Dwarf Leadplant (Amorpha)

A 2020 Plant Select® winner. (24-36″ tall x 24-36″ wide) Amorpha nana (Dwarf Leadplant) is not as well-known as its larger growing cousin, Amorpha canescens, but it’s every bit as lovely and useful in the waterwise landscape. Its compact form is perfect for small spaces and patio plantings. Grown from Colorado collected seed, this western shrub is slow growing, long-lived, and durable. In fall, foliage turns to a bright golden yellow. Being a legume, Dwarf Leadplant and can take nitrogen from the air and transform it into a nitrate fertilizer with the help of a symbiotic soil-dwelling microbe called Rhizobium; as a result, this beautiful dryland shrub looks green and healthy even in the leanest soils. Indifferent to soil type, it grows well in all kinds of soil including clay. The seeds are valuable food for wildlife, and it requires little to no maintenance, no pruning required. Place it in full sun. Great companion plants include Penstemon strictus (Beardtongue), Oenothera (Evening Primrose) as well as Schizachyrium (Little Bluestem) and other native ornamental grasses. Enjoy the ease of this cold-hardy native shrub from New Mexico up through North Dakota to the Canadian prairie provinces. Introduced by Plant Select® – waterwise, garden-tested plants proven to thrive in the high plains and intermountain west for more beauty, with less work.