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Betonica macrantha

Big Betony · Big-sage · Bishop's Wort

Family LamiaceaeGenus Betonica

A whorl of large ruffled violet-pink hooded flowers on a slender stem, with a bee approaching
FlowerOrjenCC BY-SA 3.0

About the plant

What it is and where it grows — not part of any germination protocol.

Habit
perennialPlants of the World Online
Flower
VioletOrnamental Plants From Russia And Adjacent States Of The Former Soviet Union
Native range
Iran, North Caucasus, Transcaucasus, TürkiyeGBIF Backbone Taxonomy

Toxicity is noted only where a source states it. No note here is not a finding of safety.

Sources: Plants of the World Online — Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; Ornamental Plants From Russia And Adjacent States Of The Former Soviet Union; GBIF Backbone Taxonomy — Global Biodiversity Information Facility.

Worth knowing

  • Big betony, formerly Stachys macrantha, comes from the Caucasus, northeastern Turkey and northwestern Iran. Macrantha means "large-flowered", for its spikes of hooded purplish-pink flowers. Wikipedia: Betonica macrantha

Two sources report two treatments between them. Both are shown.

Protocol 1

DerivedN. C. Deno, 1998

Difficulty Very high Rated by us, not by the source.

Start around March 23, 2027 for a May 3 last frost. Too late for spring 2027 — that needed starting on March 22, 2024.

  1. Dry storage

    Duration: 1095 daysTemperature: 70°F 21°C

  2. Sow and cover

    Temperature: 70°F 21°C Light: dark

about 3 years from start to sowing. Then 14 days to germinate.

4% germination in 14 days.

Seed Germination Theory and Practice, 2nd Supplement — N. C. Deno, 1998 · 2nd Supplement, Stachys p. 63Public domain
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Stachys (Lamiaceae). S. macrantha DS 3 y germ. 70D(4% in 2nd w).
Seed Germination Theory and Practice, 2nd Supplement, 2nd Supplement, Stachys p. 63. Quoted exactly. Every value on this card comes from this record, except the difficulty rating, which is ours; the step names come from a fixed list.

Protocol 2

DerivedN. C. Deno, 1993

Difficulty Moderate Rated by us, not by the source.

Sow around March 1, 2027 — a date the source gives, not one counted back from a May 3 last frost.

  1. Dry storage

    Duration: 180 daysTemperature: 70°F 21°C

  2. Sow outdoors and leave it

    Sown outdoors in March 1; up in April.

about 6 months from start to sowing. Then 30 days to germinate.

31% germination in 30 days.

Seed Germination Theory and Practice, 2nd ed. — N. C. Deno, 1993 · Ch. 20, Stachys p. 217Public domain
Show the original text
Stachys (Lamiaceae). S. macrantha requires outdoor treatments Seeds DS for 6 m at 70 placed outdoors on March 1 germ. 31% in April and 14% the following December-March. Other treatments gave less than 5% germination.
Seed Germination Theory and Practice, 2nd ed., Ch. 20, Stachys p. 217. Quoted exactly. Every value on this card comes from this record, except the difficulty rating, which is ours; the step names come from a fixed list.

How each step is done, in Deno’s words, and what Verified and Derived mean.

Germination trials

Readers’ own records of sowing this species, published after review. Share your trial · All trials

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