Bicolor Monkshood

Other Names: Wolfsbane

Ornamental Features:

Bicolor Monkshood features bold spikes of white hooded flowers with indigo overtones rising above the foliage from early to late summer. The flowers are excellent for cutting. It's attractive deeply cut ferny leaves remain dark green in colour throughout the season. The fruit is not ornamentally significant.

Landscape Attributes:

Bicolor Monkshood is an herbaceous perennial with a rigidly upright and towering form. Its relatively fine texture sets it apart from other garden plants with less refined foliage.

This perennial will require occasional maintenance and upkeep, and is best cleaned up in early spring before it resumes active growth for the season. It is a good choice for attracting bees, butterflies and hummingbirds to your yard, but is not particularly attractive to deer who tend to leave it alone in favor of tastier treats. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Bicolor Monkshood is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• General Garden Use
• Vertical Accent
• Container Planting

Plant Characteristics:

Bicolor Monkshood will grow to be about 3 feet tall at maturity extending to 4 feet tall with the flowers, with a spread of 24 inches. It tends to be leggy, with a typical clearance of 1 feet from the ground, and should be underplanted with lower-growing perennials. The flower stalks can be weak and so it may require staking in exposed sites or excessively rich soils. It grows at a medium rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for approximately 15 years.

This perennial performs well in both full sun and full shade. It prefers to grow in average to moist conditions, and shouldn't be allowed to dry out. It is not particular as to soil type or pH. It is highly tolerant of urban pollution and will even thrive in inner city environments. Consider applying a thick mulch around the root zone over the growing season to conserve soil moisture. This plant can be propagated by division.

This particular variety is an interspecific hybrid, and parts of it are known to be toxic to humans and animals, so care should be exercised in planting it around children and pets.