Stachys aspera (Hyssopleaf Hedgenettle)

Description

This 2′ tall Locally Rare Native Perennial is covered with pink to purple flowers from June to September. They attract several species of Native Bees, Flower Flies, Butterflies, Skipers, and Moths. An Unusual Insect that Broods its Young: Sehirus cinctus (White Margined Burrower Bug) feed on the seeds.

TThough Native to AL, DC, DE, FL, GA, IA, IL, IN, KY, MD, ME, MO, MS, NC, NJ, NY, OH, PA, SC, TN, VA, WV. It is uncommon in the Coastal Plain of SC.  I have been botanizing in SC since 1989, I first saw this species in 2021 or 2022. It was growing on the roadside in Colleton Co., SC. I collected a little bit of propagation material there and have been building up stock in the nursery to sale ever since. I cannot find any record of anyone else cultivating it.

It has thrived in the nursery. It has not had any disease or insect problems. In the wild, the plants were very slender. in the nursery they are very bushy.  I was having a lot of deer breakins in the last couple of years. They occasionally nibble the tips of the branches making them bushier and more floriferous. I am going to experiment planting this species around tastier plants to protect them. Try it in your garden

Plant it in moist to wet soil in sun to part shade. In Virginia, it sometimes grows in brackish marshes.