Indigofera amblyantha Seeds | Pink Indigo
LATIN NAME: Indigofera amblyantha
COMMON NAME: Pink Indigo
Plant Profile
Indigofera amblyantha, better known as Pink Indigo, is a deciduous shrub. It likes sun, and well-drained soil. Bees and other pollinators visit the flowers freely through the season. Taken as a whole, it is a plant that repays a little attention many times over.
Science & Biotechnology
As part of the Indigofera group, Indigofera amblyantha contributes to research on plant classification and adaptation, while nurseries and gardeners continue to trial it for cultivation. Pink flower spikes of pink indigo give it a recognised place in research on warm-climate nitrogen-fixing shrubs of great indigo group, and amblyantha species appears in studies of ornamental legumes and bloom density. Gardeners benefit directly from its long cultivation: what the plant will do in a garden is well understood.
Uses & Benefits
In the garden, Pink Indigo earns its place in borders, containers and mixed plantings, and it also rewards growers who raise plants for cutting, drying or kitchen use. In warm, sunny border, pink indigo pinks summer border with soft-pink spikes. Flowers open through summer for bees, roots enrich soil, and shrub makes fine, rounded feature of dry border. It grows well in well-drained, sunny ground. Thereafter it wants only the ordinary attentions any garden plant receives.
Indigofera gave the world indigo, the blue of blue jeans, produced by fermenting the leaves; several species also serve as protein-rich forage and green manure.
Growing from Seed
Starting Pink Indigo from seed is simple and satisfying. Fill a pot with a light seed compost, sow evenly on the surface, cover thinly and stand it somewhere warm, bright and evenly moist. Move strong seedlings into individual pots, keep them in good light, and set them out when the weather and their size agree.
Our Take
Within its genus it stands out for garden reliability. Part of this plant’s appeal is the long practical history summarized above. Start with fresh seed, keep it evenly moist, and the plant does the rest itself.
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