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Baptisia bracteata var. leucophaea

Cream Wild Indigo

  • Category: Natives
  • Hardiness Zone: 4
  • Height: 18-24 inches
  • Spread: 24 inches
  • Bloom Color: Yellow

This compact leguminous sub-shrub is one of the earliest bloomers on the spring prairie, and is thus an important food for queen bumblebees. Showy cream to soft yellow blooms descend the slender stalks, waving above the grey-green pea-like foliage. It's tough; individual plants can persist for decades once established, and the flowers will actually be more showy on dry sites. Like its Baptisia buddies, the stems and seed pods will provide textural garden interest long after the blooms have faded. The caterpillars of multiple butterfly species use it as a host all summer.

Exposure
Sun
Soil Moisture Preference
Dry
Attracts Wildlife
Bees and other pollinators
Butterflies
Season of Interest (Flowering)
Spring