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| Extract of Indigo plant applied to paper (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
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| Baptisia tinctoria 001 (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
Indigo dye has been prized by humans for thousands of years. During colonial times in America, small cubes of indigo could be used in place of currency.
There are a few plants referred to as indigo. Knowing the differences between these plants will help you to provide for their very different growing requirements.
Baptisia tinctoria is the false or wild indigo that grows throughout North America. While the rhizome can be soaked in water to produce a blue dye, it is not the famous indigo dye plant - the so-called true indigo (Indigofera tinctoria).
In most parts of North America, false indigo can be found in the wild or in flower gardens. Baptisia thrives in most temperatures (as far north as zone 3) and a wide variety of soil types. The flowers may be yellow, blue, pink or white, but the prepared rhizomes all produce a blue dye.
If you're interested in growing the true indigo, you'd do best to invest in a greenhouse as this plant is native to India and needs positively steamy temperatures to survive. It may grow well in Florida, but won't do well in the rest of the country unless grown under glass either in the home or the greenhouse.
Two alternatives for those interested in growing their own blue dye plant are European Woad (Isatis tinctoria) and Japanese indigo (Polygonum tinctorium), both of which also produce blue dye.
These plants are a happy medium between the super-fussy true indigo and the super-easy false indigo. They need warm temperatures, but it doesn't need to be steamy and the plants can be grown outdoors in much of Norther America, as long as you provide them with plenty of sun, water and fertilizer.
Dye from the Japanese indigo is produced from the leaves, rather than the rhizome, which makes for easier harvesting that can be extended over several weeks if desired.
Have you ever tried growing any of the plants called indigo?
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oh fun. I have always wanted to grow woad but was cautioned against it since it's a pretty tough weed. I do appreciate reading about these plants though!
ReplyDeleteMimi Torchia Boothby Watercolors
Woad would be my very last choice too, for the reason you mention. Baptisia is my first choice.
ReplyDeleteAgain today I learn something new from you Lilly. Thanks
ReplyDeleteHi Green Mama, first time visitor and great to meet you! Cool post. I have not grown any of these plants. But blue is my favorite color so maybe I should give it a go.
ReplyDeleteNice to meet you too Stephen, glad you enjoyed the post! Indigo can be very easily grown IF you pick the right kind for your environment. If you need help choosing just let me know, otherwise, go for it!
DeleteNice to meet you Green Mama, I am a new follower from the challenge. I work in my garden a lot and I was completely unaware of false indigo. I did not plant any indigo or "false Indigo" this year. I need to be more mindful of my environment. Your blog looks to be a great starting place for me. I am glad I came across it.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much Melissa, I'm glad you enjoy the blog! What are your garden plans for the year?
DeleteNope! I didn't know that there were so many plants named "indigo"--very interesting.
ReplyDeleteThe Golden Eagle
The Eagle's Aerial Perspective
fascinating information--and love the color!
ReplyDeleteGood afternoon,
ReplyDeleteI just came across your indigo post, in an online (google) attempt to learn more about what sort of indigo to grow. It's very interesting! I live in the southeast, where extreme summer temperatures would probably make the classic, Indian indigo hard to grow. From your knowledge or experience, can you recommend a type of indigo you think would do well in the southeast (I think I'm zone 7)?
Thank you!
Hi Anna - thanks for the comment. What type of soil do you have? And do you want to grow it for the dye or to have a nice looking flower?
ReplyDeleteThanks for your response, Lilly. I'm interested in growing the indigo for dyeing purposes. I have red clay, unfortunately. I'd probably have to grow the indigo in raised beds, with prepared soil. So the main concern would be the relentless southern summer heat.
ReplyDeleteOoh you lucky duck! If it is humid enough where you live you'll be able to grow true indigo (Indigofera tinctoria). This is the real deal, dyer's indigo, and before cotton became king it was grown in the southeast from South Carolina to Louisiana. The rest of the country doesn't have the very warm/humid conditions this plant requires so we have to content ourselves with false indigo (Baptisia spp.) which has lovely flowers but makes a muddier dye. If you order seeds or plants make sure you're getting Indigofera as I've seen both species referred to as simply "indigo" in plant company catalogs. And if you're doing raised beds I would give strong consideration to drip irrigation - you don't want to drown the roots but you don't want them getting dried out either. The root is what you'll use to make your dye, so you'll want them plump and happy. Good luck and if you do grow some please feel free to share some photos.
ReplyDelete