Lunaria rediviva
Lunaria rediviva is a herbaceous perennial from the cabbage or Brassicaceae family of plants, and it is native to Europe. They also call it Perennial Honesty. Genus name is from the Latin “Luna” meaning moon probably due to the seed pods. “Rediviva” means “back to life”.
It is clump-forming and grows to 90cm or 3ft tall and grows on upright branching stems. The foliage is heart-shaped, toothed, and about 20cm or 8in long. Lunaria rediviva flowers in spring and early summer. The flowers appear in panicles. They are very pale pinkish or lilac, almost white looking. Flat elliptical seed pods follow the flowering season. These seedpods are popular for dried flower arrangements and are very decorative.
Lunaria rediviva is similar to the biennial species, Lunaria annua, however, it grows larger, the flowers are more fragrant, and the leaves are more toothed.
How to grow Lunaria rediviva:
Grow Lunaria rediviva in the sun or light shade. Plant it in humus-rich, fertile, moist but well-drained soil. Ideally, sun in the morning and some shade in hot weather work best. Propagate by seed or division in spring. It will self-seed. It is easy to maintain and generally pest-free, however, watch out for clubroot and white blister.
