Description
Verbascum roripifolium | Wild Mullein ‘Butterfly Yellow’
‘Butterfly Yellow’ Mullein is an extremely rare mullein variety from Greece that’s rarely grown or offered for sale in the US. The rosettes that form are deeply-serrated. Dainty yellow flowers float like butterflies in the breeze, suspended on a tall, well-branched inflorescence. Very long bloom time in the summer months, often extending into fall, making it a stunning, airy addition to a garden border. Will snake up bushes or trees.
Prefers full sun in well-drained soils. Equipped with a deep tap root, it can thrive in many habitats, including disturbed sandy or rocky soils on roadsides, river banks, meadows, waste ground, forest margins, and rocky hillocks. This plant asks very little. Will self-seed.
The tiny seeds are abundant and can remain viable for decades in the soil. Mullein is easily managed however, by manually removing the plants before seed-set, or not disturbing the soil, or by establishing dense vegetative cover that will prevent seed germination. Sow seed indoors or late spring to summer to early fall outdoors.
Drought tolerant, low maintenance deer resistant, and attracts a wide variety of insects. A striking and elegant Mullein that deserves to be better known and more commonly planted!
Type: Biennial or short-lived perennial
Sun exposure: Full sun
Mature height: 4-7 ft
Mature width: 18-24 inches
Hardiness zones: 3-8
