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Baptisia Carolina Moonlight

Baptisia (bap-TEE-zee-uh)

Family: Fabaceae Unknown Herbaceous (3-15 ft)

'Carolina Moonlight' is a hybrid false indigo in the bean family (Fabaceae). It was found as a random seedling at the NC Botanical Garden and introduced in 2002. Parentage is B. sphaerocarpa x B.alba. This easy-to-grow plant has a long tap root so choose your location carefully as it will not transplant well. Grow in average well-drained acidic soil in full sun to partial shade but does best in full sun. This plant tolerates poor soils and drought once established. It may take 2-3 years to mature and start blooming. It will grow 3-4 feet tall with a similar spread. 'Carolina Moonlight' has blue-green foliage that stays attractive all year. The showy yellow spring flowers are held well above the foliage in clusters on 18-inch stems. Use 'Carolina Moonlight' in the border, as a specimen, in small groups or in naturalized settings. Insects, Diseases, and Other Plant Problems: No significant problems. Moths will eat the foliage.

Source: NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox ↗ NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox, 51 attributes.

How it fits the guild

Guild layer 4 - Herbaceous (3-15 ft) Optimal soil pH Acid (<6.0); Neutral (6.0-8.0)
See companions & conflicts ↓

Companions & Conflicts

Curated pairwise relationships between this plant and others in the library — who feeds whom, who competes, who confuses the pests. Green reads as a good pairing, red as one to avoid.

No curated interactions recorded for this species yet.

Also noted by NC State

Related species the NC State Plant Toolbox flags for this plant — look-alikes to tell apart, and plants that play a similar role in a planting. Ones we carry in the library are linked.

Fills a similar niche Baptisia 'Purple Smoke' Baptisia tinctoria Euphorbia characias subsp. wulfenii

Full plant profile

Growing Conditions
Plant type
Perennial
Life cycle
Perennial
USDA zones
4a, 4b, 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b, 9a, 9b
Light
Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day) | Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)
Soil texture
Clay; Loam (Silt); Sand
Soil pH
Acid (<6.0); Neutral (6.0-8.0)
Soil drainage
Good Drainage | Moist | Occasionally Dry
Available space
3 feet-6 feet
NC region
Coastal; Mountains; Piedmont
Mature size
Height: 3 ft. 0 in. - 4 ft. 0 in. | Width: 3 ft. 0 in. - 4 ft. 0 in.
Growth rate
Medium
Maintenance
Low
Canopy layer
4 - Herbaceous (3-15 ft)
Form & Appearance
Habit / form
Arching; Erect
Texture
Medium
Leaf color
Blue; Green
Leaf type
Compound (Pinnately , Bipinnately, Palmately)
Leaf arrangement
Alternate
Leaf margin
Entire
Leaf feel
Smooth
Leaf value
Long-lasting; Showy
Leaf size
1-3 inches long, < 1 inch wide
Hairs present
No
Leaf detail
Trifolate blue-green foliage with 2-inch-long leaflets
Flower color
Gold/Yellow
Flower value
Showy
Flower form
Raceme
Flower shape
Lipped
Flower size
< 1 inch
Flower detail
2-lipped yellow pea-like flowers appear in spring on 18-inch racemes that are held above the foliage
Bloom time
Spring
Fruit detail
Hasn't produced fruit as of yet
Stem color
Gray/Silver; Green
Stem detail
Stems are a gray-green and smooth
Wildlife & Ecology
Native status
Unknown
Wildlife value
Attracts butterflies to the flowers and some moth larvae will eat the foliage
Attracts
Butterflies; Moths
Landscape Use
Landscape location
Meadow; Naturalized Area
Landscape theme
Children's Garden; Cottage Garden; Drought Tolerant Garden; Pollinator Garden
Design feature
Border
Garden tags
#heat tolerant #showy leaves #herbaceous perennial #showy flowers #yellow flowers #drought tolerant #specimen #naturalized area #meadow #spring flowers #deer resistant #border middle #butterfly friendly
Problems & Resistance
Resistant to
Deer; Heat
Particularly resistant to
Deer resistance

Planted at Hunnicutt

Nobody’s planted this one yet.