Fall Obedient Plant (Physostegia virginiana)

from $3.00

This North American native gets its name from the tendency of the flowers to obediently stay in place if bent into a new position. It is a rhizomatous herbaceous perennial and grows in clumps of stiff, square stems typically of the mint family. In fertile soil, it can grow up to five feet. The purple flowers bloom August-November and are a long-lasting cut flower.

Size:

This North American native gets its name from the tendency of the flowers to obediently stay in place if bent into a new position. It is a rhizomatous herbaceous perennial and grows in clumps of stiff, square stems typically of the mint family. In fertile soil, it can grow up to five feet. The purple flowers bloom August-November and are a long-lasting cut flower.

Duration: Perennial (A plant or plant species with a normal life cycle exceeding two years.)
Habit: Herb (A plant species lacking woody tissue when mature.)
Height: 3 feet to 5 feet
Spreading: Spreads underground by rhizomes like other members of the mint family. Can spread rapidly but shallow roots are easy to remove.
Bloom Color: Purple, Pink
Bloom Time: Aug, Sept, Oct, Nov
Soil Moisture: Wet, Medium-Wet, Medium (Moist most of the year and after heavy rains)
Light Requirements: Sun, Part-Shade (Minimum 3 hours of direct sun, flowering more with 6 hours of direct sun)
Propagation: Division of roots or seeds. Cold moist stratify seeds for 60 days at 40 degrees F. Divide clumps in early spring or late fall.

Additional Resources:
Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center (https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=phvi8)
Prairie Moon Nursery (https://www.prairiemoon.com/physostegia-virginiana-obedient-plant#panel-descrip)
Native Plant Network Propagation Protocol Database (https://npn.rngr.net/renderNPNProtocolDetails?selectedProtocolIds=lamiaceae-physostegia-745)
USDA Natural Resources Conservation Science (https://plants.usda.gov/plant-profile/PHVI8)