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Baptisia 'Purple Smoke'

 
Baptisia 'Purple Smoke'
Baptisia 'Purple Smoke'

Family fabaceae
Life cycle perennial
Flowers dusty purple (early summer)
Size 3-4'
Light sun-part shade

A natural hybrid of Baptisia australis and Baptisia alba, two US native species. I've raised both the parents from seed - getting those to a blooming size took literally years, and took several attempts. So when I found these at an end-of-season sale, I jumped on them. They still took more than a year to bloom, but finally, we can say we have blue-flowered baptisia in our garden. Worth waiting for, too - subtly two-toned violet-blue flowers offset by charcoal-gray stems, with loose foliage typical of most baptisias we've grown. Since that first bloom they have grown progressively larger, to where they are show-stopping specimens in May.

Baptisia 'Purple Smoke'
Baptisia 'Purple Smoke'
These plants are among the first perennials to turn their top growth to a lifeless state in fall. Although that might be viewed as a negative, the mass of grayish leaves has its own charm.

We left this plant behind in our Pennsylvania garden (and wish it well); we don't grow it in Houston.

One or more images of this plant are included in my stock photo catalog

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