• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary navigation
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Carol J. Michel

Award winner author of gardening humor books

  • About
    • Contact
  • Blog
  • Books
    • Shop
    • Gardening Humor
    • Children’s Books
    • New – The Halloween Hare
  • Social
    • YouTube
    • Instagram
  • The Gardenangelists Podcast
  • Gardening Humor
  • Children’s
  • All Books

May Dreams Gardens

Wildflower Wednesday: Where’s the Baptisia?

May 22, 2013 By Carol Michel 12 Comments

Let’s play a new gardening game called “Where’s the Baptisia”.

Baptisia australis, which has the common name of Blue False Indigo, is a native flower in the eastern United States.  Well-planted in the garden, it can provide a stunning display of purple blooms in mid to late spring.

Here in my garden, Baptisia is not well planted.

Can you find it in the picture above?

Let’s go in a little closer, shall we?

And there it is, surrounded on the left by Aunt Marjorie’s pink climbing rose  and on the right by Symphricarpos orbiculatus ‘Taff’s Silver Edge’.

Aunt Marjorie’s rose is an old wild rose she gave me a start of fifteen years ago. It has pink blooms for a few weeks and then just lurks in that area of the garden, occasionally snagging me if I venture in to clear out some of the thicket it has become.

The Symphricarpos orbiculatus ‘Taff’s Silver Edge’, also known as Variegated Coralberry, is also a native plant, one chosen for its variegated foliage.  It spreads itself with running stems and at least in my garden, is forming quite a thicket.  I suppose one could keep it in check by watching for those stems, or one could let it become a thicket as I’ve done.

Elsewhere in the garden, another Baptisia is growing near a native tree, a serviceberry, Amelanchier sp., in the garden border called Plopper’s Field

This one is also not well placed, by that sometimes happen in a garden where you just plop plants in here and there.

I do have another Baptisia in another section of Plopper’s Field.

This is Baptisia ‘Carolina Moonlight’.  It’s a hybrid, so strictly speaking probably shouldn’t be in a post about wildflowers. Infiltrator!  In my garden, this hybrid grows much slower than the species Baptisia.

People may wonder why I don’t get out my shovel and dig up my hidden Baptisia or clear out the other plants around them.  I have heard, though I haven’t dug one up to see for myself, that Baptisia have a long tap root, so they aren’t so easy to transplant.

Knowing that, I did what any gardener would do.  Absolutely, I bought another Baptisia australis to plant in my garden, way over on the other side near August Dreams Gardens.  That border is supposed to be mostly plants that bloom in late summer, but I think I can sneak a Baptisia in there somewhere, maybe along the edge, and it will provide some spring blooms. In the fall it will have interesting seed pods that will play nicely with the late blooms of the other flowers.

This post is my addition to the garden bloggers’ meme called Wildflower Wednesday, which takes place on the fourth Wednesday of the month.  Please visit our hostess, Gail of Clay and Limestone, for more posts about wildflowers in the garden.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: perennials, wildflower wednesday

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Gail says

    May 22, 2013 at 10:58 pm

    Carol, Fantastic WW post…I am so glad they were hidden and not gobbled up by critters! Happy WW. xo

    Reply
  2. Anonymous says

    May 22, 2013 at 11:42 pm

    Of course you bought another Baptisia! A large plant of it really should not be moved unless you are able to dig very deeply and get the taproot. But you could prune back the rose and coralberry, poor little hidden Baptisia.
    Frances

    Reply
  3. Unknown says

    May 23, 2013 at 3:00 am

    That's a very crowded place you have there! My Baptisia has not yet begun to bloom here in West Tn.

    Reply
  4. Dee Nash says

    May 23, 2013 at 3:29 am

    That's funny. I bought another baptisia today. I have five or six of these beauties, but this wasn't a good spring for them. I wonder why? Maybe too cold and wet? Love yours wherever they may be.~~Dee

    Reply
  5. Donna says

    May 23, 2013 at 11:46 am

    I planted mine at the edge of a bed…of course plopping it down…it grows almost 4 feet tall and wide and is a stunner but of course I have to be careful what I plant behind it…

    Reply
  6. Lea says

    May 23, 2013 at 11:49 am

    There's always room for one more!
    Happy Gardening!
    Lea
    Lea's Menagerie

    Reply
  7. Covegirl says

    May 23, 2013 at 12:26 pm

    I don't have Baptisia, but I don't plant things well. I just plop them where ever I have some exposed soil! Actually I like it that way! LOL!

    Reply
  8. Kathy says

    May 23, 2013 at 3:20 pm

    Can nothing be done for those poor crowded baptisias? If you are unwilling to prune the other shrubs surrounding them, maybe you just give digging and relocating a try, as they are never going to thrive being crowded, anyway.

    Reply
  9. Maggie says

    May 23, 2013 at 7:52 pm

    I've moved mine with great success. They were originally started from seeds given to me by a friend. They are planted in a mostly shady spot, and so I moved some to a sunnier part of the garden to see how they'd do. All are thriving.

    Reply
  10. Emily Schiller says

    May 23, 2013 at 8:12 pm

    Mine bloomed for the first time ever! Maybe it's because last Fall I moved several plants that didn't like all the sun in that spot. When it came up and started to flower it took me quite some time to remember I'd even planted it! Nice surprise.

    Reply
  11. Rose says

    May 24, 2013 at 2:07 pm

    I made the mistake of moving a large amsonia last spring–nobody told me it had a long taproot, too. With my husband's help and one broken shovel later, we finally got it moved and divided. I think you made the only sensible choice in buying another baptisia; I love these plants, so the more the better!

    Reply
  12. Kim E says

    May 31, 2013 at 6:52 pm

    I have never dared to relocate my Baptisia, but I have successfully transplanted pieces from the outer edge- except for last year when a flock of catepillar ate them entirely!

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Updates from Carol Michel

* indicates required
Email Preferences

Categories

  • Blog (3,053)
  • Internal (2)

Blog Tags

annuals Blogging books bulbs dr. hortfreud embrace fairies fall family flowers fruits garden bloggers bloom day garden bloggers book club garden design gardeners gardening gardening geek gardens hoes holidays hortense hoelove houseplants humor indoor gardening insects lawn letters to gardening friends perennials rabbits reviews Secrets seeds shrubs spring tools trees vegetable garden vegetable gardening vegetables weather weeding weeds when a gardener wildflower wednesday winter

The Gardenangelists Podcast with Dee Nash

Gardenangelists Podcast

Footer

Gardenangelists Podcast with Dee Nash

Gardenangelists Podcast

Connect

  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • maydreams icon

Quick Links

  • Home
  • Contact
  • Books
  • May Dreams Gardens
  • Podcast

Updates from Carol Michel

* indicates required
Email Preferences

Newsletter Archive

Copyright © 2023 · CarolJMichel.com · Sitemap · Privacy Policy

Book purchase links are affiliate links and Carol earns a small commission if you make a purchase.

We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
Do not sell my personal information.
Cookie SettingsAccept
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT