False indigo 'Lemon Meringue'
Baptisia 'Lemon Meringue' · Fabaceae
Lemon-yellow flowers on charcoal stems, a sharp contrast, held above a compact, vase-shaped clump of blue-green leaves.
- Size
- 3 ft tall, 3 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 'Lemon Meringue'
The planner designed this bed around false indigo 'Lemon Meringue' when this page was made: a 12 × 6 ft (3.7 × 1.8 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 'Lemon Meringue' stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 False indigo 'Lemon Meringue' × 1, yellow
- 2 Woolly thyme × 11, grey-green leaves
- 3 Cranesbill 'Ballerina' × 11, pink
- 4 Tatarian aster 'Jindai' × 4, purple
- 5 Calamint × 3, white
- 6 Star of Persia × 5, purple
- 7 Grape hyacinth × 10, blue
Why this plant
- The only yellow. The one hot colour: every other flower here is cool or neutral.
- The only medium leaves here. The rest are fine and bold. A change of leaf keeps plants distinct when nothing is in flower.
Why here
- Anchors a back corner. At 3 ft it is one of the taller plants here, and the tallest close the ends of the bed, where they stand in front of nothing.
- A step in the back row. Next to Tatarian aster 'Jindai' (4 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.
- Fills a gap. For one of those weeks nothing else on the plan is in flower.
Planned as a cottage garden: 30 of the 30 plants (100%), bulbs aside, stand alone or in groups of no more than five, small enough for the kinds to mingle. Tatarian aster 'Jindai' and false indigo 'Lemon Meringue' anchor the back corners of the bed: the tallest plants on the plan stand there. Woolly thyme is planted in three places along the bed, which gives it rhythm.
The planner's own design check: 11 Excellent, 6 Good. It flags one thing to watch: Nothing on this plan is highly poisonous or an aggressive spreader.
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 'Lemon Meringue' goes in a border
At 3 ft it belongs in the middle of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is medium tall (2½ to 3 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.
A smaller false indigo for a smaller garden, with the dark stems of 'Purple Smoke' and brighter flowers. Like all of its kind, it resents being moved: choose its place once.
- A compact mound for the middle of a border
- Dark stems with spring bulbs
- Low-care planting
What to plant with false indigo 'Lemon Meringue'
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Salvia 'May Night': purple against yellow, opposite each other on the colour wheel, in flower together for three weeks.
- Bearded iris: purple against yellow, opposite each other on the colour wheel, if you choose those colours, in flower together for four weeks.
- Prairie dropseed: carries the spot on into mid September; a low mound at the foot of its spires.
Questions about false indigo 'Lemon Meringue'
Does false indigo 'Lemon Meringue' need sun or shade?
False indigo 'Lemon Meringue' 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 'Lemon Meringue' 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 'Lemon Meringue' 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 'Lemon Meringue' be planted?
2½ ft (80 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 3 ft (90 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 3 ft (90 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many false indigo 'Lemon Meringue' plants do I need?
At 2½ ft apart, set out in staggered rows:
- 2 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
- 4 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
- 5 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 'Lemon Meringue' poisonous to dogs and cats?
Yes: mild toxicity to people, dogs and cats. May cause mild stomach upset if eaten.
What flowers after false indigo 'Lemon Meringue'?
False indigo 'Lemon Meringue' is over by mid June. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:
- Black-eyed Susan: from mid July to mid September, 24 in tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
- Butterfly weed: from late June to early August, 24 in tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
- Daylily: from late June to early August, 2½ ft tall.
What does false indigo 'Lemon Meringue' look like in winter?
False indigo 'Lemon Meringue' 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 'Carolina Moonlight' Baptisia 'Carolina Moonlight'
- False indigo 'Purple Smoke' Baptisia 'Purple Smoke'
- White false indigo Baptisia alba
- Yellow false indigo Baptisia sphaerocarpa
In these guides
Zone guides: Zone 4 · Zone 5 · Zone 6 · Zone 7 · Zone 8 · Zone 9
Every fact on record
- Type
- Perennial
- Size
- 3 ft (90 cm) tall, 3 ft (90 cm) wide
- Plant
- 2½ ft (80 cm) apart
- Height class
- Medium tall (2½ to 3 ft)
- Place in the bed
- Middle
- Flowers
- Mid May to mid June; upright spires; yellow
- Leaves
- Medium texture, herbaceous; blue-green
- Shape
- Vase-shaped, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 4 to 9
- Light
- Full sun
- Soil
- Lean, well-drained
- Water
- Low
- Feeding
- None needed
- Family
- Fabaceae
Not yet checked against an outside reference: its figures rest on general horticultural knowledge. 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.