Hello-

My first post here! Zone 6b in eastern MA.

I have four baptisias in the "upper" part of my yard that I well maintain- mulch with wood chips, water during severe drought etc. I think the oldest is about six years old- so I have some experience with the plant.

I have a lower part of my yard- about half an acre- where I am wanting a mass plantings of drought tolerant (once established), deer and rabbit resistant perennials, ornamental grasses, dwarf conifers, acers (palmatum dissectum) and some shrubs like spiraeas. I do want to have some natives and pollinators, but I do not fall on the hardcore native side of the gardener fence. My aim for this part of my land is to reduce the amount of mowing and to "beautify".

For this year, I'm planning to focus on creating a large drift of Baptisias, growing from seed. I am on a budget... (getting money saved away for my kids' college is higher priority than gardening- even though gardening is my main hobby!) I've purchased Baptisia seed from three reputable seed vendors. I have lots of experience growing veggies from seed and some experience growing perennials. The later has been hit and miss for me- I've just "educated" myself on some of the vagaries of perennial seed sowing from Nancy Ondra's site (whoops, had to remove link to her site since I'm a new member) .

If anyone has done a mass planting or grown baptisias from seed, would love to learn your experience. I know baptisias can grow to all sorts of sizes- 3 feet tall, upwards of 6 feet tall. 2 - 5 feet in diameter. I also know they take a good 3 - 4 years to reach their full size and to really get blooming.

I am planning to plant seedlings 3 feet apart. I plan to "kill" chunks of turf grass by putting cardboard on it for 6 weeks or so. I am hoping that in 3 - 4 years, the plantings will be close enough that I will only have to go through and weed perhaps four times per year. At least before they get to "full size", I have a walk behind string trimmer that should help me easily knock down weeds. However, at some point I would like these things to be close enough to each other to crowd out weeds. It does seem that I don't ever have weeds growing near the four Baptisias I have in the "upper" part of my yard. I'm not sure why that is- perhaps the deep roots. Hence, one of my draws to Baptisia.

I am planning to start the seed with two strategies- I'm going to get seed outside in milk jugs soon and prick them out and pot them on after they begin to grow:

(removed link to Nancy's site for "milk jug sowing")

I also am going to try the wet paper towel method outlined in the popular Dr. Deno Seed Germination book:

(removed link to Dr. Deno's free book PDF)

Anyway, I'm after some perennials that are extremely drought resistant and Baptisias have done well for me. I've been where I am for 10 years now and three of those summers my area has been in "Extreme Drought". I do not want to have to water any plants in this area (once established.) Baptisials have deep tap roots of course and seem to fit the bill wonderfully.

Plan to plant on the left side of this photo- it gets a lot of sun in the summer- likely 10+ hours. I would say I want "drifts" within an 8 foot x 80 foot area. I can see trying to get 30+ baptisias in here- assuming I have good luck with getting my seeds to germinate and growing in pots for a while.

Thanks!

Is baptisia considered a native plant for your area?

It is, yes.

Baptisia from seeds seem to take a long time to form a clump for me. I have a seedling from Lemon Meringue that is about 3 years now but it has only two stems this past spring. I guess whether the seedlings clump up quickly depend on what genetics the seedlings get from the parents. Some seedlings maybe vigorous and increase fast and some seem to take a while. Since I have experience with only one seedling, it is certainly not representative of the whole picture. But the fact still remains that seedlings are variable. They may not have the same characteristics ie. some maybe taller or shorter or increase quickly or slowly. It's really hard to get a uniform mass planting, IMHO. If you don't care for the uniformity, then I'd say experiment. But if you want uniformity, it is probably best to plant the area with those that you have already grown. Baptisias grow very quickly from divisions. IT just takes only 2 years to for a division to become an established bush. The only exception is Carolina Moonlight. This has been my weakest grower to date.

My question would be... Where's the seed from the ones that you already have?

I've grown them from autumn planted (directly in the garden) seed with no problems... As mentioned above, seedlings aren't going to give a good show for years... But... I'd still plant them.

I wouldn't think you should need to water these... When you mention that you water them in the drought... I was thinking... Why?

I have germinated via baggie method in the fridge several years ago. I believe I scarified them and the root sprouted in the fridge after several months.

I personally would mix other like condition shrubs/ plants in. Baptisia bloom in the spring for around three weeks. The rest of the year you have nice foliage. Maybe that is good enough for this spot. MHO

I soak Baptisia seeds overnight then scarify with sandpaper in the region away from the hilum till I see the white cotyledons, and wintersow. Some hybrids germinate better than others.

Susan

I offer the following notes from my experience propagating Baptisia australis:

Winter sown, 2 jugs, 5 seeds each, in 1/31/2020, up 4/30/2020, 5 seedlings transplanted into five 6" pots, heeled in. All survived. Taproots busted pot bottoms. Planted out into 2 patches, 4 sf each, poor soil, full sun, June 2021. First blooms (3), 2022. Not enough to save seed. Deer ignore so far.

very good details

DeerXing said: I offer the following notes from my experience propagating Baptisia australis:

Winter sown, 2 jugs, 5 seeds each, in 1/31/2020, up 4/30/2020, 5 seedlings transplanted into five 6" pots, heeled in. All survived. Taproots busted pot bottoms. Planted out into 2 patches, 4 sf each, poor soil, full sun, June 2021. First blooms (3), 2022. Not enough to save seed. Deer ignore so far.

@carolynthorne

I like Baptisia but need to mark it. I have destroyed it in other Springs thinking the new growth was a weed. Good luck, where did you find your seed?

bluegrassmom said: I like Baptisia, where did you find your seed?

My original source is no longer available, but the seed swaps here sometimes have Baptisia seeds. I plan to save seeds from my Baptisia plants as soon as they are old enough.

Browneyedsusan said: I soak Baptisia seeds overnight then scarify with sandpaper in the region away from the hilum till I see the white cotyledons, and wintersow. Some hybrids germinate better than others.

Susan

Do your hybrids come true from seed?