trefle.io · Taken Oct 19, 2019 by jid (cc-by-sa)
Scrophulariaceae
Common mullein
Verbascum thapsus
Also known as Woolly mullein, Great mullein, Flannel leaf, Verbascum thapsus var. bracteatum
Native Plants · Edibles & Herbs · Mullein · Biennial · Medicinal Herb · Wildflower · Cottage Garden · Drought Tolerant · Pollinator · Tall Spike · Self Seeding · Herbaceous
Common mullein is an easy-to-grow biennial that forms a dramatic rosette of silvery-woolly leaves in its first year before sending up a tall flower spike covered in yellow blooms in its second year. It thrives in poor, dry, well-drained soils and full sun, making it ideal for cottage gardens, wildflower borders, or dry slopes. It self-seeds freely and has a long history of medicinal use for respiratory complaints.
Growing conditions
The details behind the basics
- Daily light
- 8 hours
- Watering
- Water deeply but infrequently; allow soil to dry out between waterings · Every 10-14 days
- Maintenance
- Low
- Soil
- loam
- Soil pH
- 7–7.5
- Temperature
- -20°F to 85°F
- Cycle
- Perennial
- Propagation
- Seed
Hardiness
USDA 5a-9b
Form & growth
Mature size and habit
- Mature height
- 12 in – 3 ft
- Spread
- 2 ft
- Spacing
- 24 in apart
- Growth rate
- Moderate
- Root depth
- Medium
- Flowers
- No
- Foliage
- Medium
Ecology & origin
Where it belongs and what it brings
- Native to
- Afghanistan, Alabama, Alaska, Alberta, Altay, Argentina Northeast, Argentina Northwest, Argentina South, Arizona, Arkansas, Ascension, Austria, Azores, Baleares, Baltic States, Belarus, Belgium, Bermuda, British Columbia, California
- Attracts
- Bees, Butterflies, Hummingbirds, Moths
Sources: trefle, usda
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