I purchased mine at Mother Earth Gardens Oct 2010 in Minneapolis,MN at their end of the season sale. It was small and tired from being in a pot. I took it back to Oklahoma and it has increased and grown well enough for me to keep it. I wish the blooms were darker in color and lasted longer but it is a faithful bloomer and easy care. Ann

I grow it primarily for the foliage - I like the shape of the leaves, and the clumps are fairly tidy and a nice foil to other foliage. The flowers themselves are pretty, but the red-undertoned purple closes clashes with the other flowers I have (blue-based purples, lilacs, and pinks). Sometimes I leave them, other times I cut them off, they get on my nerves because of the clash. Overall, though, a nice plant and worth growing.

Me too, mxk3. Stachys sylvatica and stachys officionalis (betony) grow all over my woods so, in a case of 'if you can't beat them, join them', I added s.monieri to the mix, Those fat rosettes make excellent ground cover (I am attempting to fill spaces with plants of my choosing) and the purple spikes are something of a bonus. Still young plants so cannot offer definitive reviews but so far, I think it will make a useful addition to woodland edges

I don't grow 'Hummelo', I grow S. macrantha 'Superba' and I do love its foliage. Why don't people grow it more often? It's so distinctive and the flowers are really pretty too. Absolutely carefree! Those crinkly leaves make me smile!

I thought I had started a thread about "Hummelo" but I guess I just had planned to! (Great minds think alike ;))

I am going to find room for this particular stachys this season.

Some trivia re this plant (off the internet):

It was developed by the Dutch plantsman Piet Oudolf.

Supposedly this plant was his favourite introduction (named after his home town in the Netherlands).

What is your experience in terms of its flowering? That is when does it start and for how long?

Nice pictures.

The highest rated Stachys in the Chicago Botanic Garden Stachys trial (Issue 27, 2005); "based on strong flower production, plant health, habit quality and winter hardiness".

A cultivar of Stachys officinalis according to the RHS Plant Finder, "sometimes sold as a cultivar of S. monieri".

Another picture (July 6, 2012; at the back)

In a narrow, sunny, well draining and watered bed. That plant's now been moved to an adjacent location (crowding).

Could perhaps be a bit taller for our mixed perennial beds for flowering in July.

Annette I really hope all your plants survive the sogginess. It should be used more often. I should get this one too since Stachys o. 'Rosea' does so well here. I have grown it for years in very well drained soil in full sun. It does not bloom as prolifically as 'Hummelo' (as cited by SB in the trials at the CBG) but it is still a great plant.

mxk3 You might prefer the pale pink of this one. I like the foliage too!

Stachys o. 'Rosea' not at peak bloom in this pic. It reblooms quite well if deadheaded.

Peren.all, I think mine is going to like it's new home, when dug the roots looked good and healthy. This is the time of year I play musical chairs with a lot of plants :). Being a plant collector at heart it's the plants themselves that peak my interest not the overall look of my garden, when it all comes together it's just serendipity :). If I like it, home it comes without a thought of where it will be planted, that's why I'll always have a plant ghetto. If after a couple of years and several moves they still don't fit in they end up back in a pot and on their way to the next garden club plant sale. Not too much of a downer, it just means I can keep on shopping LOL.

I love this Stachys, to this day I have never seen it sold locally, I found it in a little nursery off the beaten path down island. 'Rosea' is also lovely I'll have to keep an eye out for that one.

Annette

I can really identify with what you say, Annette.

Other than growing conditions and usually plant height, I leave it to the planted perennials themselves to make an attractive crowd.

Back from Florida. I'm so glad I'm a Northern gardener.

My experience with 'Hummelo' is 1) mildly interesting foliage, 2) nice, but brief flowering in spring, 3) followed by meh, which increases over the years as the clump slowly declines.

I may still have a very small patch somewhere out there. If so, it's a prime candidate to be replaced by something more rewarding.

Mine is very reliable, hardy, and blooms for a few weeks in July. The foliage is well-behaved the rest of the year. I really love it.

Interesting contrasting views.

The odd thing is that I can see reason to agree with both sides.

The matter of long term maintenance, however, comes to mind. The plant spreads by superficial creeping stems, which implies prospecting for new nutrients. On the other hand, you read that clumps will grow together to form a dense ground cover.

We only have one 'Hummelo' in our own garden. The plant has been growing in favourable conditions but it seems that upgrading the soil, at a time when it was moved, rejuvenated the plant.

UPDATE:

I finally made the purchase. Not sure when it will get planted ;).

Update (July 2018):

After reading this thread last year I purposely bought a "Hummelo" and plunked it in the ground sometime last summer. It has been nice enough to us this year giving us some flowers.

(I agree with mxk3 ie I too very much like the shape of the leaf).

Nice picture, rouge! Check out the stachys I saw in NYC last month. The first is stachys + geranium in Battery Park, and the second is on the High Line. Looked like a combo of hummelo and cotton candy. This inspired me to create a larger drift in my own garden.

Outstanding lalala. I love seeing pictures like this.

Ugh, I still can't find a plant source of the Stachys officinilis "Alba" (or any white betony for that matter)! I did locate some seeds, and not a-one germinated - NOT ONE! Does anyone know of a source of white betony or the "rosea" pictured above (pale pink) or have any divisions to share? Anyone? Pretty please?

I would be more than happy to share S. o. "Rosea" with you but that pesky border thing....I did find this source http://www.bigbloomersflowerfarm.com/plant-finder-1/

^^ Yes, they'd be deader than a doornail by the time they got through customs -- appreciate the though, though!

The nursery you linked to is retail only, and I'm no where even near North Carolina. If these things are supposedly so easy to grow, why can't they be easily purchased. Everybody and their brother around here has "Hummelo" for sale, have never seen any other color for sale.

My pink ones were shovel pruned as the didn’t do well with the climate change/drought for some reason, plus the color gets so washed out...blah. You’d be better off with the hummelo in my opinion as they’ve done much better. Although they are looking pretty rough now too...

UPDATE (March 4, 2019)

PLANT OF THE YEAR 2019

Hopefully this will make not only Hummelo, but also some of the other similar Stacey’s cultivars more readily available.

I might grow it just for the foliage..the flowers are a bonus ;).

Here it is today:

I was able to pick up a seedling-grown strain from a local nursery that has blush-pink flowers; they named it "White Zin". I went a little (no, a lot) overboard and bought (9) of them last year! They are getting ready to flower but with this crazy wet, cold weather who knows when that will be; I'll try to remember to post pics.

Here's a link in case anybody's interested. If you're not familiar with Hallson Gardens, they are an outstanding nursery, I highly recommend them.

"White Zin" betony

In bloom now: