lead plant

Also known as: leadwort; North American wild tea

Deciduous spreading shrub producing hairy, grey-white shoots and feathery, grey-green aromatic leaves, 6-15cm long, made up of 10-20 pairs of overlapping, oval leaflets. Bears spikes, 15cm long, of small dark violet-purple or purplish blue flowers with orange anthers, from late summer to early autumn. Grows to about 1m x 1m.

Scientific classification

Species: lead plant (Amorpha canescens)
Genus: Amorpha
Family: Fabaceae

Information to be completed
Toxicity: Shrubs
Plant type: 0.5-1 metres
Height: 0.5-1 metres
Spread: Deciduous
Foliage: Suckering · Columnar upright · Bushy
Habit: Spring · Summer · Autumn
Season of interest: Full sun · Partial shade
Sunlight: Information to be completed
Ideal temperature

lead plant pictures

Distribution of lead plant

Distribution map

North America

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Culture

Information to be completed

Toxicity

Information to be completed

Quick identification of lead plant

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lead plant care guide

Drought tolerant, water deeply only after full soil drying occurs
Watering: Full sun · Partial shade
Sunlight: Information to be completed
Ideal temperature

Watering

Drought tolerant, water deeply only after full soil drying occurs

Fertilizing

Low strength balanced feed once per growing spring season only

Pruning

Shorten last year's flowering stems to one or two buds from the older woody framework. Remove thin, weak and dead shoots. Prune in early to mid-spring as growth resumes; avoid winter pruning that exposes new shoots to frost.