The garden does not have to be lacking in color or excitement during this period. monkshoods and wolfbanes fill this niche with solid shades of blue, yellow, white and rose as well as bi-colors. They can range in height from one foot to over ten feet. Most are clump formers, but some are open in habit. They can be lax, sprawling, almost vine-like, or stately uprights. You can have an Aconitum in bloom from June through the middle of December simply by choosing a particular species, hybrid or cultivar.
Foliage emerges in early spring resembling crinkled parsley. There is a full range of light yellow-green to dark glossy green in color, sometimes freckled with darker spots. The foliage is finely cut and adds much in the way of texture when not in bloom. The plant could be considered for texture and architecture alone since it is among the first to emerge and the last to leave the garden.
Species of Aconitum can be found in Europe, Asia and North America, making them a hardy ( zone 3 - 8 ) selection for this area. With over eight hundred species and numerous hybrids to choose from, it would be difficult not to find the right monkshood for your garden. Monkshood is a member of the buttercup family. Almost every gardener has some member of this family thriving in a place of prominence. Clematis, the Queen of flowering vines, is one example. Columbines and anemones are other favorites. The common name of "monkshood" was given to the plant during the Middle Ages due to the shape of the flower. Each bloom carries closed inflated petals at the top resembling a hood. The individual flowers are carried in masses, blooming sequentially for long periods.
Aconitum are usually divided by color. The yellows, white, rose and lavender are wolfbanes. The blues belong to the monkshoods. Wolfbane is also a particular species (A. vulparia), found growing in Romania, land of legends giving rise to the Hollywood Dracula and Werewolves movies.
One possible reason for the plant not being more popular in gardens is it's unsavory reputation. monkshood is literally unpalatable, for the plant is poisonous. There is also a history long and dark hinting of witchcraft and foul deeds in the herbal lore. The recorded lore and legend is lengthy. The Greek gods supposedly gave birth to the poison of the plant from an angry dog's saliva. The gods then began to kill each other off using the deadly juice. One legend says that women who, from infancy, were fed minute doses could become immune themselves, but kill a male using sexual intercourse. Armies have long used the poison to tip their arrows, and the juice was also placed in drinking water of their enemies. Juice was placed on fresh meat and placed out for Wolves, thus the "wolf's bane". If you became old and feeble, no longer a productive citizen, aconite was used to gently remove you. Why grow it in the garden if it is so poisonous? It is not dangerous to humans unless misused. Keep it in the back of the border and warn children not to handle the plant. Don't place anywhere near your edible herbs. Wear gloves when handling, if you have cuts or scratches, or you are dividing or cutting the plant. It is not poisonous to wildlife for birds love the ripe seeds.
Monkshood and wolfbane prefer open shade. They will tolerate a wide range of soils, but will not survive prolonged periods of extremes. Wet boggy conditions will rot the crowns. Long periods of heat and drought will deplete the storage in the fleshy roots. My experience with most members of the buttercup family is to keep the roots moist and cool, but give it light. I always enrich the soil deeply with composted manure and leaf mold. Young seedlings have little capacity to withstand stress, so keep well watered the first year. Mulch heavily around but not directly on the crown.
Monkshood may be planted in the very early spring or late fall, but my preferred time is late fall. The roots need to be well settled before our hot and dry weather hits. September and October plantings have time to settle in and establish feeder roots long before the energy needed for foliage and flowering the following year.
Planting a mix of wolfbane, with its yellows, white and rose, among the
various shades of blue of the monkshoods would create a large dramatic
show. I am mixing mine with other favorite fall blooming plants,
such as:
- Tall stately asters in blue, lavender, pink or white are easy companions.
- Toad Lilies (Tricyrtis)
with their orchid-like quiet blooms are a favorite. Blooms range from
pure white to spotted lavenders, yellows and pinks. Foliage can be
upright or arching.
- Bugbane or snakeroot (Cimicifuga),
sometimes called fairy candles, add more large cut foliage with tall
spires of fuzzy white plumes. These range in height from two to six
feet, coming into bloom from June through October, depending upon the
species.
- Gentians that are late summer or fall bloomers of rich blues are for the foreground. Our species "bottle" gentians, G. saponaria or G. andrewsii, enjoy the same soil conditions as monkshoods.
- Ferns of larger sizes make good fillers between or at the feet of bigger plants. The lacy lady ferns are among my personal favorites.