PlantFiles: Obedient Plant, False Dragonhead
Physostegia virginiana

It took a year or so but a small plant is now taking over the garden. The roots are really thick and tough to get out. I'm working on digging it out.

A very useful plant for the transitional period from late Summer into early Fall. Mine bloom for about two months through August and September. I have them planted in a very shady shot. They flower fine in the shade, but I have to stake them to keep them upright. (Otherwise they try to sprawl toward the sunnier side of the bed.) My plants get taller than the height range listed on this page. Mine grow to about 4 1/2 feet.

Yes, it spreads fast, so put somewhere with boundaries. I LOVE this plant in late summer, zone 4, en masse. I put yellow snapdragons or nasturtiums in front (I pull up some of the physostegia in spring to make room) and the effect is beautiful! I will keep this plant where it is, pull up alot of it in the spring, and NOT transplant it to any of my other gardens.

An easy, vigorous, native plant. An attractant for Hummingbirds and butterflies. We grow five varieties, in ten different colonies: pink, lavender, white, giant and variegated.

Aggressive in moist soil (not invasive, it is native to 37 states, and parts of Canada). A simple barrier, keeps the stolons in check, inexpensive 4" plastic lawn edging, or plant in a pot or bucket with the bottom removed.

The variegated is far less aggressive. We grow (the variegated) without a barrier, and only the mildest of spreading over a couple of years.

Put this plant is drier soil, and it spreads very little. I have had great luck with this plant in full sun/dry soil. It blooms when others are dying off for the season.

No matter what, this plant will always make me smile. Here in zone 4 it is the first thing to be green. My yard is a big slushy, muddy mess but this plant has wonderful green leaves. There is snow all around it and everything is still dead. The Obedient plant even beat the bulbs. A welcome sign of Spring.

I was torn about this plant because on the positive side it has lovely purple flowers in the late fall when other plants are weary but its invasive properties overshadow its prettiness. Mine grow (and grow) in a fertile watered soil and it may be years of digging them out before I am rid of them. I read that they spread slowly in a less rich and drier soil.

We planted three obedience plants last year, and now we have much bigger clumps where each where planted. It seems to spread very quickly, is very bendable, and grows back even when broken. It is very resilient! Oddly enough, ants love it, so it's interesting to watch them climb up and down the 3-4 foot stems to the flowers.

Obedient Plant . . . an ironic name for a plant that so blatantly disrespects boundaries! I love the flowers, but not the invasiveness, so ended up taking it out.

Removed mine this past summer but I guarantee I'll be pulling out those roots for a couple of years. Very invasive!

Atlanta - invasive - spreads underground and will take over a bed in no time. Very hard to completely get rid of it.

This plant's invasiveness is only kept in check if it is divided every 1-2 years (zone 6). High maintenance in my book. Attracts bees in excess as well. Only plant if you like dividing plants! Also good if you're looking for a naturalizing plant that will cover an area quickly.

The pink one flowers some time after the white one flowers (which is pretty too but turned out to be very weedy). The pink one flowers mid to end September at my place (8b) on an only afternoon-sun-spot. That's why it is a more welcome plant. It gives colour when most flowers already have faded away. And....the best thing..it doesn't set so many seeds, so it doesn't spread the way the white one does. I think it is because most of the bees/insects are already gone ...?

I love to play with the flowerheads which are movable around the stem. The Dutch name is 'Scharnierbloemen' what means 'hinge flowers'. You can 'comb' the flowers to any ( horizontal)side around the stem you want and they stay like that...I've always thought that's why you call it 'obedient'.

A pink flowering perennial plant that likes full sun. Divide every few years. pokerboy.

Seems to like part-shade, tends to wilt in the the hot, direct sun we have here in northern California.

Yes, the standard variety of this plant is quite invasive. If this is a deterrent, try the variegated-leaf variety. Soft pink flowers fairly late (if you pinch back by 1/2 in June) when not a lot is is bloom. And not nearly as aggressive as it's parent! Quite lovely, and non-invasive even in sun with constantly moist soil!

New growth seems to be variegating on its own; then reverts to regular foliage. Quite a bit of clumping. Spreading vigorously in good soil. Growing to heights of 24".

Last spring, I put Physostegia on a south-facing slope with depleted high pH clay soil. I practically never water once a plant is established. It flowered beautifully in spite of a hot dry summer, and it's come back for more after a long cold snowy winter. My local area garden book says that Physostegia should be lifted each spring and replaced in good soil, because it's a heavy feeder and depletes the soil quickly (especially "Vivid").

Easy to grow, but remember the reason it's called obedient has nothing to do with its growing habits :) It will spread - not a bad thing when you're trying to fill out a garden bed, but it can be a problem if you need a mild-mannered plant to stay in one spot.

I've planted this in areas where I can't reach with a hose, and left it up to mother nature to keep it watered - it did great.

Easy to grow. Grows to 3' high, spreads readily, slightly invasive but kept in check by division. Flowers are produced on spikes, come in pink/lavender or white, and bloom in late summer. Best cultivated in sun or light shade, moist but well drained soil. Can propagate by division, seed or cuttings. Hardy zones 3-10.