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Blooming in mid-summer, Leadplant produces beautiful long spikes covered with purple flowers with gold-coloured stamens. It grows on a variety of soils but does particularly well on dry, sandy sites. Belonging to the legume or pea family, it produces a very deep tap root that incorporates nitrogen from the air into the soil.
Attracts Butterflies and Hummingbirds! Deer Resistant! Makes Great Cut Flowers!
Indoors: Cold, moist stratification. Start at least 5 weeks before outdoor night temperatures are reliably in the 10 C (50 F) range. Mix the seed with a slightly moistened, sterile, soil-less growing mix. Put this in a labelled, sealed plastic bag and store in a refrigerator for one day. The next day place this in the freezer for one day. Repeat this for one week, alternating between the fridge and the freezer. After stratifying, plant seed 0.32 cm (1/8 inch) deep in pots. Keep moist but not soggy and very warm (21 C - 70 F). When seedlings are 5 cm (2 inches) tall or more, transplant into the garden spaced 30 cm (1 foot) apart. Outdoors: Plant seed 3 mm (1/8 inch) deep in a prepared seed bed in late fall so that the seed overwinters and germinates naturally in spring. Outdoors Alternative: In late fall through to mid-winter fill plastic pots with a slightly moistened, sterile, soil-less growing mix. Place seed on the surface of the growing mix and label the pots. Place the pots outdoors in an area where they will experience the snow and cold of winter. The seed will germinate in the pots in spring as the weather warms up. Be sure to water the pots regularly in spring and once the plants are 5 cm (2 inches) tall, transplant them into your garden.
