Baptisia Decadence® Deluxe 'Pink Truffles'

Baptisia Decadence® Deluxe 'Pink Truffles': Blush Spires That Drift Toward Lavender

Soft pink flowers that mellow to lavender, piled onto a big shrubby clump like a box of chocolates somebody actually shared. 'Pink Truffles' is tall, rich and impossible to resist. ONE IS NEVER ENOUGH.

Plant Characteristics:

• Botanical Name: Baptisia hybrid
• Common Name: False Indigo
• Series: Decadence® Deluxe, a Proven Winners® perennial
• Height: 120–140 cm (4–4.5 ft)
• Spread: 90–120 cm (3–4 ft)
• Flowers: Soft pink pea-like flowers with a pale yellow keel, on upright spikes. The colour softens to lavender as the flowers age.
• Bloom Time: Late spring to early summer (June to July)
• Foliage: Deep blue-green, forming a dense, shrub-like clump
• Features: Salt tolerant, no deadheading needed

Where to Plant: At well over a metre tall, this is a middle-to-back-of-the-border plant, or a stand-alone specimen where you'd otherwise put a small shrub. It handles the salt spray along driveways and sidewalks, and lean, dry soil doesn't slow it down. The flower spikes are good for cutting, and the seed pods can be dried for arrangements.

Companion Plants: Plant tall 'Pink Truffles' in a sunny, well-drained bed with blue in spring and orange in summer. Aubrieta 'Rock On Blue' carpets the front at 10 to 15 cm with blue-purple flowers from April to June. Sedum SunSparkler® 'Blue Pearl' adds blue leaves and hot pink flowers at 15 to 20 cm in August and September. Echinacea 'Mellow Scarlets' brings orange and red coneflowers at 80 cm from June to October. Pennisetum Lumen Gold™ glows bright gold at 30 to 60 cm in spring.

Plant Care: Plant in full sun to part sun, in average to poor soil that drains well. Skip the fertilizer; rich soil only makes it floppy. Water regularly through the first growing season, then water only during long dry spells. Baptisia puts down a deep taproot and often takes two or three years to reach full size. It resents being moved or divided, so choose its spot with the mature size in mind. No deadheading is needed. Leave the stems standing for winter interest, or cut them to the ground in late fall or early spring.

History: The Decadence® series was developed by hybridizer Hans Hansen and introduced through Walters Gardens, growing out of years of crosses between wild Baptisia species he collected in Texas and Oklahoma. 'Pink Truffles' is described as the first pink Baptisia and belongs to the Deluxe line, the taller branch of the family.

Final Thoughts: Give it a sunny spot with room to spread its elbows, then leave it alone. INDULGENT, YES. FATTENING, NOT EVEN SLIGHTLY.