I got some from Bluestone this spring, and they haven't bloomed, but the ones that I got from them last year have bloomed. So don't worry, they will bloom next year.

Mine from Bluestone did not bloom the first year either. It did bloom well the second summer. This is the third year for that plant and the flower spikes are now about finished. I have just one plant and it had about a dozen or so flowering spikes that were a major bumblebee attraction as you can see.

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I have five of these that I planted last year. I think I had one single bloom last year, but they've bloomed like salvias this year. I cut off the expired spikes and they rebloom.

These are stachys hummelo spikes with Japanese irises in the background (actually across the dry streambed). In real life, I think they were a bit more magenta than what the camera shows.

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I LOVE LOVE LOVE this plant. Butterfly magnet in the sun. Divides easily and robustly. super easy care. I'm going to divide and make more this fall. I started with two blooming 2 gallon plants late '06 that I divided heavily and put in various areas to try it out. It has done great in all locations - even with as little as 4 hours sun.

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Here is a link that might be useful: http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/neweng/msg0719493119299.html

How are they as cut flowers?

I haven't tried to bring in the blooms as cut flowers.

I can add that my local deer herd doesn't eat these flowers or the foliage. Here in NC, the leaves are almost evergreen.

How would they do in heavy clay that gets dry in summer? I have the traditional lambs ear along my driveway and it has good yrs and bad yrs depending on the rain. I find that I have to let it reseed to keep the bed looking nice.

I was introduced to these @ 3 years ago on a garden tour. The owner planted them in her semi-shady backyard that is visited by deer. I consider this to be the "ideal perennial!" They do not seem to be bothered by any pests or disease, seem to tolerate various soil & water conditions, are very hardy and long-blooming. Several are thriving in places I have not been able to successfully grow other plants. I think they'd do OK in dry clay. My soil is clay, but I always amend it before planting. I've purchased big pots of them and immediately divided them into several plants. One variety is described a "full sun" plant while another very similar variety is semi-shade - sun. Mine are all the semi shade type . . . I have both a regular size and mini.
IMO, they are not at all like their relative, lamb's ear.
Love, LOVE, LOVE this plant and the mini-version is adorable.
(BTW- have not tried them as cut flowers...)

This plant is similar to Stachys macrantha Robusta, which I got from High Country Gardens last year and which bloomed this year for the first time. Terrific plant, long, long bloom time, and completely deer resistant.

Oh and it reblooms too!! Last year I deadheaded mine and got a second flush of bloom!!!

The ones in more sun open earlier. So probably the ones in more shade might run out of time for a 2nd flush, but will see. I forget how that part worked out last year.

fwiw the species on 'Hummelo' is monnieri

If it ever stops raining around here, I'll bring some in to try as a cut flower. Will try as a pressed flower too.

The foliage is a beautiful, emerald green. Here are some grouped with carex 'gold fountains', osmanthus 'goshiki', nandina 'moon bay'. On the back side of this photo is my walkway, and the delosperma cooperii (ice plant) blooms work great with the stachys blooms. This is a south side border, under a crape myrtle.

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I am wondering if this plant would be a good replacement for May Night Salvia. I have a grouping of May Night in my front bed that gets about 6 hours of sun, but it flops all over the place. I dont think it is getting enough sun because the May Night I have in the backyard is getting alot more sun and does not flop. I am looking for a plant similar to May Night that stays nice and tidy for my front border. What do you all think? Have I found the right plant? Thanks!

Melissa

I think I am sold on this plant, but I am still wondering how it works as a cut flower. So if anyone has experiment results to report, I would love to hear them!

Melissa -- this is by my front walk. So, I think you'll love the foliage as well as the blooms. Just be patient for the blooms during the first year in your garden. It doesn't flop. I don't have May Night for comparison, so I don't know if the stachys blooms as long as the May Night. I don't have enough photos of it to see the length of bloom time in my garden.

I don't have Hummelo; rather, a different cultivar, but unfortunately I don't recall the name. I was impressed this year - blooms were very nice and lasted a decent amount of time, and foliage still looks great. Not lush clumps yet, only the second season for me, but very nice foliage in any case.

Thanks wonbyherwits and mxk3 for taking the time to answer my question. I think I am going to try the Hummelo. BTW, Cameron I was on your blog today and all I can say is AMAZING! I love your garden! I have made your blog a favorite so I can admire it often. Thanks for sharing! If you see this post, I would love to know what your favorite butterfly bush is. I just recently planted an Adonis Blue. Your blog has made me think I may need more :)

Melissa,

I'm glad that the blog is informative and enjoyable for you.

I like Adonis Blue a lot. It is front and center in my garden since it is a smaller size (5x5) than some of the other varieties. It's easy to find companions for it as the color goes with just about any other color...yellow, apricot, salmon, carmine red, pink, lavender.

For screening purposes, we use Royal Red. The royal purple blooms look great with yellow blooms or other purple/lavender color schemes. Those get pretty big (8x8 or larger), but we use them to screen our parking area from view. Out of necessity, I cut those back by half size when a storm almost blew them out of the ground. They had already finished the first bloom. This was the first time that I'd done a severe pruning in mid-summer. The results are fantastic as the bushes are full of fresh blooms for the Monarch butterflies! Now, I plan to prune all of my buddleia at the end of June next year so that the Monarchs will have more blooms in August/September.

For a pretty pink/rose, I love Pink Delight (8x8). It looks great with purple smoke tree and monarda Blue Stocking. I have several with colocasia esculenta and purple palace heuchera (placed on the shady side of the buddleia). Coneflowers such as 'Ruby Star' would also look great beside it, but I don't yet have enough of those to place them with the buddleia.

Cameron