Aconitum 'Album'

Aconitum 'Album': Pretty White Hoods, Poisonous Personality

White hooded flowers on upright spires, looking like a row of very serious figures waiting for a bus. Gorgeous, elegant and poisonous from root to tip. 'Album' is the dinner guest you admire from across the room. LOOK, BUT DON'T TASTE.

Plant Characteristics:

• Botanical Name: Aconitum napellus 'Album'
• Common Name: White Monkshood
• Height: 90–120 cm (3–4 ft)
• Spread: 45–75 cm (1.5–2.5 ft)
• Flowers: Hooded white flowers, sometimes lightly flushed grey, on upright, unbranched spires
• Bloom Time: Mid to late summer (July to August)
• Foliage: Dark green, deeply divided and fern-like
• Features: Rabbit resistant, visited by bumblebees, good cut flower, toxic if eaten, can irritate skin

Where to Plant: Use it in the middle or back of a border, or in a part-shade spot that needs some height. Because it's toxic, keep it away from vegetable beds, play areas and spots where pets like to chew. Plant it where you can admire it rather than brush past it every day.

Companion Plants: Let Geranium 'Rozanne' weave around the base with violet flowers from early summer to early fall. Astrantia 'Star of Fire' adds burgundy flowers at 60 cm, a rich contrast to the white spires. Once the monkshood finishes in August, Anemone Fall in Love® 'Sweetly' picks up with pink flowers into October. All three suit full sun to partial sun.

Plant Care: Plant in fertile, moisture-retentive but well-drained soil enriched with compost. It likes cool roots and doesn't like drying out, so give it afternoon shade in hot spots and water during dry spells. Keep it away from thirsty tree roots. Tall stems may need a little support in exposed sites. Cut back after flowering or in late fall. Divide every four or five years in spring or fall if the clump gets crowded. Wear gloves for all of it, and wash your hands afterwards.

History: Aconitum napellus is a European species also known as aconite and wolfsbane, and the ancient Greeks called it the queen of poisons. White forms like 'Album' have been grown in gardens for generations.

Final Thoughts: Wear gloves, keep it away from curious kids and pets, and let the bumblebees do the visiting. Deer already got the memo. BEAUTY WITH A WARNING LABEL.