Plant of the Month September 2025
GENERAL INFORMATION: I loved the seed heads of “Silver Pennies” or “Honesty” as a child. Later I found the mauve flowers and first year green growth rather boring. Then I discovered the white flowered form with variegated leaves. Yes! Seeds germinated well but the young plants had green leaves! This happened again and I told my friend the seeds were not what I wanted. “Didn’t you know the white appears the 2nd year?” Research your plants! Lunaria is a typical member of the Brassicaceae, the cabbage family.
Common Name: Honesty, Money Plant, Silver Dollar Plant, Silver Pennies.
Life Cycle: Herbaceous biennial.
Height: 60 cm - 1m, with a spread of .5 m.
Bloom Time: May in Southern Ontario.
Flower Colour & Size: White, to 2.5 cm across, with 4 petals in large clusters. (Terminal racemes).
Lunaria annua var albiflora ‘Alba Variegata’ - in flower.
Scent: Floral fragrance.
Leaves: Heart shaped with a white border in 2nd year, varying in width. Serrated margins. 8-12 cm long, 5cm wide.
Lunaria annua var albiflora ‘Alba Variegata’ - early 2nd year.
Fruit: “A flat, oblong-elliptic to nearly orbicular silicle with satiny, paper-white septum.” (Hortus 3rd.) 3cm wide.
Lunaria annua var albiflora ‘Alba Variegata’ - seeds & "Silver Dollars."
Range: Central and Southern Europe, Western Asia.
Habitat: Woodland edges, disturbed areas.
CULTIVATION:
Plant: In groups or as a specimen.
Light: Full sun to partial shade.
Soil: Most soils, should be well drained and fertile for best growth.
Water: Moderate amounts till the seed pods start to turn brown.
USDA Hardiness: Zones 5-10.
Pests and Diseases: Usually trouble free.
Companion planting: With cottage garden plants in border.
Pollinators: Butterflies and bees.
Propagation: By seed. Collect seeds from plants with the best variegation.
Seedex availability: Often in the ORG&HPS Seedex.
Germination Tips: Self seeds. Collect seeds from plants that had the best variegation. Plant outside or sow @ 20°C. Seed germinates within 3 months. N.B. Usually no leaf variegation 1st year.
Toxicity: Edible - I have never tried it. Cabbage-like, with mustard tasting seeds.
Uses: The seed heads are useful in long-lasting flower arrangements after the seeds are shed.
References:
Wikipedia
https://www.rhs.org.ukhttps://www.rhs.org.uk
https://www.wildfooduk.com/wild-plants/honesty/
https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/lunaria-annua/
Text and images supplied by Anna Leggatt
Plant of the Month August 2025
GENERAL INFORMATION: There are over 250 species of Aconitum. These are poisonous members of the Buttercup family with a toxin can be absorbed through the skin. A. hemsleyanum climbs by twining stems. My plant came from the late Harry Lumsden. It is not happy after deck renewal and this hot dry Toronto summer.
Common Name: Climbing Monkshood, aconite, monkshood, wolfsbane, leopard's bane, devil's helmet.
Cultivars: Aconitum hemsleyanum ‘Red Wine’.
Life Cycle: Vine. Dies down in winter in Toronto.
Range: Central and Western China.
Habitat: Woodland edges.
Height: 2-3 m.
Bloom Time: August to September in Southern Ontario.
Aconitum hemsleyanum.
Flower Colour & Size: Five petaloid sepals with the upper sepal forming a yellow-green, blue tinged helmet or hood (galea) with blue veining. The true petals are two nectaries within the hood, plus some scales around numerous stamens.
Aconitum hemsleyanum - close up.
Scent: Not noticeable.
Stems: Dark red brown, twining.
Leaves: Mid-dark green, three deeply divided compound pinnate leaflets.
Aconitum hemsleyanum - leaves.
Fruit: Erect follicles 1.5 cm long with several seeds.
CULTIVATION:
Plant: Poisonous. Especially roots and seeds. Position with care. Allow to scramble through other deciduous shrubs.
Light: Full sun to part shade. Avoid hot mid-day sun.
Soil: Most well drained damp soils, preferably with plenty of organic material.
Water: Medium amounts. Must not dry out. Avoid any standing water.
USDA Hardiness: Zones 4-8.
Pests and Diseases: Aphids? Usually pest free.
Companion planting: Yellow Clematis.
Pollinators: Long-tongued bumblebees. May attract hummingbirds.
Propagation: By seed or careful division.
Seedex availability: Sometimes in seed exchanges.
Germination Tips: Poisonous. Handle with care. Plant seed fresh. Otherwise try 20°C x 4 weeks, then -7°C x 6 weeks, then 10°C. Slow.
Sadly, my plant was damaged by deck construction and is probably dead. NB - grow a second plant if difficullt to replace.
References:
Wikipedia.
https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/46855/aconitum-hemsleyanum/details
Text and images supplied by Anna Leggatt
Plant of the Month July 2025
This is a low-maintenance biennial from the Middle East. Legend has it that Miss Willmott, (Ellen Willmott, 1858-1934) loved the plant and surepticiuosly dropped seeds in appropriate places when she visited gardens. Another Giant Sea Holly, Eryngium pandanifolium, is native to South America.
GENERAL INFORMATION:
Common Name: Miss Wilmots Ghost, Giant Sea Holly, Giant Ornamental Thistle Flower, Tall Eryngo.
Eryngium giganteum, inflorescence.
Cultivars: ‘Silver Ghost’.
Life Cycle: Herbaceous biennial. Most Eryngium sp. are perennial.
Height: 60-100cm, about 100cm wide.
Bloom Time: June to August.
Flower Colour & Size: Tight cone-shaped umbel of small greenish blue flowers with blue anthers, surrounded by silvery, spiky, palmately divided, 7cm bracts.
Eryngium giganteum, with pollinator (Digger wasp, Sphex ichneumoneus).
Leaves: A basal evergreen rosette of 15cm long, heart shaped green leaves, forms during the first year. The leaves wither as the flower stalk appears
Eryngium giganteum leaf.
Range: Native to Turkey, Caucuses, Iran.
Habitat: Tall grass prairies and dry, well-drained soils.
CULTIVATION:
Plant: in a suitable place when small. The tap-rooted plant resents disturbance.
Light: Full sun.
Soil: Most soils - prefers moist, well drained fertile soil.
Water: Medium. Drought tolerant.
USDA Hardiness: Zones 4-7.
Companion planting: Other sun loving perennials.
Problems: Nothing serious.
Eryngium giganteum, maturing seed (fruit) heads.
Propagation: Will self-seed. Sow @ 20°C for 6 weeks, then 4°C for 6 weeks, slowly raise temperature to 10°C for 6 weeks. If there is no germination, repeat the cycle.
Eryngium giganteum, seed dispersal.
Pollinators: Bees, butterflies, hover flies.
References:
https://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder
https://onrockgarden.com/index.php/germination-guide
Text and images supplied by Anna Leggatt (Toronto Master Gardener)
Plant of the Month June 2025
GENERAL INFORMATION: A keen gardener started our garden when the house was built, about 1950. Perhaps 10 of her species still exist. She would not recognize anything, except the Weigela ‘Florida Variegata’ beside the north-facing front door. It must be over 60 years old, double the projected life span. It is still healthy, though not growing as vigorously. Its companion dwindled, probably through age and root competition.
Synonym: Weigela florida ‘Aureovariegata’, Weigela florida ‘Variegata’, Weigela florida 'Variegata Aurea’, Weigela florida 'Nana Variegata'
Common Name: Weigela.
Weigela 'Florida Variegata’ 60 year-old shrub.
Life Cycle: Deciduous shrub.
Height: About 1.5 m tall and wide.
Bloom Time: June in Toronto.
Weigela 'Florida Variegata’ - flowers.
Flower Colour & Size: Clusters of funnel shaped, pale to dark pink flowers, about 3 cm long.
Leaves: Opposite, acuminate, green leaves grow on arching stems. The greenish white margin becomes yellowish white in the summer.
Weigela 'Florida Variegata’ -flowers and leaves.
Range: Native to North China, Japan and Korea.
Habitat: Clearings in mixed forests, scrub.
CULTIVATION:
Light: Sun or partial shade.
Soil: Most soils, including clay – well drained, fertile. Somewhat tolerant of slightly salty soils.
Water: Average to low.
USDA Hardiness: Zones 5-9.
Pest and Diseases: Usually trouble free.
Attracts: Hummingbirds.
Companion planting: Other shrubs in a shrub border, or foundation planting, or as a specimen.
Pruning: Remove older stems after flowering.
Propagation: By cuttings – softwood in the spring; semi hardwood in the summer and hardwood in the fall or early winter. Any seed is unlikely to produce a similar plant.
References:
https://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder
https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/93517/weigela-florida-variegata-(v)/details
https://plants.vandermeernursery.com/11110008/Plant/8313/Dwarf_Variegated_Weigela
Text and images supplied by Anna Leggatt (Toronto Master Gardener)
Plant of the Month - May 2025
GENERAL INFORMATION: An early flowering, long lived, dwarf allium that grows well in dry deciduous shade with limited self seeding.
Synonym: Allium chionanthum.
Common Name: Lebanon onion, Syrian onion.
Allium zebdanense.
Life Cycle: Long lived, bulbous perennial. Dormant in mid summer.
Height: 30-50 cm.
Bloom Time: May in Toronto.
Flower Colour & Size: Umbels of 8-10 white, starry flowers with 6 tepals, 1cm long, on a leafless stalk.
Allium zebdanense - flowers.
Leaves: Dense, grassy clumps, with narrow leaves up to 30 cm high.
Fruit: 3 chambered capsule. Usually few fertile seeds.
Range: Native to the Middle East - Lebanon and Syria.
Habitat: Rubble slopes and rocky areas.
CULTIVATION:
Plant: bulbs in groups about 8 cm deep.
Light: Grows well in dry, deciduous shade once established. Will also grow in full sun.
Soil: Not fussy about pH but must be gritty - well drained.
Water: Average. Drought resistant when established. Less seed production if too dry.
Allium zebdanense with self seeded plants.
USDA Hardiness: Zones 4-8.
Propagation: by division when growth stars in the spring or when dormant. From seed - Sow @ 4°C for 3 weeks, then move to warmth - at 20°C.
Pest and Diseases: Many pests are repelled by its strong scent. Usually trouble free.
Pollinators: Bees, butterflies.
Native Eastern Canadian Alternatives: Allium cernuum - this needs sun.
Companion planting: Other rock garden plants suitable for shade - dwarf ferns, Hosta.
References:
Many references are somewhat contradictory.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allium_zebdanense
https://greg.app/allium-zebdanense-overview/
https://onrockgarden.com/index.php/germination-guide
Manual of Bulbs - Bryan and Griffiths, Timber Press 1995 ISBN 0-88192-339-7.
Text and images supplied by Anna Leggatt (Toronto Master Gardener)
