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Verbascum phoeniceum

Purple Mullein

Family ScrophulariaceaeGenus Verbascum

A spike of deep red-purple flowers against a tree trunk
FlowerJeffdelonge at French WikipediaCC 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
Habit
Perennial, Forb/herbPLANTS Database
Flower
PurpleFlora of China
Native range
Albania, Altay, Austria, Bulgaria, Central European Russia, Czechia-Slovakia and elsewhereGBIF 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; PLANTS Database — USDA NRCS; Flora of China — Wu Zhengyi, Peter H. Raven and Hong Deyuan (eds.); GBIF Backbone Taxonomy — Global Biodiversity Information Facility.

Worth knowing

This source reports two treatments. Both are shown.

Protocol 1

DerivedN. C. Deno, 1993

Difficulty Low Rated by us, not by the source.

Start around April 1, 2027 for a May 3 last frost.

  1. Sow and cover

    Temperature: 70°F 21°C Light: either

No stated waiting before sowing. Then 4 days to germinate.

100% germination in 3–4 days.

Every seed, in three or four days, light or dark. One of the easiest things in the book.

Seed Germination Theory and Practice, 2nd ed. — N. C. Deno, 1993 · Ch. 20, VerbascumPublic domain
Show the original text
Verbascum (Scrophulariaceae). V. phoeniceum germ. 70(100% in 3-4 d) and 40(38% over 3 m). Light had no effect.
Seed Germination Theory and Practice, 2nd ed., Ch. 20, Verbascum. 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.

Start around January 5, 2027 for a May 3 last frost.

  1. Cold moist stratification

    Temperature: 40°F 4°C Light: either

    38%, spread over three months -- it germinates in the cold.

Germination happens during step 1, in 90 days.

38% germination in 90 days.

Cold turns four days into three months and loses two thirds of the seed. Sow it warm.

Seed Germination Theory and Practice, 2nd ed. — N. C. Deno, 1993 · Ch. 20, VerbascumPublic domain
Show the original text
Verbascum (Scrophulariaceae). V. phoeniceum germ. 70(100% in 3-4 d) and 40(38% over 3 m). Light had no effect.
Seed Germination Theory and Practice, 2nd ed., Ch. 20, Verbascum. 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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