If you do it the genus and species of this month ’s mystery plant , you could win a devoid one - class subscription toFine Gardening . air your entering , along with your staring mailing address , by March 31 , 2009 to[email protected ] . The victor will be chosen at random from all correct entry .
Last calendar month ’s mystery plant wasBaptisia australis , commonly eff as pretended Indigofera tinctoria . This perennial is native to the eastern United Statesand has round off , deep green folio on plants up to 5 foot tall and 2 feet wide . In early summer the plant stomach spikes of deep blue - royal heyday that give room to highly cosmetic , mystifying - grayish seed pod that are utile in heyday arrangements . False indigotin prefers full sun and well - drained , sandlike soil . It is hardy in USDA Hardiness Zones 3 to 9.Robbie Billingsof Speedwell , Tennessee , was chosen at random from all right entries to receive a free one - year subscription toFine Gardening . Congratulations , Robbie !
What eLetter contributor have to say aboutBaptisia australis :
“ I lie with this perennial!”-Casey Evelo , Concord , North Carolina
“ I have admire this plant for year for its graceful shape and clear blue blossoms , and always wanted to grow it . I lastly have one that seems to have last the wintertime , but will it boom out this twelvemonth ? Hurry , spring!”-Nadine Thacker , Shelby Twp , Michigan
“ This plant life has a beautiful blue green leaf that looks skillful all season ! A must have for a gay place with hapless soil . ”-Lynn S. Pennett , Downingtown , Pennsylvania
“ We had baptisia at our former home and I just loved them . I go for to add them to the gardens at our new place soon!”-Mari Lane Gewecke , Lincoln , Nebraska
“ This isBaptisia australis , one of my favorites . My parents grew it when I was growing up , and I loved to watch the bumblebees bulk large around it . I seek to grow it in my Rhode Island garden but had no luck . Seeing the picture makes me want to sample again , despite our very acidic soils . ”-Carol King , Bristol , Rhode Island
“ I had a chance to save some from a construction site but did n’t get back in metre . Have been kick back myself ever since!!”-Becky Gamble , Southlake , Texas
“ I love this plant!”-Mrs . J. E. Arocho , Fairless Hills , Pennsylvania
“ I have always be intimate this plant , but it ’s hard to develop in California . ”-Kathy Rasmussen , Salinas , California
“ Not only does it have beautiful blue flowers that make interesting seed pods , but it ’s also a legume , which enables it to grow in very tough experimental condition , like the S - facing slope we have where there is very piddling topsoil over dust that the builder used as fill . I love it!”-Katherine Holland , North Easton , Massachusetts
“ I call this plant false indigo . It became my preferent after planting it 18 years ago . It never give out and expands a small bit each springiness , but does not really invade the rest of the garden as some of my plants do . ”-Mary Lou Parsons , Three Rivers , Michigan
“ try on growing this from semen last year . retrieve it demand a piffling clock time to maturate . ”-Monica Hull , St. Peters , Missouri
“ I have one in my garden that I started from seed eld ago . When it incur too large for its blank I dig it up and start over!”-Peggy Armstrong , Battle Creek , Michigan
“ A perennial in the lugume menage that prompt me fairly of lupin . It make a gracious cutflower!”-Susan Tharp , Clackamas , Oregon
“ I love this plant and have two planting that are six years old . They have not spread in width but get over 4 feet every year . Very hardy , drought resistant works and these I embed in full Lord’s Day . I put tomato rings over them in the spring as soon as I see the shoots start to discover from the soil ; I blank out to do this one twelvemonth and lets just say that trying to rate the rings after the plant has get hold of 2 to 3 feet high is not fun ! There is also a natural hybrid of the species in white and I have two planted in wakeful shade . These plantings are about 4 years old and just flower a niggling last twelvemonth . I would like to move them to a gay layer , but have take that they do not transplant well . Even when not blossom , the foliage is such a beautiful racy - greenness and a honorable background foil for the rest of the bed . ”-Kathy Young , Georgetown , Delaware
“ It grow beautifully and luxuriantly in the bungalow garden outside the windowpane of my converted one - way school home in northern Vermont . My girl - in - law of nature , an artist , planted it , when they lived here as their first home . The foliation is so attractive in arrangements , too . ”-Wendy Andersen , Jericho , Vermont
“ It is a large works which , unfortunately , has not thrived in my garden since the cervid munch it down each year . Some say it is cervid resistant but that has not been my experience . ”-Pamela Carter , Milford , Michigan
“ I ’ve had mine for about 12 years , and it is about 4 feet broad . I love to use the pods for Halloween bouquets with Chinese lanterns . ”-Dori Miller , Palatine , Illinois
“ I recognized this plant immediately because I have several varieties uprise in my perennial garden . ”-Annette Chinuge , Springfield , Illinois
“ I was tell it was quite easy to grow in poor soil as long as it remained undisturbed , but I have tried it on 3 function without winner . deserving grow for the lovely blue / greenish foliage alone . ”-Georgette Willix , Atlanta , Georgia
“ I have a beautiful specimen of ‘ Purple Smoke ’ in front of my ‘ Blanc Double de Coubert ’ rugosa move up - it ’s gorgeous when they bloom together . An added bonus - the deer wo n’t touch either one . ”-Cynthia McCain , Frederick Maryland
“ I bask its bloom capitulum , as well as the blueish - green bush - like foliage and form for the rest of the summer . A must - have plant life for me!”-Donna Gisch , Farmington , Minnesota
“ I ’ve never had a place for this gorgeous plant but a good friend has one decorating her entrance way , where it bakes in the sun , and it has filled that bed gloriously!”-Barbara Coven - Ellis , Chelsea , Michigan
“ I have some growing in my front M that my husband dislikes because he suppose it sire too “ wild ” looking , but I just love the blue!”-Marilyn Hill , Frisco , Texas
“ It is a beautiful aboriginal perennial with pretty blue flowers in spring follow by interesting ejaculate fuel pod and great dip color . ruffianly and resistant of heat , humidity , and drought , false indigo is also a traditional dyestuff plant . What ’s not to get laid ! Thanks for including some native in the last duet of mystery plants . They assist back up our native pollinators and other good fauna . ”-Catherine Mitchell , Gastonia , North Carolina
“ I ’ve had this plant in my garden for days . It ’s beautiful when it bloom and I love the structure and leafage as a fill - in plant in my garden bottom . I ’ve left the seed heads to arise on occasion , but I usually hack them off to keep the plant upright and not pulled over with backbreaking seed pods . It needs very little care otherwise . ”-Mary Chapman , Allen Park , Michigan
“ I have seen it growing wild in many of our parks and nature reserves here in Michigan . ”-Marilyn Hanks , Grand Rapids , Michigan
“ While I have no experience with spring up Baptisia , I ’ve always liked their foliage . It looks so fresh!”-Brieannon Akins , Jacksonville , Florida
“ I love this plant ! I rise it two sign ago - wish I had a in force spot for it now . ”-Barbara Richmond , Bartonville , Illinois
“ Hooray , one I recognize and have a go at it . I ’ve even planted it from seed!”-Monica Milla , Ann Arbor , Michigan
“ It ’s one of those perennial that looks slap-up from Spring through Fall , for the source seedcase are also quite interesting . It spread a bit , but the little seedlings are easy enough to pull . The plant is nearly impossible to graft , so it ’s best to ponder where you will site it . ”-Lynn Taggart , Marblehead , Massachusetts
“ One of my favorites ! A great xeric plant as long as the cervid do n’t get it . ”-Cathy Regan , Boulder , Colorado
This isBaptisia australis , one of our many fine indigen that is available in the nursery business deal . This drab one is pretty rare in the wilderness , so I ’m tell , but make a wonderful recollective lived , drought tolerant addition to the perennial or wild garden . And , it ’s a legume!”-Lisa Tompkins , Waxhaw , North Carolina
“ My own version of this came from seed from my Aunt Edna ’s garden in Traer , Iowa . Subsequent generations have moved with us from Edgewood , Maryland to Leesburg , Virginia to Chapel Hill , North Carolina and now Hillsborough , North Carolina . For many years we just knew it by the name “ Aunt Edna ’s Sweet Peas'”until I learned its real name to be false indigotin orBaptisia australis . Whenever I see it in my garden , I think of my aunt and originate up in Tama County , Iowa . ”-Susan Hardisty , Hillsborough , North Carolina
“ I happen to be bug out them indoors from seed this twelvemonth . Wish me luck!”-Erin Jones , Wilson , Wisconsin
“ I have one that comes up each year in my Wyoming garden , but just ever blooms . ”-Phillippa K. Lack , Cheyenne , Wyoming
“ I have n’t had a probability to turn this plant , but it ’s always been on my want list to try someday . ”-Liz King , Boise , Idaho
“ I have grow genus Baptisia for many years and discover it to be a worthful plant in my garden . I would like a yellow variety , but have n’t found one in that fits within my budget as yet . ”-Colleen Janney , Lacey , Washington
“ It can rise into a huge flora and is just gorgeous!”-Ellen Gagliardi , Maineville , Ohio
“ I have two in my shadowed garden here in the Buckhead area of Atlanta . One is small-scale , sparce , and bloom , and the other is robust , full , and never blooms . They must expect a lot more sunshine than my garden ply . ”-Peggy Witt , Atlanta , Georgia
“ A lovely plant . I ’ve enjoyed it and also the call yellow-bellied kind . ”-Neil Tolsma , Menomonee Falls , Wisconsin
“ I have this endearing plant growing in my garden . The flowers are long - lasting and have a good vase life . It is one of my preferred industrial plant . ”-Joyce Mahajan , Oswego , New York
“ It is one of by all time best-loved plants!”-Ronda Roth , Waukesha Wisconsin
“ I absolutely adore this flora ! The flower look like blue jelly beans and it grows beautifully under my maple tree . The pitch-black seedpods are quite attractive as well . ”-Valerie Mahnic , Guelph , Ontario
“ I had one for four twelvemonth , and last year it in conclusion blossom - one stinky picayune prime steeple , for all that leafy mass . distinctly , it should be labeled FULL Dominicus , because it did not respond to the 5.5 hr of sun it received in my garden . Love the works , but let down in it ; finally , I jerk it out . ”-Jackie Barchilon , Westport , Connecticut
“ Do n’t make the mistake I made by plant in part sun - it ’s full sun or nothing - at least here in Charlotte.-Susan Wall , Charlotte , North Carolina
“ It is a beautiful perennial , and I use it as a reserve for lupines , since it does not have mould problem that lupines are notorious for . ”-Marinda Parks , Beaverton , Oregon
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