DECATUR – The Perennial Plant Association chooses a perennial plant of the year using the following criteria: It must be suitable for a wide range of climatic conditions, be low maintenance, have pest and disease resistance, be readily available in the industry and have multiple seasons of interest or excellent foliage attributes.
Past winners have been allium ‘Millennium,’ butterfly weed and Japanese anemone. The 2019 perennial plant of the year is Stachys monnieri ‘Hummelo.’
Extension Horticulture Educator Kelly Allsup has not personally grown this cultivar, but was first introduced to it when reading Roy Diblik’s book "The Know Maintenance Perennial Garden." He is a noted plant-man who designs lush, gorgeous, but low-maintenance gardens. He started the gardening trend of using plants that work well with each other without a lot of gardening maintenance.
Diblik uses Stachys ‘Hummelo’ in several of his designs. He raves about the clean and strong foliage and the beauty of it the moment it emerges in April, because it is glossier than straight Stachys.
It starts to bloom rich saturations of purple in late June and ends in September, turning an attractive brown. The flowering spikes are 2 to 3 inches, held 6 to 8 inches over the foliage. Removing faded flowers will encourage more buds to form for weeks on end.
Diblik uses these in his sun garden locations, mixed with plants like prairie drop seed, perennial salvia, coreopsis, blue indigo, coneflower, perennial geranium, and moor grass. He uses them in shade gardens mixed with plants like sedge, perennial geranium, eastern wood aster and autumn moor grass.
Stachys, Wood betony, requires additional watering during establishment period, but afterward becomes drought resistant and covers the ground in a short period, providing remarkable flower displays, especially when en masse.
Martha Smith, horticulture educator for University of Illinois Extension and perennial guru, says, “Hummelo is hardy throughout all of Illinois and deserves a space in your sunny border.”
Smith adds Stachys ‘Hummelo’ received the highest rating out of 22 Stachys studied in the plant evaluation trials at the Chicago Botanic Garden. The trial ran from 1998 through 2004. It received this rating based on strong flower production, plant health, overall good growth habit and winter hardiness.
Go with the professionals. Plant the 2019 perennial plant of the year this spring, be a successful gardener with little effort, and make the neighbors comment.
Macon County Master Gardeners are volunteers trained by Illinois Extension. Master Gardeners fulfill their mission of Helping Others Learn to Grow by volunteering their time and horticulture skills through community gardening projects and educational outreach.