Mullein 'Southern Charm'
Verbascum 'Southern Charm' · Scrophulariaceae
Spires of soft, muted flowers in buff, peach, dusky rose and lavender, each with a purple eye, above a flat rosette of leaves.
- Size
- 2½ ft tall, 16 in wide
- Zones
- 5 to 8
- Light
- Full sun
- Flowers
- Late May to late July
- Pets
- Not checked
- Job in a bed
- Accent
A bed built around mullein 'Southern Charm'
The planner designed this bed around mullein 'Southern Charm' when this page was made: a 12 × 6 ft (3.7 × 1.8 m) cottage garden in zone 6, full sun. It chose the other plants from the 715 that suit those conditions and its dry soil, and says below why mullein 'Southern Charm' stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Mullein 'Southern Charm' × 4, pink
- 2 Cheddar pinks 'Tiny Rubies' × 8, pink
- 3 Heath aster 'Snow Flurry' × 4, white
- 4 Italian bugloss 'Dropmore' × 8, blue
- 5 Silver sage × 1, silver leaves
- 6 Foxglove beardtongue × 3, white
- 7 Surprise lily × 7, pink
- 8 Schubert's allium × 3, pink
Why this plant
- Nothing here is unique to it. Its leaf, flower shape and colour are all on the plan already. Its case rests on where it stands and when it performs.
Why here
- In the middle. At 2½ ft it is the step between heath aster 'Snow Flurry' (6 in) in front and foxglove beardtongue (3½ ft) behind: each is seen over the one before.
- 4 plants in 4 places. An accent is a punctuation mark: the repeat along the bed gives it rhythm.
- Bold leaf against fine. Cheddar pinks 'Tiny Rubies' is beside it: the strongest contrast of leaf there is.
Why now
- In flower for 9 weeks. From late May to late July.
- Fills a gap. For two of those weeks nothing else on the plan is in flower.
Planned as a cottage garden: 28 of the 28 plants (100%), bulbs aside, stand alone or in groups of no more than five, small enough for the kinds to mingle. Pink, blue and white make a cool, restful scheme. Not everything here depends on flower: silver sage earns its place with leaves.
The planner's own design check: 12 Excellent, 5 Good. It flags one thing to watch: Nothing on this plan is highly poisonous or an aggressive spreader.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where mullein 'Southern Charm' goes in a border
At 2½ ft it belongs in the middle of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is medium tall (2½ to 3 ft).
Its job: accent. An upright plant used singly, like a punctuation mark, and repeated at intervals to give the bed rhythm.
A seed strain in the colours of old silk. The slim spires rise through low plants without shading them. Short-lived, like most mulleins, so cut it back after flowering.
- Soft-coloured spires
- Gravel gardens
- Cottage borders
What to plant with mullein 'Southern Charm'
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Lamb's ear: its silver leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after; a low mound at the foot of its spires; low enough (12 in) to stand in front of it.
- Catmint 'Walker's Low': in flower together for nine weeks, from late May; fine leaves against its bold ones; a low mound at the foot of its spires.
- Mexican feather grass: in flower together for eight weeks, from early June; fine leaves against its bold ones; happy in the same dry soil.
Questions about mullein 'Southern Charm'
Does mullein 'Southern Charm' need sun or shade?
Mullein 'Southern Charm' grows in full sun (6 or more hours of direct sun a day).
It wants dry, sharply drained soil, on the lean side, with no feeding, and little watering once settled.
What zones does mullein 'Southern Charm' grow in?
USDA zones 5 to 8. It is hardy to zone 5, which means it survives winter nights down to about −10 °F (−23 °C).
Above zone 8 it struggles: the zones measure winter cold, but a plant's top zone usually means the summers are too hot or the winters too mild for it to rest.
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
When does mullein 'Southern Charm' flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers late May to late July. As a spring flower it moves about a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer, later where it is colder.
| Zone 5 | Late May to late July |
|---|---|
| Zone 6 | Late May to late July |
| Zone 7 | Mid May to mid July |
| Zone 8 | Early May to mid July |
Worked out from Hopkins' bioclimatic law: spring arrives about four days later for each degree of latitude north, and one zone is roughly two degrees. A warm spring or a cold one moves any garden two weeks either way.
How far apart should mullein 'Southern Charm' be planted?
14 in (35 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 16 in (40 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 2½ ft (80 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many mullein 'Southern Charm' plants do I need?
At 14 in apart, set out in staggered rows:
- 9 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
- 9 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
- 28 to fill a 4 × 8 ft bed on its own
In a mixed border, plant it as one at a time, repeated along the bed at intervals; a slender one reads better as a clump of three.
In the bed above, the planner used four in four groups.
Is there a native plant like mullein 'Southern Charm'?
Mullein 'Southern Charm' is not native to North America. These North American natives come closest to doing its job:
- Large beardtongue: the same job in a bed and the same size; flowers late May to late June, lavender, not pink.
- Spotted bee balm: the same job in a bed and the same colour; 8 in shorter, flowers mid July to early September.
- Blazing star 'Kobold': the same job in a bed; 8 in shorter, flowers early July to early August.
Matched the way the planner's Swap button matches plants: the same job in a bed, then size, then flowering time.
What flowers after mullein 'Southern Charm'?
Mullein 'Southern Charm' is over by late July. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:
- Lilyturf: from early August to mid September, 16 in tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
- Black-eyed Susan 'American Gold Rush': from mid July to early October, 24 in tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
- Garden phlox: from mid July to early September, 3½ ft tall.
What does mullein 'Southern Charm' look like in winter?
Mullein 'Southern Charm' holds some of its leaves into winter, more in a mild year or a sheltered spot, and they look tired by March. Cut the old ones off as new growth starts.
More Verbascum
- Nettle-leaved mullein Verbascum chaixii
In these guides
Every fact on record
- Type
- Perennial
- Size
- 2½ ft (80 cm) tall, 16 in (40 cm) wide
- Plant
- 14 in (35 cm) apart
- Height class
- Medium tall (2½ to 3 ft)
- Place in the bed
- Middle
- Flowers
- Late May to late July; upright spires; pink, cream, lavender
- Leaves
- Bold texture, semi-evergreen; grey-green
- Shape
- Upright, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 5 to 8
- Light
- Full sun
- Soil
- Lean, dry and sharply drained
- Water
- Low
- Feeding
- None needed
- Family
- Scrophulariaceae
Not yet checked against an outside reference: its figures rest on general horticultural knowledge. Flowering times are for zone 5: later in colder zones, earlier in warmer ones. Toxicity and spread information is a general gardening guide, not veterinary or medical advice, and invasive status varies by region. If a person or pet eats a plant, contact poison control or a vet. Check your local invasive species list before planting anything with a spread warning.