great mullein
Verbascum thapsus
RHS Plants for Pollinators
USDA zones3 to 9
SunNeeds full sun (6+ hours)
WaterHandles dry to moderate soil
Size2 to 8 feet tall1 to 3 feet wide
- Growth rate
- Rapid
- Habit
- Erect
- Bloom season
- Summer, autumn
- Bloom color
- Yellow
- Foliage color
- Gray/silver, green
- Soil types
- Sand, loam, clay, chalk
- Soil pH
- Alkaline
Garden uses
Attracts
Notes
Great mullein (Verbascum thapsus) is an annual for pollinator gardens, cottage gardens, and meadows. This plant likes full sun and dry to average soil of most types. Yellow flowers open in early to late summer and again in early to late autumn. Butterflies, bees, and birds visit them. Deer and rabbits tend to browse other plants first. The erect plant grows fast and tolerates drought, so it suits dry spots.
Pairs well with Lavender, Yarrow, Magnus coneflower, and Catmint.
Native range
Europe, Middle East, Central Asia, Asia, and 14 more places. See all 18
Europe, Middle East, Central Asia, Asia, Altay, Azores, Baleares, Corse, Irkutsk, Kirgizstan, Krasnoyarsk, Krym, NW. Balkan Pen., Sardegna, Sicilia, Tadzhikistan, Türkiye, and Xinjiang.