wetland shrub

False indigo bush

Amorpha fruticosa

Native to much of the USA and southern Canada

New Jersey to southeastern Wisconsin, Minnesota, Saskatchewan and Wyoming, south to Florida, Texas and northern Mexico,southern California to New Mexico and adjacent Mexico

Light Full sun to part shade Sun tolerance
Moisture Moist Moisture preference
Zones 3–10 Cold to heat range
Bloom Apr–Jun Flowering time
Height up to 12 ft to 3.7 m
Life cycle Perennial Annual to perennial

Full details, see below

In the garden

A wetland shrub for full sun to part shade and evenly moist soil. At up to 12 ft, it needs room in rain gardens, pond edges, and damp low spots. Hardy in USDA zones 3–10.

Growing conditions

Light

Full sun Partial shade Full shade

Moisture

Dry Moist Wet

Hardiness zones

Find your zone:

Pollinators & wildlife

Bees Common Eastern Bumble Bee

also Western Honey Bee, Brown-belted Bumble Bee, Two-spotted Bumble Bee +79 more
American Bumble Bee, Tricolored Bumble Bee, Bicolored Striped Sweat Bee, Bombus fervidus, Red-belted Bumble Bee, Perplexing Bumble Bee, Black-and-gold Bumble Bee, Half-black Bumble Bee, Agapostemon texanus, Brown-winged Striped Sweat Bee, Modest Masked Bee, Spurred Ceratina, Wilke's Mining Bee, Southern Plains Bumble Bee, Orange-tipped Wood-digger, Silky Striped Sweat Bee, Spotted Nomad Bee, Bristle Sweat Bee, Rugose-chested Sweat Bee, Cresson's Mining Bee, Say's Cuckoo Leafcutter Bee, Articulated Nomad, Cherry Mining Bee, Red-tailed Mining Bee, Anthophora walshii, Ceratina dupla, Ceratina mikmaqi, Hylaeus affinis, Florida Pebble Bee, Spot-fronted Wool-carder Bee, Triepeolus cressonii, Forbes' Mining Bee, Andrena nothoscordi, Andrena cragini, Ceanothus Miner Bee, Asian Honey Bee, Lasioglossum oceanicum, Nimble Ceratina, Lasioglossum coriaceum, Osmia steinmanni, Nomada rhenana, Lasioglossum lissonotum, Lasioglossum quadrisignatum, White-tipped Leafcutter Bee, Eucera chrysopyga, Pinewood Mason Bee, Lasioglossum glabriusculum, Clay Bumble Bee, Megachile pyrenaica, Ravoux's Small-Mason, Osmia mustelina, Andrena intermedia, Lasioglossum nigripes, Andrena similis, Lasioglossum marginellum, Anthophora aestivalis, Small Shiny Furrow Bee, Andrena gelriae, Mountain Mason Bee, Clover Blunt-horn, Pseudopanurgus labrosus, Lasioglossum griseolum, Noble Nomad, Osmia gallarum, Osmia tergestensis, black-brushed leafcutter bee, Large Meadow Mining Bee, Xenoglossa strenua, Lot's Woolcarder, Banded Mud Bee, Osmia rufohirta, Unexpected Bumble Bee, Osmia viridana, Bombus sp., Lasioglossum tegulare, Sanicle Masked Bee, Andrena cressonii kansensis, Short-palped Miner, Singular Miner Bee
Moths Large Yellow Underwing

also White-marked Tussock Moth, North American Common Gray, Bristly Cutworm Moth +20 more
Black-bordered Lemon Moth, Subterranean Dart, Julia's Dicymolomia Moth, Subgothic and Tricose Darts, Powdered Dagger and Allies, Basswood Leafroller Moth, Common Spring Moth, Eastern Grass-veneer, Brown-banded Lipocosma Moth, Common Pinkband, Zebra Conchylodes Moth, Slowpoke Moth, Common Angle, Hollow-spotted Blepharomastix Moth, Mother of Pearl, Lochmaeus manteo, Celery Leaftier Moth, Double-lined Prominent, Three-staff Underwing, Io Moth
Butterflies Monarch

also Gulf Fritillary, Silver-spotted Skipper, Painted Lady +12 more
Gray Hairstreak, Marine Blue, Reakirt's Blue, Cassius Blue, Coral Hairstreak, Sooty Copper, Common Zebra Blue, European Peacock Butterfly, Mitoura gryneus, Protographium marcellus, Cyaniris neglecta, Little Yellow
Also visited by
- Flower flies:
  
  Broad-headed Marsh Fly, Striped Bromeliad Fly +2 more
  Scar-horned Blacklet, Tropidia quadrata
- Beetles:
  
  Margined Leatherwing Beetle, Slender Flower Longhorn Beetle +2 more
  Scymnus consobrinus, Tumbling Nun
- Wasps: Keyhole Wasp

Butterflies that use this plant

Documented host and nectar records. Each links to a planting guide for that butterfly.

Full plant details

Where it grows

Habitat: WetlandThe wild plant community it grows in.
Native range: Much of the USA and southern CanadaUnited States (38): AL, AR, AZ, CA, CO, DC, DE, FL, GA, IA, ID, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MD, MI, MN, MO, MS, NC, ND, NE, NJ, NM, NY, OK, PA, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VA, WI, WV, WY. Canada (1): MB. Where it grows wild on its own, by state and province.
Native distribution: New Jersey to southeastern Wisconsin, Minnesota, Saskatchewan and Wyoming, south to Florida, Texas and northern Mexico,southern California to New Mexico and adjacent MexicoThe same native range, usually more exact than the state list, and often noting where it has spread beyond it.

Growing conditions

Light: Full sun to part shadeHow much sun it takes, from full sun to full shade.
Moisture: MoistThe soil dampness it prefers, from dry to wet.
Hardiness zones: USDA 3–10 · Canadian 3–7The cold-to-heat climate range it survives.
Soil: Moist soils to dry sands. pH adaptable. Sandy, Sandy Loam, Medium Loam, Clay Loam, Clay, Acid-based, CalcareousThe soils it grows in naturally.
Soil texture: Light to medium (sandy to loamy)The soil grade it prefers, from sand to clay.
Soil pH: 5.0–8.5The acidity to alkalinity it tolerates (7 is neutral).
Soil quality: LowHow rich a soil it needs. Many natives prefer lean soil and flop in rich beds.
Water use: LowHow thirsty it is, a rough guide to how often to water.
Salinity tolerance: MediumHow well it copes with salty soil, near roads or the coast.
Lime (CaCO₃) tolerance: MediumHow well it copes with chalky, lime-rich soil.

Growth & form

Height: up to 12 ft (to 3.7 m)Typical mature height.
Life cycle: PerennialWhether it lives a single season (annual), two (biennial), or returns for years (perennial).
Growth rate: SlowA relative ranking versus other plants of the same type (USDA), not an absolute rate.
Shape: RoundedIts overall silhouette.
Root depth: 24+ in (61+ cm)How far the roots reach, a guide to drought resilience and transplanting.

Flowers, foliage & fruit

Type: ShrubWhat kind of plant it is.
Bloom: Apr–JunWhen it flowers.
Flower color: Orange, Blue, Purple, VioletThe bloom color, or colors.
Toxicity: None knownWhether any part is poisonous to people or pets.

Propagation & seed

Cold stratification: Required (cold, moist)Whether seed needs a cold, moist spell before it will germinate.
Propagation: Bare root, container, cuttings, seedHow to start new plants.
Seed: ~0.1 million seeds per poundNotes on the seed and how to sow it.
Seed spread rate: RapidHow readily it self-sows. Slow or none means well-behaved, not a spreader.
Seedling vigor: MediumHow strongly young seedlings establish.
Vegetative spread: NoneWhether it creeps outward or stays put in a clump.