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Inspiring Northern Gardeners Since 1985


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Plant Finder

Find the perfect plants for your garden here. Browse our extensive selection of hardy plants: trees, evergreens, shrubs, perennials, hardy fruits & vines. Find plants you like and save them to your Wish List.

Bring your wish list into the store by printing it or saving it to your device. Our friendly, knowledgeable staff will help find everything you need. Please note: Inventory may fluctuate throughout the season.

The plants shown here are all plants we expect to carry this season. Not all plants are available at all times.

Send us your Wish List and we'll get back to you with availability and pricing as soon as we can - usually within 24 hours.

Happy browsing!

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perennial

Common Monkshood

Aconitum napellus

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Common Monkshood (Aconitum napellus) at Hunniford Gardens

Common Monkshood flowers

Common Monkshood flowers

(Photo courtesy of NetPS Plant Finder)

Common Monkshood (Aconitum napellus) at Hunniford Gardens

Common Monkshood in bloom

Common Monkshood in bloom

(Photo courtesy of NetPS Plant Finder)

Plant Height:  3 feet

Flower Height:  4 feet

Spread:  24 inches

Sunlight:  full sun  partial shade  full shade 

Hardiness Zone:  2

Other Names:  Wolfsbane

Ornamental Features

Common Monkshood features bold spikes of navy blue hooded flowers rising above the foliage from early to late summer. The flowers are excellent for cutting. Its attractive deeply cut ferny leaves remain dark green in colour throughout the season. The fruit is not ornamentally significant.

Landscape Attributes

Common 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 plant 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.

Common Monkshood is recommended for the following landscape applications;

  • Vertical Accent
  • General Garden Use
  • Container Planting

Planting & Growing

Common 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 foot 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 plant 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 species is not originally from North America, 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. It can be propagated by division.

Common Monkshood is a fine choice for the garden, but it is also a good selection for planting in outdoor pots and containers. With its upright habit of growth, it is best suited for use as a 'thriller' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination; plant it near the center of the pot, surrounded by smaller plants and those that spill over the edges. Note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden. Be aware that in our climate, most plants cannot be expected to survive the winter if left in containers outdoors, and this plant is no exception. Contact our store for more information on how to protect it over the winter months.

 
 
Hardiness Zone Plant Height Minimum Sunlight
Characteristics
Articulation  Garden  Container 
Applications
Flowers  Foliage Color  Texture  Plant Form  Attracts Wildlife 
Ornamental Features

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​8845 Aquarius Road
Prince George, BC
V2K 5K1
​
phone:
250-967-4325​
email: ​hunnifords@hotmail.com
website: ​www.hunnifordgardens.com​
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