Late-spring flowers
By: Garden Gate staff
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Late-spring beauties
False indigo and daffodil are two of the biggest main attractions in the garden right now, so keep them looking and blooming their very best! Follow the tips ahead and you’ll have healthy, robust bloomers to usher in summertime, year after year.
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False indigo (Baptisia australis)
This slow grower needs plenty of room to fill out, so its foliage and flower spikes are a lush mound, like the one on the left.
Type Perennial
Blooms Blue in late spring
Light Full sun
Soil Well-drained
Size 3 to 4 ft. tall and wide
Cold-hardy USDA zones 3 to 9
Heat-tolerant AHS zones 9 to 1
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Give it room
False indigo is small when you bring it home from the garden center, with only a few stems, but don’t just squeeze it in. Whenever you plant it, give it a spot at least 3 ft. wide. In an area any smaller, you may have to move it when it reaches maturity, which can be extremely difficult because of false indigo’s long taproot.
Check out the photo to the left for a good idea of placement alongside mature shrubs.
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Daffodil (Narcissus spp. and hybrids)
Daffodils are easy to grow and excellent spreaders. Plant early-, mid- and late-season bloomers, such as ‘Dutch Master’ here, for color all spring.
Type Bulb
Blooms Yellow, salmon, orange, white, creamy white or bicolor from early to late spring
Light Full sun to part shade
Soil Well-drained
Size 4 to 24 in. tall, 3 to 12 in. wide
Cold-hardy USDA zones 3 to 10
Heat-tolerant AHS zones 12 to 1
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Divide and conquer
Once a clump of daffodil starts to crowd, it won’t produce many blooms. Luckily, It’s not hard to give them renewed energy when this happens. Wait until blooms are finished in early summer, and then use the leaves as your guide when cutting a clump like the one here into smaller divisions.
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