Indigo Bush

Amphora Fruiticosa

Other Names: Bastard Indigo, False Indigo, Indigo Bush Amorpha, Desert False Indigo

Plant Details

USDA Plant Hardiness Zones: 4a-9b Find Your Zone

Plant Type: Perennial Shrub

Height at Maturity: 6-12′

Width at Maturity: 6-12′
Spacing: 5-6 for mass plantings; 13’+ for space between plants

Growth Habit / Form: Upright Irregular Rounded Mound

Growth Rate: Fast, Rapid

Flower Color: Deep Indigo Purple

Flower Size: Small in 8-20″ long racemes (spiked clusters)

Flowering Period: Mid Spring to Early Summer

Flower Type: Pea-like in 8-20″ long racemes (spiked clusters)

Fragrant Flowers: Yes, scented

Foliage Color: Gray-Green

Fragrant Foliage: –

Berries: Attractive seed pods

Berry Color: Brown

Sun Needs: Full Sun to Part Shade, 4 hours of sunlight or more per day

Water Needs: Average, drought tolerant when established

Soil Type: Clay (amended), Loam, Sandy, Silt

Soil Moisture / Drainage: Moist But Well Drained to Wet, drought tolerant when established

Soil pH: 5.0 – 8.0 (Slightly Acid to Neutral)

Maintenance / Care: Low

Attracts: Butterflies, Beneficial Pollinators, Hummingbirds, Visual Attention

Resistances: Cold Temperatures (-30F), Deer, Disease, Drought (when established), Clay Soil, Dry Soil, Poor Soil, Rabbit, Wet Soil

Description

A highly attractive and adaptable and easy-to-grow North American native perennial shrub, Indigo Bush features both attractive airy foliage and colorful flowers. From mid spring to early summer it boasts abundant, long, spiked flower clusters packed with unusual single petaled fragrant flowers in a shade of deep indigo-purple from which emerge a contrasting golden orange stamen. Showy copper-brown seed pods follow the flowers. Both the flowers and seed pods stand out nicely against pinnately compound grey-green leaves that give this upright shrub a fine texture and airy appearance in the landscape. Highly adaptable, Indigo Bush will thrive in full sun to part shade and dry or wet soils of average to poor fertility, which makes it a fine candidate for planting along woodland borders or ponds, stream banks and other bodies of water or boggy areas. Indigo Bush can grow up to 12 feet tall and wide if allowed. Grown naturally with no pruning it will usually form a small tree with foliage on the upper half of the plant. Otherwise, to keep it as a more dense shrub the plant can be cut back to half its height in late winter or very early spring.

Landscape / Garden Uses

Growing 6 to12 feet tall and equally as wide, Indigo Bush is ideal for use an accent, grouping or natural hedge in landscape and woodland borders and natural areas. It looks especially nice growing along ponds, streambanks and other other bodies of water or wetland areas. A fine addition to butterfly gardens, pollinator gardens, bog and rain gardens, native plant gardens and the Xeriscape (low water needs).

Growing Preferences

Indigo bush is very easy to grow in a moist to dry well-drained soil and full sun to part shade. We suggest at least 4 hours or more of sunlight for best flowering. Tolerates poor and dry soils when established. Though wet soils are tolerated, it doesn’t like standing water. Does not require pruning however responds well to it for size control and shaping purposes. With no pruning it will often form a small tree with foliage only on the top half of the plant. To maintain a bushier shrub cut the plant back by half its height in late winter to early spring.

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