Weekend giveaway: Seedlings for making indigo dye

Various plant species can produce natural indigo dye, but ‘Persicaria tinctoria,’ also known as Chinese or Japanese indigo, is a favorite among Southern Californians who like to grow their own for dyeing.

With six hours of sun and attentive watering, the plant is “bomb-proof,” says artist-entrepreneur Graham Keegan. He uses indigo dye extensively in his designs -- see his Etsy page -- and teaches workshops in the processing and dyeing techniques that bring out the vibrant semi-tones between blue and violet.

Hoping to spread a love for the blues, Keegan is giving away 2-inch-high seedlings at his Silver Lake studio between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Recipients must pledge to give the plants proper sun, food and water. Visit his website at www.grahamkeegan.com/indigrowing to sign up and get directions.

A member of the buckwheat family, ‘Persicaria tinctoria’ is an annual that will get shrub-sized and is ready for the first of two leaf harvests after 45 days. One rule of thumb: The weight of dried leaf material will dye an equal amount of cellulose fabrics -- hemp, cotton, linen. You can also dye synthetics, but it’s trickier.

Keegan likes to use indigo in Japanese shibori tie-dye, a style that dates from the eighth century based almost entirely on this plant species, brought from China a century earlier. It has a unique shade, called aio-iru in Japanese -- color of love. Samurai preferred indigo for kimono, believing it protected the skin from festering wounds and mosquitoes. Indigo is still the symbolic color of wisdom and personal insight and is used in baby shower gifts, such as towels.