'Purple Smoke' Baptisia, False Indigo

Baptisia 'Purple Smoke'

Purple Smoke Baptisia is an upright perennial native with clover-like grey-green foliage on charcoal stems.  The slightly arching raceme sporting smokey lavender flowers extend well above the foliage in mid-spring.  The blooms give way to large seedpods that blacken when ripe, providing ornamental interest.  'Purple Smoke' is a tough, drought-tolerant plant that grows best with acidic well-drained soils.  Its abundant flowers are excellent pollination and butterfly attractors.  

MAINTENANCE NEEDS:   Low maintenance plant. Prefers acidic soils but can grow in neutral or alkaline soils.  Can take poor or rocky soils and is drought tolerant but soils must drain well. Gains a more shrub-like appearance after established if not pruned. Plants may grow taller in shade, which may require staking.  If need to trim back do so after bloom.  

LANDSCAPE USES:  Accents or Group Plantings, Borders, Woodland Gardens, Wildlife Gardens, Naturalized Areas, Native Gardens, Foundation Plantings, and Containers.

COMPANION PLANTS: Coneflower,  Bee Balm, Meadow Sage

IMAGES: normanack, Baptisia Purple Smoke (1), CC BY 2.0, (2) normanack, Baptisia Purple Smoke, CC BY 2.0

*As plants have ranges in appearance they may not appear as the images shown.