Part 1 Ugly Names -- Good Plants, the Falsies

​Definition of “Falsy”:  Okay, I’ll let you look up the definition.  For this article I’m using the term to define plants that have in their common name the word “False”. 
 
I wander around nurseries with hardly any idea about what I want, hoping that I will see something interesting to fit my garden.  I’ve found some good plants this way.  And I like wandering around greenhouses.  However, this is not the best way to select plants because when I get home I end up walking around my garden with said plant in hand wondering where to put this new acquisition. 
 
I have some criteria for perennials in my garden:  longevity, low maintenance, hardy in my climate, resistant to diseases and pests, no winter protection needed, long blooming or attractive foliage, not invasive, and doesn’t need staking.  But sometimes I just want to have fun and I throw all those important criteria out.  Sometimes that fun is something that has an interesting name.  

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Here come the Falsies:
 
False Indigo (Baptisia australis)   Native to North America in spite of its botanical name relating to australis (wherever that is).  This plant was once used by Native Americans and early Europeans to make dye.  It’s rated USDA Zone 5-9 but I’ve seen it grow well in Zone 3 (check out the beautiful bunch of this at the Spooner Agriculture Research Station Teaching and Display Garden, in the photo below right).  It grows 2-3 feet high and takes its time to establish.  Once planted it doesn’t like to be moved.  It’s long-lived and needs little maintenance.  If you find a good stand at a neighbor’s garden, ask for seed pods to establish your own stand. 

On Left Indigofera  Picture By Kurt Stüber [1] - caliban.mpiz-koeln.mpg.de/mavica/index.html part of www.biolib.de, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=6178     On Right False Indigo (Baptisia australis) 

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​False Forget-Me-Not also known as Bugloss (Brunnera Macrophylla)  My Brunnera is now in bloom (end of May) at the same time as Bleeding Hearts and Columbine.  They all have delicate flowers that go well together.  Brunnera is a low maintenance plant with no significant negative characteristics.  It grows in part to full shade and in full sun with more moisture.  The plants can go dormant in extreme heat; it doesn’t like to be dry.  It’s a slow grower and deer resistant.  Hardy in Zone 3.  With its heart-shaped leaves it can be an alternative to Hosta. 

On Left Forget-Me-Not Photo by  net_efek                        On Right:  False Forget-Me-Not

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​False Spirea (Sorbaria sorbifolia)  This is a deciduous perennial shrub in the Rose family.  It grows 4-6 feet tall.  It has showy blooms in the summer, I use both the flowers and the foliage extensively in my summer bouquets. It thrives in lightly shaded, woodland settings.  I cut mine back every 2-3 years with a chainsaw in early spring to about 6 inches above the ground.  My only complaint:  it has suckers, lots of them.  Best used for naturalizing. 

On Left:  Spirea                                                                            On right:  False Spirea

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​False Sunflower (Heliopsis helianthoides)  This North American native is long-stemmed with a yellow sunflower-like blossom, although I think it is more daisy-like.  It is Zone 3 hardy and a reliable repeat bloomer from mid-to-late summer if you deadhead the spent blooms.  I find it a great cut flower and it attracts pollinators.  Mine also seems to attract aphids and occasionally powdery mildew.  The deer avoid mine.  Although listed as a full sun plant, mine tolerates a bit of shade (that might explain the powdery mildew issue).  It can grow 3-4 feet tall.  In late May cut it back by a third to keep the height lower.   
 

On Left Sunflower;                                                                                On Right False Sunflower

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​A quartet of Falsies, maybe one or more will fit into your garden?