Baptisia alba (lactea)

[ height 3-5 ft., flower white in late spring, sun, clump former]

FALSE INDIGO Long-lived and deeply rooted perennial with flowers that resemble lupines. Once established, the plants should be left undisturbed. Serves as an excellent foliage plant alone with the additional bonus of good flowers. Leaves are gray green, smooth and cloverlike. May be trimmed after flowering to promote fresh foliage and shape. Thrives in average to infertile soils. B. alba – Gray smoky stems radiate through out this most prized and garden worthy Baptisia.  While white pea like flowers form in late spring, maturity is the key, often not flowering if seed grown until the third year. Plants, in general, that are slow to mature are often long-lived and B. alba is no exception. Being a tough prairie native, plants are adapted to low water conditions by the way of a taproot and thus resent being moved.  Its over all form is of a tight vase shaped clump, with the flowers held above the foliage on long racemes.  Perfect for prairie and meadow plantings.