Description

Leadplant (Amorpha canescens)

QUART POT – 2 year old plants

Light: Full Sun

Moisture: Dry, Medium

Soil: Loam, Sand

Height: 2–3 feet

Bloom Season: June, July

Bloom Color: Purple

Benefits: Butterflies, Moths, Pollinators

Notes: Leadplant is a long-lived woody prairie shrub with a deep taproot. As member of the pea family (Fabaceae) it is a legume that fixes nitrogen in the soil. It has silvery-gray foliage with compound leaves and purple flower spikes that have orange-gold stamens. The plant produces hairy bean pods that contain seeds.

Leadplant is very drought tolerant and long-lived. It takes a few years to mature and should not be cut back during that early period. Young plants should be protected by a wire cage to deter rabbits and other animals from browsing. Mature plants are typically resistant to deer.

Leadplant is host to the Silver Spotted Skipper Epargyreus clarus, Leadplant Flower Moth Schinia lucens, Magdelen Underwing Catocala illecta, Southern Dogface sulfur Zerene cesonia, and Eastern Tailed-Blue Cupido comyntas.