Baptisia Brownie Points - False Indigo

Baptisia 'Brownie Points' is a brand new variety of indigo Lupin that is quite innovative and should quickly find a place in our country, romantic or even contemporary gardens. This hybrid Baptisia, as ornamental and durable as a bush, is a beautiful perennial that grows in dense clumps and offers a particularly long and original spring flowering, in a harmony of brown tones, both dark and very warm. Its caramel, amber and chocolate pea flowers, touched with coppery yellow, grouped in long spikes, dominate a trifoliate foliage that remains interesting even outside of flowering. This Baptisia, both hardy, undemanding, and drought-resistant once established, is a very beautiful plant for poor soils.

Baptisia 'Brownie Points', obtained in the United States in 2015, is a perennial plant from the Fabaceae family resulting from extensive research and hybridization. Its ancestors, including the most well-known being perhaps Baptisia australis, are all native to the prairies and woods of the east and central United States (Texas, Oklahoma). They grow among tall grasses without any care, perfectly tolerating frost and dry summers. Their only enemy is active limestone, when it is too present in the soil.

The 'Brownie Points' variety forms a bushy and ramified clump reaching an average height of 90cm (35in) and a spread of 1.10m (4ft). Flowering begins in May-June and continues for several weeks. This variety is often still in bloom when others have faded. Above a clump of leafy stems appear 25cm (10in) spikes, composed of papilionaceous flowers with very unusual tones for hybrids. The overall impression when looking at this flowering is a dark and vibrant profusion, resulting from a mixture of almost black velvety brown, caramel, coppery brown, with a tiny touch of yellow. Over time, the emerging flowers become darker and never fade into a yellow tone. The foliage, which disappears in winter, is also very ornamental when swaying in the wind. It consists of green-blue leaves, divided into three rounded leaflets, resembling those of alfalfa or clover. This very perennial plant is capable of living for many long years in the garden, without any special care once well established.

Baptisias are close cousins of lupins, which are much better known in Europe, but they are much less demanding in terms of soil and moisture. They have very robust roots that allow them to live as long as bushes in our gardens. They just need time to settle. A true camel plant, the 'Brownie Points' indigo lupin will find its place in a contemporary, romantic, dry garden, or in natural areas. It is also useful for decorating a degraded land, which often surrounds a recently built house. It looks stunning in the company of white, pink or blue flowers, allowing for many associations according to the tastes of each gardener. A spring Spirea, an evergreen Ceanothus, a rose 'The Fairy', or a Pieris 'Valley Rose' in acidic soil will highlight its beautiful brown flowering. White and silver foliage plants (shrubby wormwoods, Cinerarias) will also accompany it with elegance.

The vernacular name 'Indigo Lupin' comes from the use that some Native American peoples made of these dye plants. Indeed, they provide dye pigments comparable to those of true indigos (of the Antillean genus Indigofera), but of lesser quality.