monieri HUMMELO

Stachys monieri `Hummelo', deep lilac-purple, 18-20", July-August. Perennial Plant of The Year 2019. Selected! and introduced by a famous German grower Ernst Pagels (not the same Ernest that saved Christmas) in the late 1990s. It was brought to Perennial enthusiasts attention the worlds greatest plant designer Piet Oudolf began using it in his designs. "Hummel" means "bumblebee" in German and this well lives up to it's POLLINATOR fame! Named for Ernst Pagels nursery located in Hummelo, the Netherlands. Full sun is best but will tolerate quite a bit of part-shade if need be. Basal, EVERGREEN, clumps of bright green lightly scalloped leaves. A ga-zillion spike flowers in mid to late summer are crowded with bees, butterflies. "Betony", "Wood Betony", "Woundwort". zone4 at least. Well!, here's the add-on for 2019! Selected the Perennial Plant of the Year(PoY) for 2019. Received the HIGH-est(has nothing to do with the recent canniboid craze lurking about, rather the HIGHEST RATING in the Chicago Botanic Garden trials of Stachys! 5 stars(*****)customer rating in sales? hmmm...to be determined. To be selected(I remember it on the ballot and YES(not the group) did vote for it because I knew I could propagate it and it did "live up to its EXPECTATIONS"! Back to the characteristics applied, strong flower production, vigor, quality and winter hardiness. Well, vigor is how much energy YOU have when you begin your day! So if you walk outside and do not see your? Stachys `Hummelo' in full bloom with at least 50+flowers and butterflies all around it?...you should have got one at Russell's during his offers, let alone realized it since he has been growing it since it came out in the trade! Semi-evergreen(means it's a mound of basal green growth even with snow over it!).