Mullein

Tall and imposing, this wildflower has become gentrified. Many hybrid forms have been selected with large saucer-shaped flowers and showy stamens. Some have soft woolly leaves. Small sorts do well in rock gardens and troughs, but taller varieties show off well in perennial or mixed borders, and among shrub plantings. They tolerate most soils well, but not wet feet. Cut back after the first flush of bloom for later spikes to develop.

Light:

Sun

Zones:

3-10

Plant Type:

Perennial

Plant Height:

2 inches-6 feet tall, depending on variety

Plant Width:

6 inches-2 feet wide, depending on variety

Flower Color:

White, pink, purple, or yellow flowers, depending on variety

Bloom Time:

Blooms late spring to late summer, depending on variety

Landscape Uses:

Containers,Beds & Borders

Special Features:

Flowers,Attractive Foliage,Winter Interest,Cut Flowers,Attracts Birds,Attracts Butterflies,Drought Tolerant,Easy to Grow

Top Varieties

---

White nettle-leaved mullein

(Verbascum chaixii 'Album') has saucer-shaped white flowers accented with rosy purple stamens. These are carried on long spires, sometimes branched. The woolly stems rise to 3 feet. It is hardy in Zones 5-9.
view >

Garden Plans

---

Season-Long Garden Plan

Plant It With

---

Yarrow

In sun, the flat flowerheads of Gold Plate yarrow are deep yellow and contrast well in form with Silver Candelabra mullein's 6-foot-tall spikes of yellow flowers.

Miscanthus

Where space is not an issue, the large mound of slender white-striped leaves of Morning Light miscanthus partners well with massed mullein spires.

Daylily

Blooming at the same time, yellow, or red cultivars of daylily provide color and bulk against the slender mulleins.

Propagation

---

Seed
Division