Baptisia 'Purple Smoke'
- Description
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'Purple Smoke' is a hybrid false indigo in the bean (Fabaceae) family whose parents are B. australis x B. alba. It was found at the North Carolina Botanical Garden in the early 1990s as a chance seeding. This long-lived mounding plant will grow 4-5 feet tall and wide and has attractive blooms and foliage. The genus name Baptisia comes from the Greek word bapto meaning "to dye".
Blooming mid-spring, this plant produces smokey-lavender flowers on long racemes that are straight to arching on dark stems. The gray-green foliage is attractive year-long. It will occasionally produce a long seed pod that adds additional interest into fall if not pruned after flowering.
This plant does best in full sun, average well-drained soil and is deer and drought tolerant once established. Baptisas have long tap roots so choose your site wisely as it will not transplant well. This is a vigorous grower so give it plenty of room to grow. It can be pruned after flowering to maintain a more rounded look.
Use this plant as a specimen, in the mid to back of the border or meadows and other naturalized settings. Attracts bees and butterflies.
Insects, Diseases, and Other Plant Problems: No significant problems
- See this plant in the following landscape:
- Cultivars / Varieties:
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- Tags:
- Cultivars / Varieties:
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- Tags:
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Attributes:
- Genus:
- Baptisia
- Family:
- Fabaceae
- Life Cycle:
- Perennial
- Recommended Propagation Strategy:
- Division
- Wildlife Value:
- Pollinators are attracted to flowers
- Play Value:
- Attracts Pollinators
- Particularly Resistant To (Insects/Diseases/Other Problems):
- Deer
- Dimensions:
- Height: 4 ft. 0 in. - 5 ft. 0 in.
- Width: 4 ft. 0 in. - 5 ft. 0 in.
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Whole Plant Traits:
- Plant Type:
- Perennial
- Habit/Form:
- Arching
- Erect
- Mounding
- Growth Rate:
- Medium
- Maintenance:
- Low
- Texture:
- Medium
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Cultural Conditions:
- Light:
- Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)
- Soil Texture:
- Clay
- Loam (Silt)
- Sand
- Soil pH:
- Acid (<6.0)
- Neutral (6.0-8.0)
- Soil Drainage:
- Good Drainage
- Moist
- Occasionally Dry
- Available Space To Plant:
- 3 feet-6 feet
- NC Region:
- Coastal
- Mountains
- Piedmont
- USDA Plant Hardiness Zone:
- 4a, 4b, 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b, 9a, 9b
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Fruit:
- Fruit Color:
- Brown/Copper
- Fruit Value To Gardener:
- Good Dried
- Showy
- Display/Harvest Time:
- Fall
- Summer
- Fruit Type:
- Legume
- Fruit Length:
- 1-3 inches
- Fruit Width:
- < 1 inch
- Fruit Description:
- Puffy, inflated seed pods filled with many seeds appear after bloom. They ripen when they are very black and up to 2.5 inches long in late summer.
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Flowers:
- Flower Color:
- Purple/Lavender
- Flower Inflorescence:
- Raceme
- Flower Value To Gardener:
- Showy
- Flower Bloom Time:
- Spring
- Flower Shape:
- Lipped
- Flower Petals:
- 2-3 rays/petals
- Flower Size:
- < 1 inch
- Flower Description:
- Smokey lavender pea-like flowers occur on 18-inch-long racemes in the spring. Flowers are held above the foliage on slightly arching dark stems
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Leaves:
- Leaf Color:
- Gray/Silver
- Green
- Leaf Feel:
- Smooth
- Leaf Value To Gardener:
- Showy
- Leaf Type:
- Compound (Pinnately , Bipinnately, Palmately)
- Leaf Arrangement:
- Alternate
- Leaf Shape:
- Elliptical
- Obovate
- Leaf Margin:
- Entire
- Hairs Present:
- No
- Leaf Length:
- 1-3 inches
- Leaf Width:
- < 1 inch
- Leaf Description:
- Trifolate gray-green leaves are similar to clover in looks. The leaflets are 2 inches long with entire margins
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Stem:
- Stem Color:
- Black
- Gray/Silver
- Stem Is Aromatic:
- No
- Stem Surface:
- Smooth (glabrous)
- Stem Description:
- Dark gray to nearly black smooth stems that compliment the flowers
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Landscape:
- Landscape Location:
- Meadow
- Naturalized Area
- Landscape Theme:
- Butterfly Garden
- Cottage Garden
- Drought Tolerant Garden
- Pollinator Garden
- Design Feature:
- Border
- Small groups
- Specimen
- Attracts:
- Bees
- Butterflies
- Resistance To Challenges:
- Deer
- Drought
- Dry Soil
- Heat
- Poor Soil
