Verbascum seeds

Verbascums, also known as mulleins, are biennial or perennial plants, and have in common the fact that they seed and reseed easily in the garden, just like the beautiful white mullein (Verbascum thapsus) found along our roadsides. These plants, which thrive in sunny and well-drained, even rocky, soils, dislike heavy, damp, and poorly drained soils. Verbascums are appreciated for their large summer flowers in spectacular spikes, which have a great impact in perennial borders. The term 'white mullein' refers to large wild species with yellow or white flowers (Verbascum thapsus, chaixii, or bombyciferum), growing in large rosettes of leaves covered with a very light tomentose down, in full sun and in poor soils. New hybrids, derived from less known species like Verbascum phoeniceum, have recently appeared in seed and perennial catalogues: they offer less common flower colours such as pink, apricot, and even violet. Mulleins are sown in trays in spring, or directly in place in late summer in mild regions.