You've found the famous Dave's Garden website! Join this friendly global community that shares tips and ideas for home and gardens, along with seeds and plants!
Check out the DG homepage for a brief overview of what you'll find in this gardening mega-site.
Login
If you don't have an account yet, visit the registration page to sign up.
Hardiness: USDA Zone 7a: to -17.7 °C (0 °F) USDA Zone 7b: to -14.9 °C (5 °F) USDA Zone 8a: to -12.2 °C (10 °F) USDA Zone 8b: to -9.4 °C (15 °F) USDA Zone 9a: to -6.6 °C (20 °F) USDA Zone 9b: to -3.8 °C (25 °F) USDA Zone 10a: to -1.1 °C (30 °F) USDA Zone 10b: to 1.7 °C (35 °F) USDA Zone 11: above 4.5 °C (40 °F)
Sun Exposure: Full Sun Sun to Partial Shade
Danger: N/A
Bloom Color: Violet/Lavender
Bloom Time: Mid Spring Late Spring/Early Summer Mid Summer Late Summer/Early Fall Mid Fall
Very invasive!! Do not plant this in the ground; you will regret it!!
I got some mixed in with a plant I bought & in spite of all my several years of attempting to manually eradicate it, I had not been successful. I rarely use herbicides but have about reached the point of no return with this pest. It has inner twined in my hydrangeas; virtually covered my heucheras; invaded a bed of iris, painted fern & helleborus & it continues to march on toward my daylily beds. It is NOT a nice plant.
On Oct 11, 2012, Joy2Foragers from Holden Heights, FL wrote:
I first found Florida Betony growing at a local park. I learned that the roots are edible, so I took a cutting and planted it under my citrus trees. Months later, this one cutting turned into a mat of leaves and flowers that blanketed a patch of dirt devoid of grass. The tubers are tasty, but break easily, and require careful digging. Hoping that consuming the tubers will keep it in check.
On Mar 10, 2012, wtliftr from Wilson's Mills, NC wrote:
I have to agree with Tefoe... and I am looking for a way to get hold of some tubers. I'm a little too far north for them to grow in my yard, but I keep looking in vain. If anyone has any of these weeds, I'll GLADLY take some off your hands!
I'm serious- please contact me.
On Nov 14, 2009, Silver_Cat from Ridgeland, MS (Zone 8b) wrote:
Oh horrible invader... Tender stems snap off above the ever-living tubers, and with the rain it springs right up again... If it would give some flowers we might make peace.
On Nov 16, 2007, JaxFlaGardener from Jacksonville, FL (Zone 8b) wrote:
It's difficult to accept that Florida Betony (Stachys floridana) is in the same genus as Lamb's Ear (Stachys byzantina) -- the first is despised and the other prized in most gardens.
To be fair, the Florida Betony does make a pretty pink/purple flower stalk about 4 inches high and can be attractive when grown in thick clusters (which, as noted above, is very easy to do!). It might actually make a nice ornamental plant in a garden where it could be grown as an annual, and either kept in a pot, or left in the ground to be killed by freezing temperatures in winter so that it wouldn't spread.
Florida Betony can be controlled by a thick mulch of pine straw. Some of it will come up through the pine straw, but it will gradually weaken if the top green shoots are consistently pulled off. It can not be eliminated without digging out every portion of the (edible, like a wild radish, bumpy, small white carrot-like) tuber. It will regrow from any portion of the tuber and spread by underground rhizomes.
On Feb 21, 2006, oladyhoo from Brunswick, GA wrote:
Florida betony is incredibily invasive, spreading by rhizomes, tubers, and seeds. It grows thick as the hairs on a dog's back. Mow it and it looks like green grass in the winter.
The tuberous roots are edible and sometimes boiled like peanuts. Use as a food is well noted among southeast U.S. Indian tribes and settlers of Florida's early history, as well as today by many nature enthusiasts.
5 members have or want this plant for trade.
