Obedient Plant
Physostegia virginiana
Spikes of tubular pink bloom in late summer for hummingbirds and bumblebees. Spreads to naturalize rain garden edges and moist slopes.
Typically 1 pint–1 gal · $9–$30 · final price at pickup
- Thu, Aug 138 AM – 4 PM
- Fri, Aug 148 AM – 4 PM
- Sat, Aug 158 AM – 2 PM
Late-summer pink spikes draw hummingbirds and bumblebees at a time of year when most natives have finished blooming.
Obedient Plant earns its curious name from a mechanical quirk: push a flower to one side on its stem, and it stays put. The spikes of tubular pink blooms rise in late summer when the garden needs color most, attracting hummingbirds and bumblebees that work the blossoms from bottom to top as each one opens. It's one of the last reliable natives to bloom before fall sets in. Give it room. Obedient Plant spreads by underground rhizomes and will colonize space over time. That quality makes it excellent for naturalizing a rain garden edge or stabilizing a moist slope, but pair it with competitors in a formal border or contain it with a root barrier. The cut flowers last well in a vase and the upright stalks add height to late-summer arrangements.
A nursery-grown plant, ready for the ground.
Healthy, container-grown obedient plant propagated on-site at Hill House from regional genetics. Includes a one-page care card. We make every effort to supply plants as listed; occasionally we substitute a similar species of equal value.
Plant obedient plant instead of Purple Loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria). Same job in the garden, without the spread.
- Sun
- Full sun
- Water
- Average
- Mature size
- 2–4 ft · 18–36 in wide
- Bloom time
- August–September
- USDA zones
- 3–9
- Family
- Lamiaceae
- Native range
- Eastern North America. moist meadows, stream banks, and open woods from Quebec to North Dakota south to Florida and Texas
Care notes for obedient plant.
Plant in full sun to part shade in moist to average soil. It tolerates wet conditions well and is an excellent choice for rain gardens or low spots. Divide every two to three years in spring to control spread and keep the planting vigorous. Deadhead spent spikes to discourage excessive self-seeding. Stems may flop in rich soil. plant among neighbors that provide support or stake loosely.
Pairs well with these.
Same light, same soil, same wildlife. Janet's picks to plant alongside obedient plant.
Or skip the guesswork.
Curated packages bundle complementary species for an instant habitat. One reservation, one pickup day, a printed layout map.
Short on Space Package
For gardeners who have an abundance of passion but are short on space, this package features tidy, upright, clump-forming natives that behave and function well in small spaces.
Shade Bed Package
Ferns, sedges, and woodland natives that thrive under existing trees.
Birder’s Paradise Package
For the avid bird watchers and budding ornithologists in our community, the Birder’s Paradise Package consists of species that Hill House Nursery staff and longtime native plant advocates such as Doug Tallamy consider ‘premier bird garden plants’.