Growing Japanese Indigo

Growing Japanese Indigo (Persicaria tinctoria) from seed is an easy and rewarding way to have your own source of blue dye! They’re easy plants to grow and you can dye fiber with the fresh leaves or extract pigment for use throughout the year. Here are my tips for successfully growing these amazing plants:

Start seeds indoors in a warm place or use seed mats and/or grow lights to keep warm. I sow 5 - 10 seeds per cell and I rarely thin them.

I plant outside as groupings after danger of frost has passed. Space groupings approximately 1 foot apart.

Full sun is preferred but I have had plants thrive in partially shaded areas.

Japanese indigo plants love water! Stressed plants produce less pigment so keep them happy. I recommend fertilizing with a nitrogen-rich fertilizer (fish or blood meal, compost, etc.) during the growing season.

Japanese indigo grows quickly. Plants can be cut back and harvested several times throughout the growing season.

Stems root easily in water. Place in a jar in a sunny windowsill and they will develop roots in just a few days. This is a great way to share plants with your friends, or turn a broken stem into a whole new plant.

For more tips, advice, and general indigo-growing camaraderie around growing and using homegrown indigo I recommend joining the facebook group Indigo Pigment Extraction Methods.

Happy growing!