Easy, long-lasting betony blooms

URL:

http://www.gardengatemagazine.com/articles/enotes/all/beautiful-hummelo-betony/

By: Garden Gate staff

This easy-to-grow, unique perennial provides tons of summer color and texture.

Easy, long-lasting betony blooms

If you have a spot with full sun and well-drained soil, let the eye-catching blooms of ‘Hummelo’ betony (Stachys officinalis) be the star of your summer garden.

Betony is a tidy plant that you can count on to produce plenty of flowers year after year. Its scalloped, glossy dark green leaves look fresh from spring through fall. By midsummer, stems stretch and bottlebrushlike flowers open at the top, holding on for several weeks. ‘Hummelo’ flowers are denser and more purple than the species. And butterflies, bees and hummingbirds flock to the blooms, but deer and rabbits pass on by.

Clumps of betony spread over time, slowly creeping by stolons, creating an attractive stand, like you see at left. Dividing is easy if you want to reduce its size or have more plants.

Type Perennial

Blooms Rose-lavender flowers in summer

Light Full sun

Soil Well-drained

Pests None serious

Size 18 to 24 in. tall and wide

Cold-hardy USDA zones 4 to 8

Heat-tolerant AHS zones 8 to 1

Source Bluestone Perennials

Published: May 31, 2016

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