Northwest Blooms · Perennials
Verbascum phoeniceum 'Antique Rose'
Antique Rose Mullein
- Family
- Scrophulariaceae
- Height
- 24 to 30 inches
- Width
- 12 to 18 inches
- Flower color
- Soft antique rose to dusty pink saucer shaped flowers with contrasting purple stamens
- Foliage color
- Medium green softly hairy oval to lance shaped leaves forming a low basal rosette
- Bloom time
- Late spring to early summer
- Light
- Full sun to light partial shade
- Water
- Average
- Maintenance
- Low; deadhead spent flower spikes to prolong bloom and remove seed heads if self seeding is not desired
- Growing zone
- USDA zones 4 to 8
- Wildlife
- Bees, butterflies and other pollinating insects
About this plant
Verbascum phoeniceum 'Antique Rose' produces airy spikes of rounded flowers in late spring and early summer, the petals opening in warm rose, mauve, and soft salmon tones around a tuft of deep violet-purple stamens. A basal rosette of softly textured, oval green leaves forms a neat mound at the base, supporting slender stems that carry the loose clusters of blooms.
This cultivated selection traces its heritage to Verbascum phoeniceum native to central and southern Europe and western Asia. In gardens it adds vertical interest to cottage gardens, sunny borders, and naturalistic plantings, where the softly colored flowers mingle easily with neighboring perennials and attract pollinators during the bloom period.
Works well in
Borders · Cottage Gardens · Pollinator Gardens
Companion plants
Ferns · Astilbes · Foxgloves · Bergenias · Sedums · Columbines
Design tip
Summer flowers carry the middle of the season, so place it where the bed needs color once spring bulbs fade. Because it is easy about light, use it to carry a planting from a sunny end of the bed into the shadier side.
