Obedient plant

Sun

Full sun is best; tolerates partial shade, but stems may lean and flowering can be reduced.

Water

Keep the soil evenly moist, especially while establishing and during dry spells. Established plants tolerate brief dry periods, but prolonged drought reduces flowering.

Soil

Moist, well-drained soil, including clay that does not remain waterlogged. Tolerates a broad pH range; very rich soil encourages spreading and floppy stems.

Height

2-4 ft (0.6-1.2 m)

Spread

2-3 ft (0.6-0.9 m) initially; colonies can spread much farther through underground rhizomes.

Flowers

Late summer to early autumn; tubular pink to lilac flowers, with white-flowered forms also available.

Foliage

Narrow, pointed green leaves with toothed edges, arranged in opposite pairs on square stems.

Growth

Fast in moist soil.

Care needed

Medium

• Pollinators
• Deer resistant
• Cold hardy
• Heat tolerant
• Wildlife
• Low allergen

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

Difficulty

Easy

Toughness

Very tough

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

1. Planting day

   1 ft (0.3 m)

2. After 1 year

   2 ft (0.61 m)

3. After 2 years

   3 ft (0.9 m)

   full size

About 2 years to full size.

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

Native to

the US and Canada

In the garden

Spreads vigorously: plan to contain it.

Growth rate

Fast

• Water newly planted clumps regularly through their first growing season; water established plants during prolonged dry spells.
• Avoid routine high-nitrogen feeding, which encourages weak stems and excessive growth.
• Apply a thin organic mulch in spring to conserve moisture, keeping it clear of emerging shoots.
• Support tall stems early if the site is shaded, windy or particularly fertile.
• Lift unwanted runners each spring and divide congested clumps every two or three years.

Pruning. Remove faded flower spikes before seed develops if you want to limit seedlings. Cut dead stems close to the ground in late winter or early spring, or leave them standing until then for winter habitat.

Early spring

Cut back old stems before new shoots grow strongly.

Spring

Plant or divide clumps, remove escaping rhizomes and apply a thin mulch.

Late spring

Install discreet supports around tall-growing clumps where needed.

Summer

Water during dry spells and check that spreading shoots are not crowding neighbouring plants.

Late summer

Enjoy the flowers or cut stems for arrangements; remove spent spikes if seedlings are unwanted.

Autumn

Remove any unwanted seedlings and leave healthy stems standing for winter habitat.

• Plant in generous drifts in moist meadow-style borders, where its upright flower spikes contrast with grasses.
• Use behind shorter perennials in cottage borders for late-season colour.
• Combine with coneflowers, black-eyed Susans and asters in a sunny pollinator planting.
• Use beside a pond or rain garden on moist ground above the permanently waterlogged zone.

Garden styles it suits: Cottage garden, Native meadow, New perennial (prairie), Wildlife garden, Pollinator garden and English country.

Plant it with: Purple coneflower, Black-eyed Susan, New England aster, Switchgrass, Bee balm and Joe-Pye weed.

Wildlife: Flowers attract bumblebees and other bees, along with some butterflies. Standing stems provide shelter for small invertebrates over winter.

• Aggressive spreading: lift out unwanted rhizomes regularly, or grow in a large container and monitor drainage holes for escaping roots.
• Flopping stems: provide more sun, avoid rich feeding and stake tall growth before flowering.
• Rust: remove affected leaves, improve spacing and avoid wetting foliage when watering; clear badly infected debris.
• Spider mites in hot, dry conditions: keep roots adequately watered and rinse leaf undersides with water.

Not known to be toxic to people, cats, dogs or horses, and no particular plant part is established as poisonous. Specific safety data are limited; it is an ornamental plant, not a food, and eating plant material may cause digestive upset.

Where it spreads. Can spread aggressively by rhizomes in moist garden soil in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and temperate Australia. This is a garden-containment warning, not a claim that it is officially listed as invasive throughout those regions.

• Pink turtlehead (Chelone lyonii)

  Turtlehead has broader leaves and short, hooded flowers that resemble a turtle's head; obedient plant has narrower leaves and longer spikes of more open tubular flowers.

• Snapdragon (Antirrhinum majus)

  Snapdragons have pouch-like flowers whose lips open when squeezed, and their leaves lack the conspicuous toothed edges of obedient plant.

The common name refers to the individual flowers briefly remaining in a new position when gently pushed sideways.

Propagation. Divide clumps in spring, replanting rooted sections promptly. Sow seed in autumn outdoors, or cold-stratify it before spring sowing; seedlings may not match named cultivars.

Accepted botanical name

Physostegia virginiana

In the US and Canada

Native in Canada and the lower 48 states.

Native range

Alabama, Alberta, Arkansas, British Columbia, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa and Kansas.

Measured

Average height 61 cm.

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