Photo: Dalgial, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Indigobush (False Indigo)
Amorpha fruticosa
Also called false indigo bush, desert false indigo.
Purple flower spikes with orange stamens in June, on a nitrogen-fixing shrub for streambanks and hot dry edges.
Showy flowersWildlife valueNitrogen fixingDrought tolerantTolerates wet soil
- Type
- Shrub
- Mature height
- 6–12 ft
- USDA zones
- 4–9
- Growth rate
- Fast
- Sun
- Full · Part
- Soil moisture
- Dry · Average · Wet
210
Indigobush is a legume shrub of riverbanks and prairies that handles both flooding and drought. Its bloom draws a crowd of native bees and it hosts several butterflies. Fast and loose in habit; cut it back hard in spring to keep it dense. Excellent for stabilizing banks and for pollinator hedges.
Heights and zones are typical ranges for the species in cultivation; local conditions and seed source shift them. Estimate growth for this species →
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