White false indigo
Baptisia alba · Fabaceae
White pea flowers on dark, charcoal-grey stems in late spring, above a vase-shaped clump of blue-green leaves.
- Size
- 4 ft tall, 3 ft wide
- Zones
- 4 to 9
- Light
- Full sun to part sun
- Flowers
- Late May to late June
- Pets
- Toxic to people
- Job in a bed
- Specimen
A bed built around white false indigo
The planner designed this bed around white false indigo 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 white false indigo stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 White false indigo × 1, white
- 2 Dianthus 'Kahori' × 10, pink
- 3 Leadwort × 8, blue
- 4 Little bluestem × 3, blue-green leaves
- 5 Gray's sedge × 3, green
- 6 Goldenrod 'Golden Fleece' × 3, yellow
- 7 Schubert's allium × 3, pink
- 8 Surprise lily × 12, pink
Why this plant
- The only spires. The others are open bowls, dense clusters, globes and others. Shape reads at a distance, where colours blur.
- A classic partner for little bluestem. Both are on this plan. A pairing gardeners have proved outranks a general rule.
- The only white. White sits between stronger colours and calms them.
Why here
- Anchors a back corner. At 4 ft it is the tallest plant 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 Gray's sedge (2½ 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 late May to late June.
- In company. With dianthus 'Kahori', Gray's sedge and Schubert's allium in late May: 4 kinds at once.
Planned as a cottage garden: 28 of the 28 plants (100%), bulbs aside, stand alone or in groups of no more than five, small enough for the kinds to mingle. The longest in flower is dianthus 'Kahori': 17 weeks, from mid May to early September. Pink runs through the planting: 3 of the 7 kinds grown for their flowers have it.
The planner's own design check: 13 Excellent, 4 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 white false indigo 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 dark stems against white flowers are striking close up. Like all false indigos it is slow to establish and permanent once it has, so choose its place for the long term.
- White spires for a sunny, dry border
- Native prairie planting
- Long-lived, low-maintenance structure
What to plant with white false indigo
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Bluestar: in flower together for four weeks, from late May; a low mound at the foot of its spires.
- Purple coneflower: takes over when it finishes, flowering from late June.
- Little bluestem: its blue-green leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after.
Questions about white false indigo
Does white false indigo need sun or shade?
White false indigo grows in full sun (6 or more hours of direct sun a day) and part sun (4 to 6 hours of sun, including some afternoon sun).
It wants ordinary well-drained soil, of average fertility, and little watering once settled. Once settled in, it stands drought.
What zones does white false indigo 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 white false indigo flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers late May to late 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 | Late May to late June |
| Zone 6 | Mid May to late June |
| Zone 7 | Early May to mid June |
| Zone 8 | Early May to mid June |
| Zone 9 | Late April to early June |
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 white false indigo be planted?
3 ft (90 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is about its full width, so each plant keeps its own outline.
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 white false indigo plants do I need?
At 3 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
- 4 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 white false indigo poisonous?
Yes: mild toxicity to people. May cause mild stomach upset if eaten.
Rated from NC State Extension. Where references disagree, the more cautious rating is used.
Do deer eat white false indigo?
Mostly not. NC State lists it as resistant to deer. No plant is proof against a hungry deer in a hard winter, but this one is low on the menu.
What flowers after white false indigo?
White false indigo is over by late June. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:
- Purple coneflower: from late June to early September, 3 ft tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems (a recorded partner).
- Bee balm: from early July to early August, 3 ft tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
- Garden phlox: from mid July to early September, 3½ ft tall.
What does white false indigo look like in winter?
White false indigo 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.
Is white false indigo good for bees and butterflies?
White false indigo is visited by pollinators, bees and butterflies.
It is a host plant: the caterpillars of wild indigo duskywing and zarucco duskywing feed on its leaves. A butterfly can only lay its eggs on its host plants, so these do more for it than any nectar flower.
It is native to the United States.
More Baptisia
- Blue false indigo Baptisia australis
- False indigo 'Carolina Moonlight' Baptisia 'Carolina Moonlight'
- False indigo 'Lemon Meringue' Baptisia 'Lemon Meringue'
- False indigo 'Purple Smoke' Baptisia 'Purple Smoke'
- Yellow false indigo Baptisia sphaerocarpa
In these guides
- Plants for slopes and banks
- Deer-resistant perennials for full sun
- Drought-tolerant perennials for full sun
- Native perennials for pollinators
- Plants for butterflies
- Plants for bees
- Tall perennials and grasses for the back of a border
- Plants with spires: vertical accents
- Plants for a white garden
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, 3 ft (90 cm) wide
- Plant
- 3 ft (90 cm) apart
- Height class
- Moderately tall (3 to 4 ft)
- Place in the bed
- Back
- Flowers
- Late May to late June; upright spires; white
- Leaves
- Medium texture, herbaceous; blue-green
- Shape
- Upright, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 4 to 9
- Light
- Full sun, part sun
- Soil
- Average, well-drained
- Water
- Low
- Feeding
- None needed
- Family
- Fabaceae
- Comes from
- South Eastern U.S.A
- Attracts
- Pollinators, bees, butterflies
- Host plant for
- Wild indigo duskywing, Zarucco duskywing
- Stands up to
- Deer, drought, poor soil, erosion
Checked against NC State Extension and VASCAN (plants of Canada). 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.