I haven't tried propagating from stem cuttings but have to wonder if it would be successful given Baptisia has a taproot that doesn't like being disturbed. I've grown them successfully from seed via winter sowing but must agree it's a long wait for blooms that road.

Oh, and I'm already old so I understand your impatience.

Ditto here, I haven't tried cuttings, but starting Baptisia from seed is an exercise in patience.

I have been waiting FIVE years for 2 Baptisia leucantha (white species of Baptisia) to bloom. Winter sowed them way back in 2008, although they stayed in pots for 3 of those years cuz I didn't know where to plant them. They are putting on some size now, so I expect the first blooms next year. Sigh.

Had a B. australis that was also winter-sown in 2008 and it did bloom after 3 years, but it got eaten by voles. So perhaps that is a faster growing species.

Yep, three years to a bloom here. Basically they're like Explorer roses. "Hope you like your new home, see you in five years when you're people.

I broke a stem planting it one year (Spring), and yes, it was a plant delivered from Plant Delights....(B. Chocolate Chip)

It rooted, did great in its pot in my mild climate. I've potted it up a size, not planted, it moved here with me to my new garden and I still don't have it in the ground - hopefully not too much longer...

Tony Avent, Plant Delights: "baptisias root easy in spring when the growth is soft, the success rate drops off to zero as the plants harden. Cuttings should be dipped in a rooting hormone, and then kept in high humidity until they root...usually about 8 weeks.

Another problem with cutting propagated baptisias is one of overwintering. If the cutting grown plants do not develop enough starches after they root, they will not form new growth buds for the following spring. In spring, a mass of roots will simply fail to send up any foliage. We have found that after rooting, plants that are placed directly into the ground seem to develop growth buds faster than container grown plants. The other option is to keep newly rooted containerized plants in a warm greenhouse or on a windowsill until the new buds develop at the base, and they can be allowed to go dormant."

I'd like to add that some years back Tony Avent refuted the myth that Baptisias cannot be moved or divided. His experience is the same as mine. Although they do have huge root systems, you do not have to move the whole thing. Or even a large part of it. I once hacked a massive Baptisia out of the ground leaving most of the roots, chopped it into pieces and gave them away. Everyone of them made it.

laceyvail, I have a Baptisia australis planted too close to the house foundation and I tried digging into it a couple of years ago to move it and gave up. I'd love to know what tools you used to get yours out? Did the roots you left in the ground sprout new growth and how long do the divisions take to bloom?

I grew my first one from seed (years ago) and the other one I bought in a one gallon pot - it was on sale in July, so if you can get it cheap, that's the way to go. It flowered the following year if I recall correctly.