Growing your own blue is intensely satisfying! There is nothing quite like watching your project oxidize from a murky yellowish green to crisp blue before your very eyes! This variety is Japanese Indigo: this Japanese indigo population is a diverse mixture of pink and white flowered genetics. The leaves are intermediate-to-long, and the plants are very robust and bushy. The seed grower has been actively improving this mix for seven years.

If you are new to dyeing with indigo, Fibershed has some incredible educational materials on their website, including this PDF The Production of Indigo Dye from Plants. If you want a quick and easy indigo project that doesn’t require any chemicals, fermenting, or reducing, fresh leaf indigo dyeing is a great gateway project, and Liz Spencer of The Dogwood Dyer has a great tutorial for this method found here.

HARVEST

You can  harvest the leaves as soon as the plant is large enough and before flowering starts. Feed and water the plant well after each cutting and it should then produce another harvest in about four to five weeks.

GROWING

Full Sun

Prefers compost rich soil and regular watering

Grows up to 36 inches tall.

Space 12 inches apart