Baptisia Twilite Prairieblues™ is a breakthrough plant from Jim Ault’s marvelous breeding program at the Chicago Botanic Garden.

This is a true bicolor Baptisia with deep, purple-violet flowers and a lemon-yellow keel at the center. The cross is B. australis on B. sphaerocarpa. The result is a vigorous, bushy hybrid that will reach 5ft in 2–3 years and cover itself with hundreds of enchanting blooms beginning in May and continuing through mid-June. The foliage is the usual handsome blue green of the genus and remains fresh and clean all summer. PPAF

Baptisia is a genus of about 35 species of North American perennials, a handful of which are excellent garden plants. They look well on their own against walls and fences, or combined in a border with other June bloomers such as Achillea, Aquilegia, Geranium, and Roses. In full sun (required even in the South) and well-drained soil, these plants are extremely long lived and can hardly be pried out of the garden once established.