Ballota nigra
Black horehound, Stinking Roger
- Height × spread
- 0.8m × 0.5m
- Position
- Full sun
- Hardiness
- Average winter to - 10C (RHS H4)
- Flowers
- Summer, Autumn
Availability
Please ask in store about availability
Many plants are seasonal. Call 01234 567890 to check current stock.
About this plant
This soft foliaged plant has neat heart shaped leaves with regular toothed edges. The leaves come in pairs, whorled around the stem, held on short stalks. Clusters of little purple flowers, held on short stems at the leaf base appear all summer and into autumn. It makes a bushy plant that can stand up to 1m (3ft) in height, though often far less. It came to England from Europe during the Middle Ages and is now found on wasteland and along roads. The foliage which is pungent was once used to treat bites from mad dogs.
- Flower colour
- Purple
- Foliage colour
- Grey
- Stem colour
- Grey
- Variegated
- No
- Scent
- Yes
- Shape
- Dome
- Height
- 0.8m
- Spread
- 0.5m
- Season of interest
- Summer, Autumn
- Flowers in
- Summer, Autumn
- Evergreen
- Deciduous
- Garden style
- Scented garden
- Sun or shade
- Likes full sun, likes part shade, likes light shade
- Soil type
- Chalk, Gravelly soil, Loam (normal), Poor soil, Sandy soil
- Soil pH
- Alkaline, Neutral
- Drainage
- Well drained soil
- Hardiness
- Average winter to - 10C (RHS H4)
- Borders & containers
- Borders
- Use for
- Structural, Bee attraction
- Hazards
- No
Spring
Spring-Autumn · Outdoors
Water in dry periods
Established plants in the ground can cope with 7-10 days of dryness, and shrubs often manage 2 to 3 weeks. Water one section of the garden thoroughly each day rather than a little everywhere. Check plants in pots more often, especially in hot weather.
Summer
Summer-Autumn · Planting
Prune young growth after flowering
When the plant has finished flowering, remove the flower and most of the young growth that the plant has made. Leave just around 2 centimetres of young growth on the plant. Don't cut into old wood unless it is diseased or damaged.
Planting & general
Outdoor planting · Planting
Add root growth stimulant to the planting hole
Mycorrhizal fungi helps roots establish quickly, so they absorb water and nutrients more efficiently. It comes as a powder, granule or gel. Add to the planting hole or container, and to the plant's rootball before planting in the hole. For "bareroot" plants use a gel.