Projo Garden Blog

One day around early or mid-spring I saw an unusual rosette of pretty, broad, light green leaves growing in my rock garden, very close to the peony tree. The leaves were silvery, thick and wooly.

The plant seemed to grow slowly at first; then it shot up with a tall stem, covered all around with buds. I waited for the flowers to bloom and to find the right moment to photograph the flowers.

I did not learn its name until just recently because it's not the kind of plants one sees in any garden or sold in any nurseries. I learned the name, "Verbascum or common mullein" from a friend, who confirmed that it was the same tall, yellow flowering plant commonly seen along the highways, highway exit ramps and roadsides.

Since I did not plant it and it has not been around before in 20 some years, we thought it got here as a seed, probably from a bird.

My verbascum is now over 5 feet tall and has been blooming for several weeks. The blooming period is supposed to last through the summer. The blooming pattern of the flowers on the large, round stem is rather uneven and each flower only lasts a day, opening in the morning and closing by early afternoon.

I plan to enjoy the flowers to the end of the summer and will probably get rid of it, rather than allow them to grow into seeds. According to wikipedia , "The seeds maintain their germinative powers for decades, up to a hundred years... the plant is an extremely prolific seed bearer (each plant produces hundreds of capsules, each containing up to 700+ seeds, with a total up to 180,000 or 240,000seeds), it remains in the soil for extended periods of time, and can sprout from apparently bare ground".

I think they belong along the highways and byways more than in my garden.

 Tags  Common mullein Verbascum

---