Baptisia australis ‘Alba’

WHITE FALSE INDIGO

Baptisia australis ‘Alba’
WHITE FALSE INDIGO

Baptisia australis ‘Alba’ is the rare white form of the highly desired False Indigo.
(Usually blue – but this is the sparkling white one).

Snow white pea blooms

Spires of pristine, pure white pea blooms in summer glitter in the garden.

Superb cut flowers for large arrangements

And cut stems make wonderful floral arrangements in a vase too.

Handsome foliage

While blue-grey foliage makes such a lovely foil for it’s own snowy flowers, as well as the colours of other neighbouring blooms.
A thicket of grey-green cloaked stems make a rounded bush. That you just cant miss because of the frosty flower and foliage colours.

Tough & hardy perennial

Plant in a sunny position.
Baptisia australis ‘Alba’ is easy to grow, as it is a tough, hardy, perennial plant that lives for many years, putting on its show each summer.

Bad for rabbits & deer

And gardeners all bless Baptisia.
Because rabbits find it unattractive and rate it a “last resort” to eat.
While deer also find it unpalatable.

But great for bees & pollinating friends

However our little flying friends the bees, pollinators and native honey-eating birds, just adore it. And feast happily in the spires of nectar rich pea flowers.

Good for gardeners with rationed water

Baptisia australis ‘Alba’ is drought resistant once established, and will continue to give you that burst of marvellous impact year after year. With an even thicker clump of spires.
So it is considered an excellent water saving choice for gardeners with rationed water supply.

Frost hardy & easy

Happily it is also very frost hardy.

1m. High white flower spires in summer x 1m. Wide approx, making a rounded mound of blue-grey ish foliage.

Even more impressive each year

Baptisia australis ‘Alba’ is in no way invasive, as it has no runners.
But your clump will get fatter, denser and even more impressive each year.

SEED SOWING ADVICE:

Sow seeds of Baptisia australis ‘Alba’ at any time indoors, whenever suitable temperatures are available (20-23°C).
OR
Scatter seed directly in garden in autumn, winter or early spring.

Sow indoors for quick & early plants: First scarify seeds by gently rubbing between sheets of fine sandpaper, as these seeds have a very hard coating.
This makes it difficult for moisture to penetrate and commence germination.
So roughing up the coating with a little rubbing lets the moisture in and speeds up germination.

Then soak seeds in warm water in a glass – leave for 24 hours to soften the hard outer coating.
So any seeds that float should be soaked for another 24 hours in a fresh batch of warm water, but seeds that have settled on the bottom of the glass are softened and ready to sow.

Now sow the seeds on the surface of good quality seed raising mix.
And cover seeds with mix / vermiculate / fine grit to a depth the same as the diameter of the seeds – approx. 5mm.

Thoroughly moisten by standing the sown punnet in a shallow water bath and allowing the moisture to percolate to the surface of the mix from below.

Then place the moist, sown punnet in a warm, well-lit position. (But not in any direct sunlight).
Temperatures of 20-23°C approx. are best for optimum and rapid germination.

Seedlings begin to emerge in approx. 14-30 days given suitable temperatures and conditions.

Encouraging your seeds

However if your seeds are shy to germinate after 30 days –then  cling wrap the moist, sown punnet & place in fridge (not freezer) for 6 weeks.
This will break the seed’s natural dormancy.
(The seeds will think they have had a winter, and now it is spring and time to germinate).

After the 6 weeks of “pretend winter” chilling in the fridge, remove the punnet, unwrap, make sure it is moist by soaking in a water bath again.

Then place it back into the well-lit position for germination.
Keep moist, at temperatures of approx. 20-23°C.

Seed Count: 2 seeds per pack. (seeds of this beautiful variety are very scarce and rarely available).

Click here for Nursery Open Days & Open Gardens Information
https://www.gardivalia.com.au/open-gardens

Click here to go back to Seeds Shop
https://www.seedscape.net.au/shop/