BEHOLD THE BEAUTY OF THE FALSE INDIGO BUSH
BEHOLD THE BEAUTY OF FALSE INDIGO BUSH
Amorpha fruticosa, also commonly called FALSE INDIGO BUSH or Indigo Bush, is an absolutely beautiful thicket forming shrub. Last year I found it growing on a downhill slope on our property about 50 feet from the spring fed creek, which is the type of area they are often found. It likes to grow near creeks and streams.
The first couple of years we lived here, we had a guy come brush hog this area of the property because if it wasn't kept short, it was like wading through a sea of tick infested wildflowers. The waist high wildflowers and grasses were pretty, but also a fire hazard being so near to one of our pole barns.
We weren't completely sure what we were going to do with that area, either, so we just decided to keep it cut short like the rest of the yard. That required brush hogging because if we were late mowing by just a week or two the whole area would have been too tall to use a regular mower without breaking it.
I wasn't even aware of this FALSE INDIGO BUSH until last year after taking a short walk. It must have been there before the times it was brush hogged, but the plant survived anyway. Maybe cutting it back like that was good for it, acting like a pruning.
It has soft pretty leaves on it's branches. They remind me of a smaller version of Mimosa tree leaves. When I first saw this, that's what I thought it was. As much as I think those trees are pretty, they are invasive here. They will end up spreading and crowding out the native plants. That is not good for the ecosystem. I was happy to learn from people in the area who are knowledgeable on Missouri Native Plants that it was actually the FALSE INDIGO BUSH and would do no harm. We already have a lot of invasives which need to be eradicated.
Apparently it can grow quite tall, about 10 to 12 feet at maturity, although this information seems to vary widely. Right now it is only about 4 feet. I bet it will be spectacular once it is fully grown! We did not have the fields cut down last year. All the flowers were sooooo beautiful, even the invasives, but also a really big pain in the tookus. Now that the FALSE INDIGO BUSH is so big it cannot be brush hogged anymore. That isn't exactly what we had planned for this area, although the plan isn't set in stone yet.
What I would prefer to do is propagate it by taking cuttings to move it closer to the edge of the creek, in an alternating arrangement with other Missouri Native plants, such as Hazelnut, Elderberry, Paw Paw, and Black Raspberries. I had thought of possibly digging it up, but according to locals in the area, that will be extremely hard to do. This is still something I am thinking on. Time will tell.
(All images were taken by me, @phedizzle, on my homestead with my MOTO X Smartphone)
When I researched the FALSE INDIGO BUSH I found that it is one of the plants that can be purchased from the Missouri Department Of Conservation to help with erosion control. That put a smile on my face!
However, the website which seemed to have the most valuable information, posted on The University Of Texas At Austin's website can be found here if you are interested in learning more. According the website, its benefits are many...
Use Ornamental: Fast growing, Attractive, Blooms ornamental, Bog or pond area, Water garden
Use Wildlife: Nectar-bees, Nectar-butterflies, Nectar-insects, Browse.
Conspicuous Flowers: yes
Fragrant Flowers: yes
Fragrant Foliage: yes
Attracts: Butterflies
Larval Host: California & southern dogfaces, Silver-spotted Skipper (Epargyreus clarus), Gray hairstreak, Hoary edge skipper.
Deer Resistant: High
However,
This shrub, which often forms thickets on riverbanks and islands, can be weedy or invasive in the northeast.
Even though an invasive in the Upper East Coast, for me, there is just so much YES about this plant. Happy to have discovered it! Now if I can figure out how to plan around it, and/or move it somehow.
Now that you are more familiar with FALSE INDIGO BUSH, the next post will delve into another very common plant growing in/next to my homestead, which I first mentioned in my recent short story post WALK ALONG WITH ME #1. Stay tuned for the next post DANDY DANDELION!Thank you for following along. If you enjoy these posts, I would greatly appreciate a FOLLOW, UP-VOTE, & RESTEEM. #PAL #walkwithme
Previous posts of this week's series:
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Beautiful pictures!
I wanted to come and introduce myself as a fellow Ozarkian homesteader! So glad I found you from a post from @mountainjewel!
Well hello there neighbor! Nice to meet you! The Ozarks are magical, special place to live. Looking forward to seeing your posts about homesteading there!
Yay! This makes me really happy to see/read as this is a plant I met last year and put dozens of them around our property. I got it from the Forest Nursery you mention in the article - a fantastic price and most of them grew just fine.
I plan on using them as chop and drop plants as they fix nitrogen on their roots and grow quickly (as you said so well). Read: Tons of biomass!
I think they're great for the plantings you mentioned. Personally I'm interplanting them with fruit trees, aronias (also got at the forest nursery), and even around my annual beds. I plan to keep them pruned back quite a bit and just lay the chopped leaves/branches off around my annual plants.
That's a great idea I hadn't even considered! Chop n drop!! I'm really wanting to beef up the edibles here,along with a natural privacy fence and turn this place into no mow. I'm in love with this shrub. At you chipping them up at all? This would be great to add to the compost bin, too. You've given me great ideas! Did you smell yours?the flowers weren't totally open when I snapped the pictures so I did not smell them. I'll collect seeds next year hopefully
mine are still babies so no flowers last year- hopefully this year, i can't wait!!
if i had a chipper i should would chip em! and yes adding to compost is a great idea!
i think theyd make excellent hedges, as would would hazelnuts!
Honestly I think it was just lucky timing. I went back a week later and saw no flowers. Those flowers did not seem to stick around long. You should stalk them with a a spy camera hahahaha. They would make good hedges! I'd want more privacy and less likelihood of them taking over the property line to the east since it butts up to the neighbors hay pasture. Still trying to figure out what to plant there as a natural fence that wont invade the neighbor's land. People have guns around here. Juuuuust kidding. Or am I? hehe
would you want to be in our Ozarks of missouri group. i see you live in KC. my sis lives there and we live about 4 hours south! just thinking ahead if we plan any group meetings! :)
Yes absolutely!!! Would love to be in the group! I actually live in Garden City which is about 50 miles south of Kansas City.
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Perhaps you can propagate it with air layering. Loved your post, re-steemed!
ooo I have to look that up. Have you written a post on that? It's an unfamiliar term. Thank you for resteeming!
I have used this method with great success in the past. I havn't written on the process, it's something I should consider doing this spring. If you decide to try it, you will document it as well?
yes I will. I am working on my "so many plans and such short attention span" problem. oh look, squirrel. haha. I need to research this method so I am putting it on my to do list! Hopefully you post about it since you have personal experience using the method. { :
I have the same problem, I was just cleaning out my email and thinking the exact same thing. Your, "so many plans and such short attention span" quote was on the money!
It will be spring before I can do any air layering. There are several ways to do it. I have seen everything from expensive air layering spheres you can purchase, to plastic cups, cling wrap, peat-moss and duct tape.
You write about a topic that does interest me. There is not much nature around me in Seoul but if I look carefully I can find it. The usefulness of pants fascinated me as a college student after reading a book called, "Stalking the Wild Asparagus."
Thank you very much. There is actually some nature when I get into the mountains. Have a great one ^-^
that sounds like a really interesting book! i will have to remember to look for it. The title is gripping. Sometimes slowing down to look closely, we can be surprised by what we have missed before. I wish there were more nature for you to enjoy, but am glad you have found what is around you. thank you for the reply. { :