Honesty (money plant)

Sun

Full sun to partial shade; light afternoon shade is helpful in hot climates.

Water

Moderate; keep seedlings moist and water established plants during prolonged dry spells.

Soil

Well-drained soil with some organic matter; tolerates clay if it does not stay waterlogged.

Height

2-3 ft (0.6-0.9 m)

Spread

1-2 ft (0.3-0.6 m)

Flowers

Mid-spring to early summer; purple, violet or white flowers in loose clusters.

Foliage

Broad, toothed, heart-shaped green leaves, with larger leaves near the base; first-year rosettes may retain leaves through mild winters.

Growth

Fast once established; normally flowers in its second year.

Care needed

Low

• Pollinators
• Wildlife
• Low allergen

Northern hemisphere months. In Australia, shift them by six.

Difficulty

Easy

Toughness

Fairly tough

Pick your zone, country, light and whether you have pets.

1. Planting day

   0.5 ft (0.15 m)

2. After 1 year

   2.5 ft (0.75 m)

   full size

Full size in one season.

From a typical nursery size, at an average rate for this kind of plant. A rule of thumb, not a forecast.

Cats and dogs

Safe

Invasive in

the US

In the garden

Spreads vigorously: plan to contain it.

Growth rate

Fast

• Water seedlings regularly until rooted, then water during extended dry weather.
• Add a little compost before planting; avoid heavy nitrogen feeding, which encourages floppy growth.
• Thin or space plants 12-18 in (30-45 cm) apart for airflow.
• Support tall stems with twiggy stakes in exposed sites.
• Remove unwanted seedlings while small to keep colonies within bounds.

Pruning. After flowering, leave stems standing if you want decorative pods or seed. To prevent self-seeding, cut stems before the pods ripen; otherwise remove spent plants after seed has fallen.

Spring

Thin self-sown seedlings and transplant small rosettes with as little root disturbance as possible.

Late spring

Support flowering stems if needed and water during dry spells.

Early summer

Remove developing seed stems where you do not want more plants.

Summer

Sow fresh seed outdoors for flowers the following spring.

Late summer

For dried displays, cut stems when pods are dry and brown; gently remove the outer valves and seeds to reveal the silvery membranes.

Autumn

Thin young rosettes and clear away dead flowering plants, leaving selected seedlings for next year.

• Let small groups weave through cottage borders among spring bulbs and forget-me-nots.
• Plant along lightly shaded woodland edges for spring colour before summer foliage fills out.
• Use white-flowered plants with white tulips and green foliage in a restrained spring border.
• Grow in a cutting border for both fresh flowers and dried seed stems.

Garden styles it suits: Cottage garden, English country, Woodland, Romantic rose garden, Pollinator garden and White garden.

Plant it with: Forget-me-nots, Tulips, Daffodils, Foxgloves, Hardy geraniums and Ferns.

Wildlife: Flowers provide nectar and pollen for bees and other insects. As a cabbage-family plant, honesty can also support caterpillars of some butterflies, including the orange-tip in the UK.

• Slugs and snails can eat seedlings: check after dark, remove pests and keep damp hiding places away from young plants.
• Cabbage caterpillars may chew leaves: inspect leaf undersides and hand-pick caterpillars if damage becomes unacceptable.
• Clubroot can cause swollen roots, wilting and stunting: remove affected plants, improve drainage and avoid planting honesty or other cabbage-family plants in contaminated soil.
• Plants may fail to flower in their first year: this is normal for a biennial; retain healthy rosettes for the following spring.

Not known to be toxic to people, cats, dogs or horses. No part is recognised as a serious poisoning hazard, but it is an ornamental rather than a food plant, and eating plant material may cause digestive upset.

Where it spreads. Self-seeds freely and can spread aggressively in disturbed ground and woodland edges, particularly in the Pacific Northwest and northeastern United States. It is also naturalised in parts of southern Canada, the UK and southeastern Australia. Keep it out of nearby natural vegetation and remove pods before seed disperses where spread is a concern.

• Perennial honesty (Lunaria rediviva)

  A true perennial with fragrant, usually pale lilac flowers and longer, pointed oval pods rather than the nearly round pods of annual honesty.

• Dame's rocket (Hesperis matronalis)

  Has similar four-petalled purple or white flowers, but narrower leaves and long, slender seed pods rather than flat, round discs.

Lunaria comes from the Latin for moon, referring to the round, silvery pod membranes, while money plant refers to their coin-like appearance.

Propagation. Sow seed outdoors in late spring or summer for flowering the following year. Cover lightly, keep moist until germination and thin seedlings promptly; plants also self-seed readily.

Accepted botanical name

Lunaria annua

In the US and Canada

Introduced in Canada and the lower 48 states.

Native range

Albania, Bulgaria, France, Greece, Italy, Kriti, Romania, Spain, Switzerland and Yugoslavia.

Measured

Soil pH 5.5 to 6.5. Average height 36 cm.

Sources: GBIF (CC BY 4.0), USDA PLANTS and Trefle (CC BY 4.0). The care and design notes are LandscapeGPT's own.