Verbascum lychnitis

White Mullein

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Taxonomy and growth

Family: Scrophulariaceae
Genus: Verbascum
Life cycle: biennial
Height: 1 m
Spread: 0.6 m
Fertility: self fertile
Flower type: hermaphrodite
Pollinators: Flies, Lepidoptera, Self

Uses

Material uses

Flower heads are used as a mouse and rat repellent in fruit stores etc^[3]^[4].

Product or use: Repellent

Environment

Range: Europe, including Britain, from Belgium south and east to Spain, Greece, Siberia and Caucasus.
Habitat: Waste places and calcareous banks on dry soils^[1]^[2].
Light: full sun
Shade tolerance: no shade
Water: moderate
Hardiness: Zone 6+
Soil textures: sandy, loamy, clay
Soil pH: acid, neutral, alkaline, very alkaline
Drainage: well drained
Tolerates Nutritionally Poor Soil: No
Drought: intolerant

Propagation

Seed - sow late spring to early summer in a cold frame and only just cover the seed^[2]. Germination usually takes place within 2 - 3 weeks. When they are large enough to handle, prick out the seedlings into individual pots and plant them out in late summer. The seed has a long viability^[2].

Cultivation

An easily grown plant, it succeeds in most well-drained soils, including dry ones, preferring a sunny position^[2]. Dislikes shade and wet soils^[2]. Thrives on chalk^[2]. Prefers a light soil^[2]. Hybridizes with other members of this genus, though the progeny are usually sterile^[2].

References

Clapham, Tootin and Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press 1962-00-00
↩
Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992-00-00 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
↩1 ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8
Uphof. J. C. Th. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim 1959-00-00
↩
Usher. G. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable 1974-00-00 ISBN 0094579202
↩

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