False blue indigo deserves a spot in the garden

Gardeners often spend time in winter months planning changes to their landscapes. It might be an adjustment required because of changing conditions, like maturing trees casting increased shade or the removal of a tree transforming a shady retreat into a sun-baked garden. Sometimes the changes are instigated by a gardener. Older gardeners may be considering lower maintenance landscapes. Others may be considering reducing space for annuals to enlarge a vegetable garden.

I am planning a renovation of a sunny border. It was originally planted almost 20 years ago and is showing signs of age. Some plants have reseeded themselves a little too aggressively, a few shrubs have gotten considerably larger than their plant tags promised, and some plants have simply fallen out of favor. The planning process starts with an inventory of what will stay.

First on the list is Baptisia australis. Adaptable, low maintenance, drought tolerant, long lived, dependable and rugged are all words used to describe this native plant. Award winner could also be added to the list - it won the Perennial Plant Association's Plant of the Year Award in 2010.

In spring stems resembling stalks of asparagus emerge and quickly shoot up 3 to 4 feet. Blue-green clover-like foliage remains attractive from the time it leafs out until it is blackened by frost in fall. In late May, spikes of indigo blue, lupine-like flowers bloom and then develop into large dark seedpods. The seeds inside rattle with summer breezes. Seedpods are also pretty in dried floral arrangements.

False blue indigo, as Baptisia australis is commonly called, thrives in full sun but will grow satisfactorily in part shade. Give it too much shade and normally stiff stems may flop. Lax plants can be staked or cut back by one third after flowering.

Don't fertilize or plant in rich soils. False blue indigo prefers soil low in nutrients. It is a member of the legume family and coverts nitrogen from the air into food for plants.

Baptisia forms a deep taproot and resents moving, another reason it will make the cut in my border renovation. It never needs dividing and its deep root system helps it tolerate periods of drought.

False blue indigo is rarely bothered by insect or disease problems. Deer and rabbits pay little attention to it.

The shrublike stature of false blue indigo makes it an attractive candidate for the mixed shrub border. It is also charming with wildflowers and grasses in meadows or cottage gardens where it contributes structure to exuberant, free-flowering designs. In perennial borders, combine false blue indigo with blanket flower, ornamental grasses, peonies, perennial geraniums and tickseed. The fuzzy gray foliage of lamb's ear is lovely at its knees.

Baptisia australis - adaptable, low maintenance, drought tolerant, long lived, dependable and rugged, and pretty - deserves to keep its spot in my renovated perennial border. Make space in your landscape for it, too.

• Diana Stoll is a horticulturist and the garden center manager at The Planter's Palette, 28W571 Roosevelt Road, Winfield. She blogs at gardenwithdiana.com.