Obedient plant 'Miss Manners'
Physostegia virginiana 'Miss Manners' · Lamiaceae
A clump-forming obedient plant that does not run, with pure white spikes from early summer to autumn on a compact plant.
- Size
- 2 ft tall, 24 in wide
- Zones
- 3 to 9
- Light
- Full sun to part sun
- Flowers
- Mid July to early September
- Pets
- No toxicity recorded
- Job in a bed
- Drift
A bed built around obedient plant 'Miss Manners'
The planner designed this bed around obedient plant 'Miss Manners' 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 966 that suit those conditions, and says below why obedient plant 'Miss Manners' stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Obedient plant 'Miss Manners' × 3, white
- 2 Mouse-ear coreopsis 'Nana' × 13, yellow
- 3 Winter heath × 4, pink
- 4 Little bluestem 'Standing Ovation' × 3, tan
- 5 Joe Pye weed 'Little Joe' × 4, pink
- 6 Silver sage × 1, silver leaves
- 7 Ornamental onion 'Purple Sensation' × 5, purple
Why this plant
- The only spires. The others are daisies, bells, plumes and others. Shape reads at a distance, where colours blur.
- The only white. White sits between stronger colours and calms them.
Why here
- In the middle. At 2 ft it is the step between winter heath (10 in) in front and little bluestem 'Standing Ovation' (3½ ft) behind: each is seen over the one before.
- A step in the back row. Next to little bluestem 'Standing Ovation' (3½ ft) and Joe Pye weed 'Little Joe' (4 ft): no two neighbours there are the same height, so the back steps up and down like a skyline.
- 3 plants in one group. Massed, one kind reads as a single shape. Scattered, it would look spotty.
Why now
- In flower for 9 weeks. From mid July to early September.
- 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. Mouse-ear coreopsis 'Nana' is the plant there is most of: 13 of the 33. Winter heath and little bluestem 'Standing Ovation' carry the bed through winter.
The planner's own design check: 13 Excellent, 3 Good, 1 Satisfactory. 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 obedient plant 'Miss Manners' goes in a border
At 2 ft it belongs in the middle of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is medium (24 in to 2½ ft).
Its job: drift. Planted in a small group of three or five, and repeated further along in the other number.
It has all the virtues of the species with none of the spread. White spikes cool down the hot colours of late summer.
- White spires for the middle of a border
- A well-behaved native
- Cut flowers
What to plant with obedient plant 'Miss Manners'
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Garden phlox: in flower together for eight weeks, from mid July; happy in the same moist soil.
- Purple coneflower: in flower together for nine weeks, from mid July.
- New England aster: tall enough (4 ft) to stand behind it; happy in the same moist soil.
Questions about obedient plant 'Miss Manners'
Does obedient plant 'Miss Manners' need sun or shade?
Obedient plant 'Miss Manners' grows in full sun (6 or more hours of direct sun a day) and part sun (4 to 6 hours of sun, including some afternoon sun).
It wants soil that stays evenly moist, of average fertility, and a good soak in dry spells.
What zones does obedient plant 'Miss Manners' grow in?
USDA zones 3 to 9. It is hardy to zone 3, which means it survives winter nights down to about −30 °F (−34 °C).
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
When does obedient plant 'Miss Manners' flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers mid July to early September. As a summer flower it moves about half a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer.
| Zone 3 | Mid July to early September |
|---|---|
| Zone 4 | Mid July to early September |
| Zone 5 | Mid July to early September |
| Zone 6 | Mid July to early September |
| Zone 7 | Early July to early September |
| Zone 8 | Early July to early September |
| Zone 9 | Late June to early September |
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 obedient plant 'Miss Manners' be planted?
18 in (45 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 24 in (60 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 2 ft (65 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many obedient plant 'Miss Manners' plants do I need?
At 18 in apart, set out in staggered rows:
- 5 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
- 7 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
- 17 to fill a 4 × 8 ft bed on its own
In a mixed border, plant it as a group of three or five, with a second group further along in the other number.
In the bed above, the planner used three in one group.
Is obedient plant 'Miss Manners' poisonous to dogs and cats?
No toxicity is recorded for dogs, cats, horses or people, according to NC State Extension.
"Not toxic" is not "edible": a pet that eats a lot of any plant can be sick.
Do deer eat obedient plant 'Miss Manners'?
They may. NC State does not list it as resistant to deer or rabbits. Where they visit, protect it, or plant it among ones they avoid.
What flowers after obedient plant 'Miss Manners'?
Obedient plant 'Miss Manners' is over by early September. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:
- New England aster: from early September to mid October, 4 ft tall (a recorded partner).
- Garden chrysanthemum: from mid September to late October, 24 in tall.
- Bottle gentian: from late August to early October, 20 in tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
What does obedient plant 'Miss Manners' look like in winter?
Obedient plant 'Miss Manners' dies down to the ground and there is nothing to see until spring. The old stems can be cut in autumn, or left until spring as shelter for overwintering insects.
Is obedient plant 'Miss Manners' good for bees and butterflies?
Obedient plant 'Miss Manners' is visited by pollinators, bees, butterflies and hummingbirds.
It is native to the United States and Canada (this is a named variety of the native plant).
More Physostegia
- Obedient plant Physostegia virginiana
In these guides
- Pet-safe plants for a sunny border
- Native perennials for pollinators
- Garden plants native to Canada
- Plants for hummingbirds
- Plants for butterflies
- Plants for bees
- Plants with spires: vertical accents
- Plants for a white garden
Zone guides: Zone 3 · Zone 4 · Zone 5 · Zone 6 · Zone 7 · Zone 8 · Zone 9
Every fact on record
- Type
- Perennial
- Size
- 2 ft (65 cm) tall, 24 in (60 cm) wide
- Plant
- 18 in (45 cm) apart
- Height class
- Medium (24 in to 2½ ft)
- Place in the bed
- Middle
- Flowers
- Mid July to early September; upright spires; white
- Leaves
- Medium texture, herbaceous; dark green
- Shape
- Upright, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 3 to 9
- Light
- Full sun, part sun
- Soil
- Average, evenly moist
- Water
- Moderate
- Feeding
- Light, in spring
- Family
- Lamiaceae
- Comes from
- Eastern North America, North Carolina
- Attracts
- Pollinators, bees, butterflies, hummingbirds
Checked against NC State Extension. 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.