Blue False Indigo - Grow and Care - Baptisia Australis

[@8cupsCoffee]

Love your channel, no nonsense or filler. Relevant information.

[@growitbuildit]

Thank you! I'm glad you appreciate it. More coming Saturday.

[@ambermasloski1882]

Thank you. You where the only person that mentioned scarification of the seed for it to take out of the other videos I watched.

[@growitbuildit]

You are very welcome Amber.

[@jowoo7237]

Thanks for the info I grew some this year from seed and I didn't need to do any scarifying. Just soaked the seeds for a day and put them into substrate. Just a friendly tip thanks for the content. Just a friendly tip thanks for the content

[@growitbuildit]

Hi - thank you for sharing that information. I sometimes soak instead of scarifying with squashes and such. Always good to share experience with what works!

[@shaunac9385]

Very useful to know the growth rate from seedling to larger plant. And using sandpaper to help with germination. Thanks for posting.

[@growitbuildit]

Hello Shauna! I'm glad you found the video helpful. For larger seeds, sandpaper is my preferred way to scarify. I've done it many times on Baptisia!

[@SandraSElam]

I saw a baptisia australis in bloom years ago and loved it, but I never had one in my landscape. I want to put one in now. I searched KZbin and your very useful video came up. I appreciate you showing the overall habit of the blooming plant, telling us how long it takes to get to full size, and showing the seed pods. So many people who make videos leave out essential information, but you are always thorough. (Are you an engineer, by chance?) Also what is the tallest this plant will grow - could it get to 8 feet like a butterfly bush?

[@growitbuildit]

Hi Sandra - thank you for the kind words and yes, I am an engineer. This plant will get about 3-4' tall and wide. My plant hasn't increased in size since year 3, and is now seven years old. Regarding seed pods, I try to remove most of them now. While this plant doesn't prolifically self-seed, the volunteers that do germinate have that aggressive taproot, which means you will probably pull them more than once.

[@growitbuildit]

Detailed info at our website. How to grow and care for, how to grow from seed, and other tips. growitbuildit.com/how-to-grow-care-for-blue-false-indigo-batptisia-australis/

[@ConstantGardener-q9q]

What a fantastic site!!! subscribed to your KZbin and Blog. Thank you for your generosity in sharing your knowledge and experience!!!

[@growitbuildit]

Thank you! I'm glad you are enjoying our content!

[@donlandwehr9212]

Very informative; great job!

[@growitbuildit]

Thank you sir! I'm glad you found the video helpful!

[@bellarosa009]

Great video!

[@growitbuildit]

Thank you! I'm glad you liked it!

[@ninastone9054]

Mine just bloomed!! It is mixed in with some mountain mint.. so I have to keep the two from clashing.

[@growitbuildit]

Oh boy - you best move that Mountain Mint. Roots on the Indigo run deep. Like really deep. I pulled a volunteer seedling that was in it's second year yesterday - the root was already over a foot deep. Mountain Mint should be easy to move. The Baptisia though - that would be tough to move without killing it!

[@pepercat17]

Nice, just got some seeds of this plant.

[@growitbuildit]

It is slow to grow Casey, but absolutely stunning when it blooms.

[@FortCasimirhoney]

Can you do the boiling water method on these seeds or only sandpaper?

[@growitbuildit]

I've not tried the boiling water method on them myself, but you could certainly try it. I know some varieties the seeds are a lot smaller, which would make sandpaper difficult.

[@cmhusting]

Thanks, this was most informative. I have a few indigo seedlings that I germinated this spring. Do you recommend I put them in the ground at a specific size? Do I need to keep potted the first year?

[@growitbuildit]

Usually I wait until I have 2-3 sets of true leaves. And as long as they are safe from rabbits/deer, or you use liquid fence it should be fine. The sooner you get them in the ground, the sooner they can get established. Mine didn't reach full size until year 4.

[@dianaalbers6327]

Save those wonderful seeds!

[@growitbuildit]

I only have so much space! This plant is huge! It gets 3-4' diameter now. Absolutely beautiful though.

[@lesliew87]

Hopefully you see this! I am harvesting seeds from my mothers plant right now. (I’m having too much fun with the stalk as a rattle lol!) however I read somewhere that the viable seeds are black. So far my seeds are brown though. Do you have anything to say about that? Thanks!

[@growitbuildit]

Hi Leslie - I've germinated plenty of brown seeds. If the seeds are falling off inside the pods naturally, they are ready.

[@mariahlighthall9413]

I just got my Wild Blue Indigo seeds from my tribe! When is the best time to plant? Can I sow them directly into the ground or start them in a pot? How much sun do they need per day?

[@growitbuildit]

Hi Mariah - I wouldn't start them until temperatures begin to warm up. Just scarify the seed and plant the seed. These generally germinate within a week, but should after two weeks for sure. I normally start mine in May. My article on it has specific details when the time comes - growitbuildit.com/how-to-grow-care-for-blue-false-indigo-batptisia-australis/ These will do best in full sun. They grow slowly from seed. It will take about 3 years in the ground to reach full size, and the plant will be about 4' diameter and 4' wide. The foliage looks really cool, as well as the seed pods.

[@mariahlighthall9413]

@@growitbuildit great thank you!

[@colinm.4052]

Great video! How well do Baptisia seedlings establish? At what point to the become to look shrubby?

[@growitbuildit]

Hi Colin - by year 3 it will start to really resemble a shrub. By year 4 or 5 it should be full grown. Once they get full size, they tend to flop over after blooming. This year I'm trying something new - I'm going to make a perimeter of 6-8 stakes and use twine to try to hold it up. Check back with me in a couple months and I'll tell you how it worked.

[@rachelhorn8823]

Are there different types of Indigo ? I got some seeds from a hedge type and in clusters

[@growitbuildit]

There are several different species of Baptisia. Look for the latin name, and compare from that.

[@evelynbagnasco7293]

When do you sow the seeds?

[@growitbuildit]

You can start these just about any time. Since they don't need any winter-sowing you can get them started whenever temperatures are warm enough.

[@hobbitlady7568]

Hello, have you ever winter sowed baptisia?

[@growitbuildit]

Hi - I've never found the need to. If you scarify the seed with a bit of sand paper, I find the seeds usually germinate in a week. I've grown many large Baptisia this way. But I have done it with it's 'cousin' Carolina Bushpea (scarified with sandpaper). And I will be doing the same to a dwarf variety this year.

[@hobbitlady7568]

@@growitbuildit cool. I have the cream wild baptisia seeds and plan to winter sow. I don’t do grow lights or indoor growing I just do not like the whole hardening off or weak seedlings thing so I’m wintersowing them hoping that it will work out. I will also be winter sowing geraniums maculatum and geum triflorum this year.

[@growitbuildit]

I've got a few dwarf Baptisia to grow this year too. I think they may hold up a bit better in a non-prairie setting. I need to try foraging some wild geraniums this year too. I know where a ton grow wild. About 45 minutes away.

[@hobbitlady7568]

@@growitbuildit what I have is only foraged seed I believe

[@hobbitlady7568]

@@growitbuildit that’s awesome tho. I love dwarf cream ones.