Elegant panicles bearing sulphur-yellow, saucer-shaped flowers, rise above the rosette of puckered, grey-green leaves in summer. A reliable perennial, which may produce a second flush of flowers if deadheaded promptly.
How to care for Verbascum (Cotswold Group) Gainsborough:
Apply a 5-7cm (2-3in) mulch around the base of the plant in autumn to protect from winter extremes, taking care not to cover the crown. Stake in spring with bamboo canes or twiggy prunings before the flowers appear. Mullein moth caterpillars can be a problem, so pick off the insects in early June as soon as they appear. Remove faded flower spikes if you do not want them to self-seed.
It is worth keeping in mind that these plants are mainly biennial, so although they usually self-seed freely, the plant will usually die off after flowering.
Flowering period:
- Jan
- Feb
- Mar
- Apr
- May
- Jun
- Jul
- Aug
- Sep
- Oct
- Nov
- Dec
Eventual height:
1.5m
Eventual spread:
0.4m
Soil:
Moderately fertile, moist, well-drained soil
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This perennial is semi-evergreen so it can lose some of its leaves in winter. In colder regions or more exposed gardens, it may lose them all, but then fresh new growth appears again in spring.