U.S. NATIVE
-
Full sun
-
Moist, but well-drained, fairly adaptable to many soils
-
Drought tolerant once established
-
4-9
-
Late spring/early summer
-
Deep blue
-
Fall
-
Gray
-
3' tall by 4' wide
-
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.
What Makes Me Special?
Landscape Use
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.
