With a name like 'Solar Flare’ you would expect nothing less than a vibrant show of bright yellow flowers, and this hybrid False Indigo delivers just that! Flowers aside, Solar Flare False Indigo starts the season off with stalks of light purple stems topped with unfurling clusters of round, three-parted light green leaves, resembling a cross between asparagus and lupine. Plants quickly grow to an architectural size before peaking in bloom in late May. Nearly two-foot-tall spikes are adorned with vibrant flowers transitioning from an amber at the base to sulfur-yellow at the tip and become a frequent pit stop for bees. The blooms are succeeded by handsome bean-like seed pods that can stay on the flowering stalks until late autumn, adding a real charm and movement on breezy days.
Conditions: Full sun; medium moisture soils
Size: 3’-4’ tall, 4’ wide
Zone: 4 - 9
Wildlife Value: Flowers provide nectar and pollen for bees, especially bumblebees; larval host plant for several butterfly species, including the Orange Sulphur, Clouded Sulphur, Frosted Elfin, Eastern Tailed Blue, Hoary Edge, and Wild Indigo Duskywing
Photo: David Korbonits