Purple Mullein
Verbascum
Mullein
This genus has a host of common names, including “Beggar’s Blanket” and “Old Man’s Flannel.” In England, the very poor used to put the thick leaves into their shoes for warmth. Although most of the more than 300 species are biennials, our offerings are predominately perennials. Though some are dwarfs and some are giants, nearly all have fuzzy stamens and prefer very well-drained sandy or rocky soil. We like to use them in the border or rock garden as specimens or en masse for a meadow-style planting.
As a precursor to the long-lasting floral show, enchanting buds swell, looking a bit like tiny dark silk cushions. A low-lying deep green rosette of oval-shaped crinkled leaves provides an appealing foil for the richly colored flowering spires. Illuminated by gilt stamens, papery purple blooms are flat-faced and make fabulous additions to cut arrangements. Self-seeding easily, and shorter in stature than many Verbascum species, ‘Violetta’ is tailor-made for more intimate spaces.
Blooms May–August
Size: 2' 0" – 3' 0" high x 18" wide.
Hardy to zone 6.
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Other selections in this genus:
- Verbascum chaixii ‘Sixteen Candles’
- Verbascum chaixii ‘Wedding Candles’
- Verbascum ‘Clementine’
- Verbascum ‘Cotswold Queen’
- Verbascum ‘Gainsborough’
- Verbascum hybridum ‘Wega’
- Verbascum nigrum ‘Album’
- Verbascum olympicum
- Verbascum phoeniceum ‘Flush of White’
- Verbascum phoeniceum ‘Rosetta’
- Verbascum ‘Pink Domino’
- Verbascum ‘White Domino’
