Obedient plant

About Obedient plant

Obedient plant is a native wildflower with square stems and spikes of snapdragon-like pink, lavender or white flowers from midsummer to frost; push a flower sideways and it stays put, which gives it its name (NC State). It grows wild in wet meadows, prairies and riverbanks from Quebec to Minnesota and eastern South Dakota, south to Florida and Texas (Wildflower Center). Fair warning: it spreads hard by runners in rich, moist soil, so plant a less spreading kind like 'Miss Manners', divide clumps every year or two, or be ready to pull extras (NC State, Wildflower Center).

Hardy in zones 2-9 (NC State). It is native to most of the eastern and central U.S. and not listed as invasive, but it can be aggressive and weedy in damp, rich garden soil (NC State).

When to plant

Timing is counted from your average last spring frost (and first fall frost). Sow & Tell works out the actual dates for your ZIP code.

Plant or divide clumps in spring or fall (NC State). From seed, sow outdoors in fall, or chill damp seed for about 3 months at 40 F and sow in spring (Wildflower Center). Shallow roots make unwanted shoots easy to pull. We found no sourced day count to first bloom.

Soil

Moist, well-drained, moderately fertile soil; it takes clay, sand and poor drainage, and some drought (NC State, Wildflower Center). Rich soil makes it spread faster and flop.

No rich amendments needed: moderately fertile, moist, well-drained soil is best, and rich soil makes it spread faster and flop (NC State).

Feeding

• Early spring, only if a soil test shows a need: fertilizer only as a soil test recommends. Most gardens need none; extra fertilizer mainly makes this spreader more aggressive (NC State).

Rich, wet soil plus fertilizer makes it run and flop; divide clumps every year or two to keep it in bounds (NC State).

Harvest

Spikes open from the bottom up, from July into fall, often until the first frost (NC State). It makes a good cut flower, and taller stems may need staking (NC State).

Varieties (2)

NC State documents 2 cultivars; we found no other extension descriptions we could open.

Pests to watch for

Aphids

Diseases and problems

Black spot (fungal leaf spot)

In the kitchen

Safety: None of the sources we checked list it as poisonous, but it is not a food plant.

Pets: Not listed by the ASPCA.