Verbascum ‘Cherry Helen’ (Mullein)

A very pretty Mullein, Verbascum ‘Cherry Helen’ is a short-lived perennial with abundant, graceful spikes smothered with compact clusters of rich wine-red flowers, each adorned with a fuzzy purple eye. Blooming over a long flowering period extending from late spring to late summer (if properly deadheaded), the flower stalks rise elegantly from a handsome low-growing rosette packed with woolly, ovate, deep green leaves. ‘Cherry Helen’ is a sport of the highly popular ‘Helen Johnson’. It is ideal as a background plant in flower borders and cutting gardens where each plant will produce hundreds of flowers.

• Grows up to 24-48 in. tall (60-120 cm) and 12-18 in. wide (30-45 cm).
• Performs best in full sun in average, dry to medium, well-drained soils. It is not fussy about soils and tolerates poor soils, but good drainage is essential. Plants grown in fertile soils grow taller and may require staking.
• Drought tolerant and deer resistant, it is fairly pest and disease free. Watch, however, for caterpillars, figwort weevil and powdery mildew.
• Provides a lovely vertical accent in the garden. Very useful and adaptable, it is well suited for beds and borders, gravel gardens, cottage gardens and wildlife gardens. Excellent as cut flowers and great in containers too.
• Remove spent flower spikes before seed sets to promote further blooms and to avoid undesired self-seeding in the garden. May be propagated by root cuttings in late winter to early spring.