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Planting
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Seasonal yields
Sow indoors · Direct sow · Transplant outdoors
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Plant · P-942
Wild Indigo
Baptisia tinctoria
Wild indigo is a nitrogen-fixing perennial in the pea family, grown for its yellow flowers and as a source of a blue dye once used as a substitute for true indigo. Native to eastern North America, from New England south to Florida and west to Louisiana and Minnesota, it grows wild in dry open woods and clearings on sandy, acidic soil. It wants full sun and tolerates both dry and moist well-drained ground once established.
Record at a glance
Growing profile
- Sun
- Full Sun · Partial Sun
- USDA zone
- USDA 3–9
- Soil
- Sand · Loam
- Moisture
- Dry · Well-Drained · Moist
Vertical layer
Herbaceous- Soil pH
- 6–6
- Plant type
- Perennial
- Mature height
- 24–36 in
- Mature spread
- 24–36 in
- Plant spacing
- 18–24 in
- Root type
- Tap
- Spread pattern
- None
Keep exploring
Similar plants
Discover more plants with shared forest layers or growing conditions.
Adzuki Bean
Vigna angularis (Willd.) Ohwi & H.Ohashi
Adzuki is the odd one out among the beans in this group: a very hot summer is actively too hot for it, since heat above about 35C damages…
Herbaceous · USDA 3–11
African Eggplant
Solanum aethiopicum
African Eggplant, also called gboma or scarlet eggplant, is a West and Central African relative of eggplant that gives two harvests from one…
Herbaceous · USDA 8–12
Agrimony
Agrimonia eupatoria
Agrimony is a slender herbaceous perennial of sunny, disturbed ground across Europe and western Asia, grown mainly for the tannin-rich leaves…
Herbaceous · USDA 5–9
Alfalfa
Medicago sativa
Alfalfa is a deep-rooted perennial legume grown worldwide as one of the richest forage crops available, its taproot running six metres or…
Herbaceous · USDA 4–11
Amaranth Greens
Amaranthus tricolor
Amaranth greens are one of the few leafy vegetables actually built for peak summer heat rather than one that just tolerates it - sown once…
Herbaceous · USDA 2–11
Angelica
Angelica archangelica
Angelica is a very large, short-lived umbellifer grown for its candied stem and aromatic root - the thick young stalks are peeled and boiled…
Herbaceous · USDA 5–7
The deeper layer
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- Primary
- Locked ecological function
- Secondary
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- Byproduct
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Behind the record
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