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Key characteristics

Family: Scrophulariaceae
Height: 2-4 feet tall
Width: 1-2 feet wide
Flower color: Bright yellow, with dark purple markings
Foliage color: Green, with fuzzy, grayish leaves
Bloom time: Late spring to early summer
Light: Full sun to partial shade
Water: Moderate
Maintenance: Low
Growing zone: USDA Zones 4-8
Wildlife: Attracts pollinators, particularly bees and butterflies

Perennials

Verbascum nigrum

Dark Mullein

Verbascum nigrum, commonly known as dark mullein, is a biennial or short-lived perennial native to Europe and parts of Asia. This hardy plant is often found in disturbed areas, roadsides, and meadows, showcasing its resilience and adaptability. The foliage consists of large, soft, gray-green leaves that form a rosette during the first year, giving way to tall flowering spikes in the second year.

Blooming from early to mid-summer, Verbascum nigrum produces elongated racemes filled with bright yellow flowers that display five petals and a distinctive dark purple center.

Light

Full sun to partial shade

Water

Moderate

Bloom time

Late spring to early summer

Find this plant

Works well in

Borders
Cottage Gardens
Pollinator Gardens
Cut Flower Gardens

Companion plants

Columbines · Lungworts · Daylilies · Japanese anemones · Bleeding hearts · Catmint

Design tip

Summer flowers carry the middle of the season, so place it where the bed needs color once spring bulbs fade. It takes sun or light shade, which makes it useful along the changing light of a bed edge or a partly shaded border.

Printable plant sheet (PDF)