Baptisia ‘Purple Smoke’

* Common name: False indigo ‘Purple Smoke’  

* Botanical name: Baptisia ‘Purple Smoke’

* What it is: A tall, dense perennial that’s bushy and shrub-like in size and habit. Gets soft, smoky-purple flower spikes in June, followed by pea-like seed pods. Hybrid of a native species.

* Size: Nearly 4 feet tall and 3 to 4 feet wide.

* Where to use: Back of a perennial border or in any sunny mixed garden.

* Care: Fertilize in early spring with a granular, organic flower fertilizer. Snip off flower heads after bloom if you don’t want the pods. Cut foliage to ground after frost kills it in fall or in early spring before new growth begins. Doesn’t move well, so keep it where you plant it.

* Great partner: Dwarf catmint or any pink dianthus look good at its feet. Or interplant with allium ‘Globemaster,’ which bloom purple at the same time.

— George Weigel