woodland shrub
Leadplant
Amorpha canescens
Native to the Great Plains, the Midwest, and the Rockies and southern Canada
Northern Indiana and southeastern Michigan to southern Manitoba and Carter county, Montana, southwestern to Arkansas, Texas and New Mexico
- Light Full sun to part shade Sun tolerance
- Moisture Dry Moisture preference
- Zones 3–8 Cold to heat range
- Bloom Jun–Aug Flowering time
- Height up to 3 ft to 0.9 m
- Life cycle Perennial Annual to perennial
In the garden
A woodland shrub for full sun to part shade and lean, dry soil. Its blue and purple flowers peak in July. At up to 3 ft, it suits shade gardens and woodland edges. Hardy in USDA zones 3–8.
Growing conditions
Light
Full sun Partial shade Full shade
Moisture
Dry Moist Wet
Hardiness zones
Find your zone:
When it blooms
The Leadplant's blue and purple flowers bloom June to August, peaking in July. This midsummer display draws bees and flower flies.
Leadplant blooms blue & purpleFoliage
Pollinators & wildlife
- Bees Common Eastern Bumble Bee
also Western Honey Bee, Brown-belted Bumble Bee, Two-spotted Bumble Bee +59 more
American Bumble Bee, Ligated Furrow Bee, Tricolored Bumble Bee, Bicolored Striped Sweat Bee, Bombus fervidus, Red-belted Bumble Bee, Two-spotted Longhorn Bee, Perplexing Bumble Bee, Black-and-gold Bumble Bee, Half-black Bumble Bee, Orange-legged Furrow Bee, Agapostemon texanus, Northern Amber Bumble Bee, Nevada Bumble Bee, Yellow-banded Bumble Bee, Golden Sweat Bee, Rusty-patched Bumble Bee, Modest Masked Bee, Confusing Furrow Bee, Wilke's Mining Bee, Augochloropsis metallica, Southern Plains Bumble Bee, Texas Leafcutter Bee, Bristle Sweat Bee, Parallel-striped Sweat Bee, Eastern Miner Bee, Say's Cuckoo Leafcutter Bee, Viereck's Sweat Bee, Red-tailed Mining Bee, Anthophora walshii, Small-handed Leaf-cutter Bee, Megachile brevis, Ceratina dupla, Hylaeus affinis, All-pale Perdita, Experienced Sweat Bee, Spot-sided Dark Bee, Lupine Miner Bee, Susanna's Cellophane Bee, Pigmented Miner Bee, Variable Cuckoo Bumble Bee, Colletes eulophi, Eastern Scaly Miner Bee, Illinois Cuckoo Nomad Bee, Dilated-horned Small-Mason, Xylocopa virginica virginica, Augochlorella persimilis, Xenoglossa strenua, Eastern Cuckoo Sweat Bee, Bombus sp., Brown-fovea Miner, Singular Miner Bee, Hoplitis pilosifrons, Forbes's Sweat Bee, Coelioxys brevis, Short-horned Yellow-face Bee, Lasioglossum tegulare, Leavitt's Armored-Resin bee, Protandrena bancrofti - Flower flies Margined Calligrapher
also Yellow-shouldered Drone Fly, Tufted Globetail, Striped Bromeliad Fly +9 more
Toxophora amphitea, Eastern Smoothleg, Tropidia quadrata, Geron vitripennis, Epistrophe emarginata, Paragus bicolor, Sphaerophoria cylindricus, Shiny Thickleg, Hemipenthes sinuosus - Beetles Banded Longhorn Beetle
also Clay-colored Leaf Beetle, Yellow-horned Flower Longhorn Beetle, Slender Flower Longhorn Beetle +9 more
Black Diabrotica, Eight-spotted Flower Longhorn Beetle, Mournful Long-horned Beetle, Typocerus deceptus, American Rose Chafer, Scymnus consobrinus, Chlorophorus glaucus, Lord Leaf Beetle, Red-marked Leaf Beetle - Also visited by
- Moths:
Yellow-collared Scape Moth, Confused Eusarca Moth +6 more
Raspberry Pyrausta Moth, Reversed Haploa Moth, Fine-lined Sallow, Brown-collared Dart, Black-dotted Glyph, Leadplant Flower Moth - Butterflies:
Eastern Tailed-Blue, Common Wood-Nymph +4 more
Coral Hairstreak, Karner Blue, Acadian Hairstreak, Edwards' Hairstreak - Wasps: Fraternal Potter Wasp
- Moths:
Butterflies that use this plant
Documented host and nectar records. Each links to a planting guide for that butterfly.
- Common wood-nymphnectar
- Coral hairstreaknectar
- Eastern tailed-bluenectar
- Edwards' hairstreaknectar
Full plant details
Where it grows
- Habitat
- WoodlandThe wild plant community it grows in.
- Native range
- The Great Plains, the Midwest, and the Rockies and southern CanadaUnited States (18): AR, CO, IA, IL, IN, KS, MI, MN, MO, MT, ND, NE, NM, OK, SD, TX, WI, WY. Canada (2): MB, SK. Where it grows wild on its own, by state and province.
- Native distribution
- Northern Indiana and southeastern Michigan to southern Manitoba and Carter county, Montana, southwestern to Arkansas, Texas and New 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
- DryThe soil dampness it prefers, from dry to wet.
- Hardiness zones
- USDA 3–8 · Canadian 3–7The cold-to-heat climate range it survives.
- Soil
- Well-drained, sandy or rocky soilsThe soils it grows in naturally.
- Soil texture
- Light to medium (sandy to loamy)The soil grade it prefers, from sand to clay.
- Soil pH
- 5.5–8.0The 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
- LowHow well it copes with salty soil, near roads or the coast.
- Lime (CaCO₃) tolerance
- HighHow well it copes with chalky, lime-rich soil.
Growth & form
- Height
- up to 3 ft (to 0.9 m)Typical mature height.
- Spread
- ~5 ft (1.5 m)How wide one plant gets, a guide to spacing.
- Life cycle
- PerennialWhether it lives a single season (annual), two (biennial), or returns for years (perennial).
- Growth rate
- ModerateA relative ranking versus other plants of the same type (USDA), not an absolute rate.
- Shape
- Semi-ErectIts overall silhouette.
- Root depth
- 20+ in (51+ cm)How far the roots reach, a guide to drought resilience and transplanting.
Flowers, foliage & fruit
- Type
- ShrubWhat kind of plant it is.
- Bloom
- Jun–AugWhen it flowers.
- Flower color
- Blue, PurpleThe bloom color, or colors.
- Fruit/Seeds
- ripens Jul–SepThe seed or fruit it sets after flowering.
- 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
- ~0.2 million seeds per poundNotes on the seed and how to sow it.
- Seed spread rate
- SlowHow 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.