Verbascum Lavender Lass - Mullein

Verbascum 'Lavender Lass' is a compact, floriferous mullein with lavender-pink flowers with a plum centre. This perennial for full sun offers a generous summer flowering and remains easy to cultivate in well-drained soil. Its numerous flower spikes form charming clumps in flower beds and cottage gardens.

Verbascum 'Lavender Lass' is a complex hybrid belonging to the Scrophulariaceae family. It derives, among others, from the species Verbascum phoeniceum. 'Lavender Lass' is a horticultural creation from the American nursery Terra Nova Nurseries (Oregon), obtained by crossing Verbascum 'Jackie' – itself derived from V. phoeniceum and V. dumulosum – with a pink selection of V. phoeniceum. The cultivar was protected by a US patent in the mid-2000s. It is sometimes found under the trade name 'Loverly Lass'®. It is a short-lived perennial that can behave as a biennial if grown in rich soil.
The plant first forms a basal rosette, 30 to 40 cm wide. The large, ovate to oblong, dark green leaves are thick, quilted and covered with down, giving them an almost crumpled appearance. They persist for a good part of the winter in mild climates, but are deciduous in cold climates. Above this rosette, from late May or early June, numerous sturdy, vertical flower stems rise, reaching 50 to 60 cm in height. Each bears tight clusters of large, cup-shaped, 4 cm diameter flowers. The corollas, with five rounded petals, are mauve-pink, lightening towards the edges, and open around a plum-coloured centre. Flowering continues until July, and can extend into August if spent spikes are regularly removed. The flowers are visited by many pollinating insects, particularly bees and bumblebees. The plant can withstand temperatures down to –15 to –20 °C at the lowest in light soil.

In the garden, plant mullein 'Lavender Lass' in full sun at the edge of a border, in a scree garden, a limestone rockery or in a dry spot near a low wall. It pairs well with other undemanding perennials such as the bright pink yarrow 'Desert Eve Deep Rose', apple green coneflower 'SunSeekers Apple Green' and shrubby sage 'Delice Aquamarine'. In a pot or a large planter on a sunny terrace, 'Lavender Lass' also performs very well, provided the container is deep and watered regularly.