False Yellow Wild Indigo
Baptisia tinctoria
Bright yellow pea flowers in May and June draw bumblebees to a compact, rounded mound. Deep-rooted and long-lived, it outlasts the border around it.
Typically 1 pint–1 gal · $9–$30 · final price at pickup
- Thu, Aug 138 AM – 4 PM
- Fri, Aug 148 AM – 4 PM
- Sat, Aug 158 AM – 2 PM
A long-lived nitrogen-fixer with early yellow bloom and rattling black seed pods. wildlife value and structure in one plant.
Wild Yellow Indigo is a compact, rounded native with blue-green clover-like foliage and bright yellow pea flowers in late spring. It's one of the earliest Baptisia species to bloom, opening in May and June with a cheerful yellow display that draws bumblebees immediately. The seed pods that follow turn dark charcoal-black and rattle audibly in the breeze, one of the most distinctive sounds of a late-summer garden. Like all baptisias, this is a deeply rooted, long-lived plant that takes a few years to establish but then virtually never needs attention. It fixes nitrogen, improves soil structure, and is host to multiple butterfly and moth caterpillars including Wild Indigo Duskywing, Orange Sulphur, and Clouded Sulphur. Plant it as a permanent fixture in a sunny, dry border or meadow. It will outlast almost everything around it.
A nursery-grown plant, ready for the ground.
Healthy, container-grown false yellow wild indigo propagated on-site at Hill House from regional genetics. Includes a one-page care card. We make every effort to supply plants as listed; occasionally we substitute a similar species of equal value.
- Sun
- Full sun
- Water
- Dry
- Mature size
- 2–3 ft · 24–36 in wide
- Bloom time
- Late spring
- Bloom color
- Yellow
- USDA zones
- 3–9
- Family
- Fabaceae
- Native range
- Eastern North America, from Maine south to Florida, west to Minnesota and Kansas
Care notes for false yellow wild indigo.
Plant in full sun in well-drained to dry, average soil. Avoid rich, moist soil which causes flopping. Do not move once established. the taproot makes transplanting nearly impossible. Takes 2-3 years to establish fully. Leave seed pods through winter. No division needed. Patience is rewarded with a permanent, care-free presence.
Pairs well with these.
Same light, same soil, same wildlife. Janet's picks to plant alongside false yellow wild indigo.
Or skip the guesswork.
Curated packages bundle complementary species for an instant habitat. One reservation, one pickup day, a printed layout map.
Short on Space Package
For gardeners who have an abundance of passion but are short on space, this package features tidy, upright, clump-forming natives that behave and function well in small spaces.
Shade Bed Package
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Birder’s Paradise Package
For the avid bird watchers and budding ornithologists in our community, the Birder’s Paradise Package consists of species that Hill House Nursery staff and longtime native plant advocates such as Doug Tallamy consider ‘premier bird garden plants’.