Baptisia in a pot

I've had Wild Blue Indigo growing in a pot for about four years. I got it as a seedling and it has grown really well, but it has never flowered. Last year I added some organic granular fertilizer - still no blooms. Does anyone have experience growing baptisias in pots? Do I need to put it in the ground?
FK

My MIL grew some in a pot and it didn't bloom until she got it out into the ground, but I think baptisia does take a few years to bloom from seed anyway you grow it. It is very hardy - have you left the pot out through the winter? It takes a dormant spell to get a bloom, as well.

If I am not mistaken, the roots on Baptisia generally go down to the 10' depth possibly deeper. That's not a plant for a pot for the long haul. Plants I started from seed a few years ago bloomed the first time this year. I think, not positive, that you may need to plant them out. This plant does need a dormancy as indicated by Kathleen.

I am still waiting for baptisia seedlings that I planted (in the ground) three years ago to bloom. Its looking promising this year... they get bigger and stronger and looking each year.

Joe, Which Baptisia did you start?

Mine is white false indigo, I forget the latin name... (lactea... looked it up)

Even though white is preferred for my soil condition, I'd really like to try some cream false indigo (bracteata) ... I tried to order some of those this year but it was out of stock/sold out at three different nurseries.

Yup, I ran into the same problem. And, I don't necessarily want to start ordering for next season now. I did run across a source for seed. I think it might have been T's Flowers.

I did manage to get my hands on some False Indigo (Amorpha fruticosa). Nice wetland species. They're tiny but they should take off.

I bought a little potted one last year from Prairie Nursery. The blue one...Baptisia australis.....it grew a lot this spring and had lots of blooms. Then something came along and it looks like it stripped it of the flowers. What does that?

I haven't a clue specifically what would strip solely the flowers.

The flowers on Baptisia die off suddenly...one day they're there, the next....they're gone.

A baptisia is probably not going to bloom in a pot, their roots should go really deep as Equil mentioned above. I'll winter sow them in pots, but I move them into the ground the same spring after they sprout.

Joepye, last I heard it was 5 years from seed to bloom for Baptisia! They seed themselves quite readily...I have literally hundreds of seedlings that need to find new homes, momma plant was quite fecund last year!

hmmm - hundreds of seedlings looking for new homes... I might have to help you out and find homes for some of those... what species do you have?

The ones that I have ... I had started in the winter and put them in the ground three seasons ago... so I may have two more years until they bloom.

I started an entire flat of seedlings.... I planted 5 in my yard ... the rest were given to my brother, my mother, my sister and some friends. Only three of the 5 that I planted are still around.

They're yours if you want them, JoePye. They're Baptisia Australis. Just send me a d-mail. Momma plant is about 4 1/2 feet high, and about 8 feet around. Huge. She didn't bloom as well this year as last, but it still looked really good! I also have at least 6 oz. of seed from last year, that has been properly stored.

This message was edited Jun 13, 2006 3:27 PM

Beautiful!

Thanks, Equil. Here's "Momma" last year, before all the blooms had fully opened.

This message was edited Jun 13, 2006 3:31 PM

My baby from Momma is doing just fine!

I had heard that last years drought may affect the blooms on this years plants...

some of my spring ephemerals did seem to be a bit stunted this year... but that could just be me over thinking things...

I wish some of my spring ephemerals had been stunted, LOL! Virginia Waterleaf is going crazy, as usual. Soloman's Seal is also going crazy, and my bloodroot had doubled in size.

quit braggin' would ya...

I had moved the year before and had transplanted tons of stuff from my old house to the new house last spring. It was a heck of year to try to keep transplants alive...I hate watering... that is why I got into natives and then all last summer there I was, watering transplants --- although most of the stuff did fairly well considering the drought... some of the stuff that didn't make it were the woodland stuff - larkspurs didn't show - neither did the jacob's ladder. My shooting stars were there but they were really small and barely bloomed. The prairie dock didn't make it either - beside the drought, I doubt I was able to get enough of the tap root - although it seemed like I had gotten about two feet of it... I had a few clumps of something either rudbeckia's or echinacea that didn't make it either...

The culversroot, ironweed, joepyeweed, cupplant, asters, coneflowers and the grasses are so hearty I don't think I could kill them if I tried...(though it looks like my two clumps of side oats grama may not make it either)

Though I blame the drought - it could be difference in soil condition between the two homes too....???

Cupplant. I planted some of that last fall and unfortunately my tags were drug away by the squirrels I believe. So, I don't know what some stuff is. Who has a pic of what the plant looks like? Like from 5 ft away? I googled it, and I get photos of the flower and perhaps a few leaves, but I want to see the whole plant Anybody?

Check the point where the leaves attache to the stalk. If the leaves wrap around the stalk and are holding a bit of water there - that is cupplant.

My camera battery has been lost. I really have been hoping to find it, rather than purchase another one...

You can have some virginia waterleaf, soloman's seal and bloodroot, too. I really do have to do a bit of thinning.

Tee he he, can I split your thinned out bloodroot with her please?

Equil, you can have all of the bloodroot and the water leaf, I have lots of those.

But I will split the soloman's seal with ya....

I only had one soloman's seal survive from last year. Its the one that hang's over the driveway and gets broken off anyway... go figure that is the one that would live...

So what kind of ferns do you need to thin? ;- )

I'm struggling with ferns over here. For some reason, the squirrels like to dig around the bases of them and they lift them out of the ground and needless to say they dry out before I can get home from work and get them nestled back in the ground. I'm losing 1 out of every 10 that I plant. If they can make it one year here, they seem to be able to survive. Sooner or later I will have ferns to thin. It's only a matter of time given the laws of large numbers. The squirrels also go for my carnivorous plants big time and they seem particularly fond of Tiarella. Tiarella they can destroy almost as fast as I plant it in the ground. While the squirrels are busy destroying everything, the chipmunks are busy planting sunflower seeds. I can't tell you how many little clumps of sunflower seeds I find germinating all over here. What a pain in the butt.

I've got Solomon's seal here. Several different species that I'm trying to establish so you can have all of hers. I think she has P. biflorum. I already got a few chunks of Virginia Waterleaf from her and no critters are bothering that so it's taking off nicely. I need it to take off in that area. I will take all of her Bloodroot though since you don't want it. That excites me. For some reason the deer are eating my Bloodroot. I have been paying $3.50 per plant for them to dine on them. I have one special double Bloodroot that is under a wire cage. I think that is the only Bloodroot I have left out there and I have probably planted well over 100 in the past few years. They also seem to be particularly fond of Trillium I plant here. I have 3 left of the 400 of those that I planted here a few years ago. I wanted them to establish. I could go on at what has been eaten here but I'm sure you're a veritable smorgasbord yourself.

We don't have the deer problem down here as much as you do up there...I think we have more open space and more hunting so the deer population is not as concentrated.

We have rabbit, chipmunk and squirrel issues... which can be painful, but nearly as bad as the deer are...

My friend who lives out in a rural area on a farm does have deer problems but she doesn't have any rabbits at all. (We think its because the coyotes are doing a good job of rabbit control.)

$3.50 per plant - ouch. I think that it would be nearly impossible to establish anything there without deer control. I thought that you had those tall nearly invisible deer fences?

No, that's Kevin_5 who had those fences. I'm in a neighborhood that has a HO Association. We have an Appearance Committee. The Appearance Committee doesn't like fences. They obstruct one's view. I used to have a vegetable garden. They allowed me to have a temporary fence provisional upon it being removed annually.

Oh yes, that was Kevin_5. I remember the discussion and the photos, I just forgot who had the fence...

You would think you could get a variance for that type of fence... but knowing HOA's, it doesn't surprise me that they would be stickler on their fence rule...

I need to send dode my snail mail address.

Wish it was me who had the fence. I'd cut a check in a heartbeat and fence in the entire 5 acres. Did you see the photos he posted of the vegetation within the fence as opposed to the vegetation on the other side? Remarkable difference.

No deer or rabbits here..so Equil..you can have bloodroot. Joe-Pye, you are welcome to soloman's seal. I don't know what kind it is....but it's about 3 feet tall.

Yay! Lucky me! Bloodroot for the buffet!

Well, I WAS hoping you'd protect them, LOL!

I try. Law of large numbers. They can't get them all... or so I tell myself.

terryr does this site help with you cupplant id?

http://www.missouriplants.com/Yellowopp/Silphium_perfoliatum_page.

I just collected some Solomon Seal seeds from my workplace last week so am looking forward to finally seeing them in my own garden. At work, I started with just one plant 3 years ago (which I accidentally dug up with some ferns I planted in that garden, delightful accident) and now there are about 7. Are they spreading by root or do they actually seed themselves pretty readily?

RW

terryr my link isn't doing what I want. Go to missouriplants.com and then to yellow flowers with opposite leaves and scan down to Silphium perfoliatum. Sorry.

Rootwad,

They spread most readily by rhizomes. They'll also spread by seed, but that is a slower process, I believe the seed of Soloman's Seal requires double dormancy.

Would this be the plant?

And this up closer?

dodecatheon, I guess I'll be waiting a couple of years, won't I? I'm going to plant those seeds this week. I got the ferns that plant came in out of a deep draw on my place. I could also go back there and get one. They seem to transplant pretty readily. My workplace garden (I built it in 2003 at the employee entrance to show examples of native plants) is a forced environment and rather harsh. The plants are all shade loving and I have to cover them with a shade cloth during the summer. The Soloman's Seal seems to thrive anyway.

RW

terryr, you know, I'm not sure, I want to say it's not. It has a square stem but the leaves don't cup enough or aren't shiny enough I don't think. I don't cultivate this plant because I don't have the habitat and I'm not familiar with it as it is growing. Also, the ones I'm seeing along the road now are taller.

I'm sure someone here could id that more positively than I can.

RW

Hey all! Thanks for the info on the Baptisia. I actually put it in the ground yesterday so we'll see what happens next year. I love seeing that plant in bloom and the possibility of it self-seeding makes me very happy :-)

Sounds like you guys know a lot about growing natives -- any idea what might be turning the tips of my Culver's Root black? It has happened every year - tips turn black and then curl over. My neighbor who I got it from also has the same problem, but she has time to break off the tips - I don't! It's planted in full sun, but the spot gets a little dry sometimes.

terryr, I have Cup Plant growing - about 5ft tall now. I'll try to get a photo. The photos you posted do look like it.

dodecatheon, do you collect seeds from your Bloodroot? I tried planting seeds a few years ago, but nothing came up...

FK

Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis) is one of those touchy seeds. It's not a double dormancy seed but if you let it dry out, your odds of getting germination are going to be very poor if not non existent. This is one of those seeds that I'd just flat out broadcast into the area where you want it to grow or go straight for cold stratification out the gate. See if that doesn't increase your germination rate.

Culver's Root (veronicastrum virginicum) is one of those plants that you get a lot of mixed information on. Most resources claim it grows best in full sun and average to moist well drained soil. Mine seems to grow best in part shade and moist soil. Although I've not had to deal with this before I'll take a guess you may be dealing with a fungus. Stressed plants are very susceptible and if your Culver's Root is not planted in the right spot or is not receiving enough water, it might have fallen victim to some sort of a blight. Check that avenue and see if you find anything. Here's hoping somebody who has had to deal with black curling leaf tips of Culver's Root is out there to comment.