Honesty

Growing Guide

Honesty, or Lunaria as it is also known, is an old-fashioned cottage garden plant, known more for its seeds than its flowers. The distinctive flat, translucent papery pods, which hold the dark seeds, are often used in dried flower arranging but, if left on the plant, they're good for adding winter interest to the garden. The purple or white fragrant flowers in spring and early summer are very attractive to pollinating insects.

Sow Honesty seeds on the surface of a good quality seed compost and gently firm down. Place the seed tray in a propagator or seal inside a clear polythene bag until germination. Keep the compost damp but not wet and do not exclude light. Alternatively, as Honesty is a strong self-seeder, you may choose to direct sow your Honesty seeds in August, when they may otherwise naturally fall from a plant.



When seedlings are large enough to handle, transplant into the ground at a distance of 30cm apart on any fertile, well drained soil in semi-shade. Honesty develops a large taproot and therefore is best planted out when young – larger plants tend not to establish as well as younger ones. Which is why we don’t recommend pricking out/potting on and then transplanting into its final position.

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Honesty is a member of the Brassica family and therefore is susceptible to the same diseases as many cabbages, such as the fungal disease, club root.

As well as providing flowers for pollinators, honesty is used as a caterpillar food plant by the orange-tip butterfly. Look out for green caterpillars on the stems of plants in summer, and the almost triangular pupae, which remain on the plant throughout winter, before the new season's butterflies hatch in mid-spring.