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NO ADVANCE ORDERS (NAO) – A selection of plants are NAO-No Advanced Orders. They have proved to be tricky; acquiring propagules, producing them, or getting them through the winter. We only put them on our availability lists when they are ready to ship. No hopes dashed. Plants must ship within 2 weeks or their availability date.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS:  Baptisia alba is long-lived perennial with stately white flowers appearing in late spring to early summer.  Flowers mature into large seed pods that turn brown or black as the seeds ripen, providing continued interest throughout the season.  Foliage is blue-green to gray-green and  trifoliate leaves are rounded. This clumping native takes time to establish and expands slowly over time.    The tap root system of Baptisia alba stabilizes soils, controls erosion, and works with soil bacteria to fix nitrogen and supply nutrition to the soil.  An excellent drought tolerant species for meadows, pollinator gardens, rain gardens and back of the border.

HABITAT & HARDINESS:  The range of Baptisia alba includes central and eastern US.

This showy member of the Fabaceae (pea) family often stands out above grasses in the prairie.  This species is indigenous in prairies and pastures, along tree lines, in rocky open woodlands, and along rocky creek banks.

Plants are hardy from USDA Zones 4-9.

PLANT DESCRIPTION:  Baptisia alba is densely branched with a mounding form and glaucous trifoliate leaves.  Plants are anchored by a sturdy branched taproot.  Dramatic asparagus-like buds emerge from the roots in spring already topped with immature flower buds.  As plants attain their mature height, the flower buds unfurl into a striking display of creamy white pea-like blooms.  The flowers are arranged in erect racemes and are frequented by bees and butterflies. The flowers evolve into inflated deep purple to black pods that are a unique and attractive landscape features.  The large seedpods often remain through the winter for added visual interest.  Plants grow 2-5’ tall with 2-4’ spread.

CULTURAL & MAINTENANCE NEEDS:  Baptisia alba grows best in full sun or light shade in well drained average to moist soil.  Adapts to clay, loam, sandy and rocky soils.  Baptisia alba tolerates moist soil better than others, but still needs well draining soil; will not survive in standing water.

Young plants expend a good bit of energy producing deep roots.  As a result they tend to get off to a slow start.  Around the third year when roots are established, the upper half of the plant begins to flourish.

Plants tolerate drought and controlled burns.  They are pest resistant and somewhat unpalatable to deer, rabbits and livestock.  Sensitive to juglone; avoid planting close to black walnut trees.

After establishment, excess shade and competition from neighboring plants are the only things that can inhibit the growth of this tough guy.

LANDSCAPE USES:  This is a good choice for a Wildlife Garden, Prairie or Dry Meadow. Plants are also used as Butterfly Nectar Plants, Butterfly Host Plants or as part of a Grouping or Mass Planting.   Baptisia alba has Showy Blooms, attractive fruit and can be used in Cottage Gardens, Deer Resistant Plantings, Low Maintenance Plantings and Perennial Borders.  White wild indigo really shows up at the back of the Border when planted in front of a fence or wall for added contrast  of the light colored flowers.  The deep roots of Baptisia help create natural channels for rainwater on the upper slope of a Rain Garden.

COMPANION & UNDERSTUDY PLANTS:  Try pairing with Asclepias tuberosa, Echinacea purpurea, Eryngium yuccifolium, Rudbeckia hirta, Solidago speciosa, and Sorghastrum nutans.

Baptisia tinctoria has similar flowers and foliage and can be substituted if needed.

TRIVIA:  Baptisia alba is a larval host plant for Zarucco Duskywing and Wild Indigo Duskywing.

Dr. Jared Barnes describes the interesting process of pollination of Baptisia:  Bees push against the keel to help get access to the nectar, and that force lowers this fused petal to expose the stamens and pistils. (You can mimic this act by pulling down on the keel to see the stamens.) In a beautiful example of co-evolution, lower flowers that are mostly female are preferred because they have higher nectar rewards. Bees will then move towards the higher flowers on the same inflorescence, which tend to be more male and have copious pollen. When they move to the next flower, they then carry fresh pollen to increase the chances of crossing with the nectar-rich, female flowers of another plant.