False indigo 'Carolina Moonlight'
Baptisia 'Carolina Moonlight' · Fabaceae
Dozens of spires of soft butter-yellow, pea-like flowers stand above blue-green foliage in late spring.
- Size
- 4 ft tall, 4 ft wide
- Zones
- 4 to 9
- Light
- Full sun
- Flowers
- Mid May to mid June
- Pets
- Toxic (mild)
- Job in a bed
- Specimen
A bed built around false indigo 'Carolina Moonlight'
The planner designed this bed around false indigo 'Carolina Moonlight' when this page was made: a 16 × 8 ft (4.9 × 2.4 m) cottage garden in zone 6, full sun. It chose the other plants from the 966 that suit those conditions, and says below why false indigo 'Carolina Moonlight' stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 False indigo 'Carolina Moonlight' × 1, yellow
- 2 Verbena 'Homestead Purple' × 5, purple
- 3 Cheddar pinks 'Tiny Rubies' × 24, pink
- 4 Big bluestem 'Blackhawks' × 3, purple
- 5 Wild quinine × 3, white
- 6 Switchgrass 'Prairie Sky' × 3, tan
- 7 Nodding onion × 27, pink
- 8 Asiatic lily × 5, yellow
- 9 Ornamental onion 'Purple Sensation' × 6, purple
- 10 Spring starflower × 7, blue
Why this plant
- The only spires. The others are dense clusters, open bowls, airy sprays and others. Shape reads at a distance, where colours blur.
Why here
- At the back. At 4 ft it is seen over Asiatic lily (3 ft) in front of it, and has nothing behind it to hide.
- A step in the back row. Next to big bluestem 'Blackhawks' (5 ft) and wild quinine (3½ ft): no two neighbours there are the same height, so the back steps up and down like a skyline.
- One plant, alone. A feature plant is seen as an object, and needs clear ground around it.
Why now
- In flower for five weeks. From mid May to mid June.
- Part of the bed's peak. With verbena 'Homestead Purple', Cheddar pinks 'Tiny Rubies' and ornamental onion 'Purple Sensation' in late May: 4 kinds at once. No week has more.
Planned as a cottage garden: 57 of the 66 plants (86%), bulbs aside, stand alone or in groups of no more than five, small enough for the kinds to mingle. Verbena 'Homestead Purple' flowers longest, for 21 weeks. The bed is tied together by its repeats: three kinds come round again along it, among them Cheddar pinks 'Tiny Rubies' and nodding onion.
The planner's own design check: 10 Excellent, 7 Good.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where false indigo 'Carolina Moonlight' goes in a border
At 4 ft it belongs at the back of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is moderately tall (3 to 4 ft).
Its job: specimen. A feature plant with a shape of its own. It stands alone with room around it, and repeats only at a distance.
The pale yellow is easy to place, and there is nothing better with the blue of Siberian irises and catmint. After flowering it serves as a handsome, rounded shrub for the rest of the year.
- Soft yellow for late spring
- The back of a low-care border
- Native planting
What to plant with false indigo 'Carolina Moonlight'
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Siberian iris: purple against yellow, opposite each other on the colour wheel, if you choose those colours, in flower together for three weeks.
- Catmint 'Walker's Low': in flower together for five weeks, from mid May; a low mound at the foot of its spires; low enough (24 in) to stand in front of it.
- Little bluestem: its blue-green leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after.
Questions about false indigo 'Carolina Moonlight'
Does false indigo 'Carolina Moonlight' need sun or shade?
False indigo 'Carolina Moonlight' grows in full sun (6 or more hours of direct sun a day).
It wants ordinary well-drained soil, on the lean side, with no feeding, and little watering once settled.
What zones does false indigo 'Carolina Moonlight' grow in?
USDA zones 4 to 9. It is hardy to zone 4, which means it survives winter nights down to about −20 °F (−29 °C).
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
When does false indigo 'Carolina Moonlight' flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers mid May to mid June. As a spring flower it moves about a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer, later where it is colder.
| Zone 4 | Late May to late June |
|---|---|
| Zone 5 | Mid May to mid June |
| Zone 6 | Early May to mid June |
| Zone 7 | Early May to early June |
| Zone 8 | Late April to early June |
| Zone 9 | Mid April to late May |
Worked out from Hopkins' bioclimatic law: spring arrives about four days later for each degree of latitude north, and one zone is roughly two degrees. A warm spring or a cold one moves any garden two weeks either way.
How far apart should false indigo 'Carolina Moonlight' be planted?
3½ ft (100 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 4 ft (120 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 4 ft (120 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many false indigo 'Carolina Moonlight' plants do I need?
At 3½ ft apart, set out in staggered rows:
- 1 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
- 4 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
- 3 to fill a 4 × 8 ft bed on its own
In a mixed border, plant it as one, with clear ground around it: a feature plant is seen as an object, and a group of them is a thicket.
In the bed above, the planner used one in one group.
Is false indigo 'Carolina Moonlight' poisonous to dogs and cats?
Yes: mild toxicity to people, dogs and cats. May cause mild stomach upset if eaten.
Rated from NC State Extension. Where references disagree, the more cautious rating is used.
Is there a pet-safe plant like false indigo 'Carolina Moonlight'?
These come closest to doing what false indigo 'Carolina Moonlight' does, and no toxicity is recorded for them:
- Willowleaf sunflower 'First Light': the same job in a bed and the same colour; 10 in narrower, flowers mid September to mid October.
- Goat's beard: the same job in a bed; 12 in taller, flowers early June to late June.
- Bluestar: the same job in a bed and the same flowering time; belongs in the middle, not at the back, 12 in shorter.
Matched the way the planner's Swap button matches plants: the same job in a bed, then size, then flowering time.
What flowers after false indigo 'Carolina Moonlight'?
False indigo 'Carolina Moonlight' is over by mid June. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:
- Bee balm: from early July to early August, 3 ft tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
- Purple coneflower: from late June to early September, 3 ft tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
- Daylily: from late June to early August, 2½ ft tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
What does false indigo 'Carolina Moonlight' look like in winter?
False indigo 'Carolina Moonlight' dies down to the ground and there is nothing to see until spring. The old stems can be cut in autumn, or left until spring as shelter for overwintering insects.
More Baptisia
- Blue false indigo Baptisia australis
- False indigo 'Lemon Meringue' Baptisia 'Lemon Meringue'
- False indigo 'Purple Smoke' Baptisia 'Purple Smoke'
- White false indigo Baptisia alba
- Yellow false indigo Baptisia sphaerocarpa
In these guides
- Garden plants toxic to cats
- Garden plants toxic to dogs
- Tall perennials and grasses for the back of a border
- Plants with spires: vertical accents
Zone guides: Zone 4 · Zone 5 · Zone 6 · Zone 7 · Zone 8 · Zone 9
Every fact on record
- Type
- Perennial
- Size
- 4 ft (120 cm) tall, 4 ft (120 cm) wide
- Plant
- 3½ ft (100 cm) apart
- Height class
- Moderately tall (3 to 4 ft)
- Place in the bed
- Back
- Flowers
- Mid May to mid June; upright spires; yellow
- Leaves
- Medium texture, herbaceous; blue-green
- Shape
- Upright, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 4 to 9
- Light
- Full sun
- Soil
- Lean, well-drained
- Water
- Low
- Feeding
- None needed
- Family
- Fabaceae
Checked against NC State Extension. Flowering times are for zone 5: later in colder zones, earlier in warmer ones. Toxicity and spread information is a general gardening guide, not veterinary or medical advice, and invasive status varies by region. If a person or pet eats a plant, contact poison control or a vet. Check your local invasive species list before planting anything with a spread warning.