Common figwort

How to recognise it

Habit

Upright perennial of 50–120 cm with a square, hairless stem without wings.

Leaf

Opposite, oval to triangular, 6–13 cm, with a toothed edge and a pointed tip; hairless and dark green.

Flower

Small, 7–10 mm, rounded and two-lipped, reddish brown with a greenish underside, in a loose, branched cluster at the top, from June to September.

Fruit/Seed

An egg-shaped, pointed capsule about 1 cm long, with many small seeds.

Roots

A knobbly rhizome with swollen tubers, which is what nodosa, ‘knotty’, refers to.

Look-alikes

Water figwort and green figwort have stems with narrow wings along the angles and grow in wetter places. Without flowers the plant looks like a nettle, but it has no stinging hairs and a hairless stem.

Flowering: June–September · Pruning: March

Why grow it?

• One of the few plants pollinated mainly by wasps; bumblebees and honeybees also come for the nectar.
• Foodplant for Cionus weevils, whose larvae look like bird droppings, and for the caterpillars of the mullein moth.
• It flowers all summer, from June to September.
• It grows in shady, damp places where few other summer flowers do well.
• The dry stems stay standing in winter as shelter for small insects.

Common figwort: where does it grow best?

• In the wild: damp deciduous woodland, woodland edges, clearings, hedgerows, ditch banks and rough ground.
• Moist, rich, humus-rich soil: clay, loam or sand.
• Partial to full shade; in sun only if the soil stays moist.
• In the garden: in a shady border, along a hedge, at the edge of a copse or by a pond.

Goes well with

• Hemp-agrimony: Pink flower heads in the same damp woodland edge, loved by butterflies.
• Yellow loosestrife: Yellow flowers beside the reddish-brown figwort, on moist soil.
• Foxglove: Tall purple spikes in the same woodland clearings.
• Hedge woundwort: Purple flowers for bumblebees in the same damp partial shade.
• Honeysuckle: Climbs through the hedge above and is fragrant in the evening.

Common figwort: when and how to plant it?

1. Buy plants from a nursery for native wild plants, or sow seed of wild, native origin yourself. Never dig up plants from the wild.
2. Sow in autumn or early spring in a pot or tray left outdoors; barely cover the fine seed.
3. Plant the young plants out in spring or autumn, 40–50 cm apart.
4. On poor, dry soil, work some leaf mould into the planting hole.
5. Water after planting and keep the soil moist in the first year.

Care

Watering

Only in dry spells in the first year; after that rarely needed in a moist spot.

Feeding

Not needed; a layer of leaf mould or fallen leaves is enough.

Self-seeding

It self-sows moderately; pull out surplus seedlings in spring.

Support

In a spot that is too shady or rich it may flop; let it lean on its neighbours.

Leaf damage

Holes in the leaves from weevils and caterpillars are part of the deal: leave them, they belong in a wildlife garden.

Tip: To watch the wasps at work, stand by a flowering plant in July: they are busy with the nectar and will leave you alone.

Pruning and mowing

Pruning months: March.

When: In March, just before the new shoots appear.

How:

• Leave the faded stems standing in autumn: they shelter insects over winter.
• In March, cut the old stems down to just above the ground.
• For fewer seedlings, cut off some of the flower stems after flowering, before the capsules split.

Pruning: when and how · Pruning calendar and basic rules

Propagation

Seed

Sow in autumn or March in a tray outdoors; it germinates in spring.

Division

In March or October, cut the rhizome into pieces with a spade, each with a few buds.

Common figwort: how does it get through the winter?

Hardy to −30 °C.

• The top growth dies back; the rhizome overwinters and sprouts again in April.
• The dry stems with their capsules stay upright and shelter insects.
• Fully hardy.

Diseases and pests

• Weevils: Small beetles and their larvae, which look like bird droppings, eat holes in the leaves. Harmless; leave them.
• Caterpillars: Mullein moth caterpillars can strip a plant quite badly. They belong there; the plant sprouts again the next year.
• Drying out: In a dry, sunny spot the leaves wilt. Move the plant somewhere cooler.
• Self-seeding: It sometimes seeds more than you want. Pull out seedlings in spring or cut the flower stems after flowering.

Through the year

• March: Cut down old stems. Sow in a tray outdoors.
• April: New shoots. Plant or divide.
• May: Stems growing; look out for weevils and their larvae.
• June: Flowering begins: wasps and bumblebees on the flowers.
• July: Full flower.
• August: Flowering; the first capsules ripen.
• September: Last flowers. Seed ripe.
• October: Plant or divide. Leave the stems standing.
• November: The top growth dies back.
• December: The dry stems stay standing for insects.

Did you know?

• The name Scrophularia comes from scrofula, an old name for swollen glands in the neck: according to the old doctrine of signatures the knobbly rhizome resembled them, so the plant was once used against that complaint.
• Figwort is one of the few native plants pollinated mainly by wasps.
• The larvae of Cionus weevils on the leaves are covered in slime and look like bird droppings, a good camouflage against birds.