How to Plant and Grow Honesty (Lunaria)

You may know honesty by another name, as it has quite a few, including money plant, silver dollar, and dollar plant. An easy-to-grow biennial plant, honesty will produce green, leafy growth the first year then flowers and seeds the second year. The purple flowers in late spring to summer add color to flower beds after the spring bulbs have faded. 

In early summer, the flowers turn into flattened, paper-thin, 2-inch disks that become shimmery and translucent as they mature. The seed pods make long-lasting additions to dried flower arrangements.

The plant, which is native to central and southern Europe, self-seeds profusely and comes back year after year unless you cut off the seed pods before they mature.

Where to Plant Honesty

Select a location in full sun to partial shade with rich, ideally moist soil. The plant grows well in a pH range from slightly acidic to slightly alkaline.

Good places for honesty are beds, borders, and cutting gardens. Combine it with other flowers that produce attractive dried blossoms for a cutting garden with an everlasting impact. Great annuals for drying include globe amaranth, love-lies-bleeding, cockscomb, strawflower, annual statice, bells-of-Ireland, love-in-a-mist, starflower, Chinese lanterns, and mealycup sage. Perennials that preserve well include blazing star, globe thistle, yarrow, and German statice.

How and When to Plant Honesty

Sow seeds outdoors in spring after the danger of frost has passed. At the upper end of the zone range (Zone 8-10), you can also plant the seeds in the fall, which will result in flowers and seed pods the following year. 

Plant the seeds ¼ inch deep. The seeds need light to germinate. Space seeds 4 to 6 inches apart.

Keep the soil evenly moist. As the seedlings grow, thin them to a final space of 15 to 18 inches between plants.

Honesty Care Tips

Honesty is a low-maintenance plant. The most challenging aspect of care is to keep it from reseeding itself.

Light

Honesty grows in full sun or part shade.

Soil and Water

The soil should be rich in organic matter and ideally moist. Any pH in the range between 5.5 and 8.5 is suitable.

The plant tolerates some drought but in extended dry spells, it benefits from watering every 1 to 2 weeks. Allow the soil to dry out in between waterings.

Temperature and Humidity

Honesty grows in a fairly large climate range but does best in a temperate climate with moderately cold winters and not overly hot, dry, or humid summers.

Fertilizer

If planted in rich, fertile soil, the plant does not need frequent fertilization. In the spring, apply a layer of compost around the plant. If the plants start to lose vigor during the summer, follow up with an application of a water-soluble all-purpose garden fertilizer about once a month.

Pruning

Honesty requires minimal pruning unless you want to prevent the plant from self-seeding. In that case. remove the spent flowers before they go into seed. The plant dies after flowering in its second year but leaving the seed pods on the plant provides winter interest.

Potting and Repotting Honesty

Honesty is suitable for growing in containers. Make sure the container has drainage holes and fill it with a lightweight, well-draining potting mix. Container plants need more frequent watering, especially in warm weather.

Despite its winter hardiness, honesty requires winter protection at the lower end of its zone range because unlike in garden soil, the roots are insufficiently insulated against frost and also subject to freeze-and-thaw cycles. Leave the potted plants outdoors during the winter but sink the pot in the ground to insulate the roots or place the pot in a second, larger pot to create a planting silo.

Pests and Problems

The plant has no serious pest or diseases issues. It might get leaf spot and stem canker.

How to Propagate Honesty

With its taproot, honesty is difficult to transplant. Because of its short life cycle of two years, it is propagated from seed as described above under How and When to Plant Honesty.

Types of Honesty

White Honesty

Lunaria annua var. albiflora ('Alba Variegata') has white flowers and variegated foliage.

Lunaria annua 'Corfu Blue'

This rare variety is sometimes referred to under the botanical name Lunaria annua subsp. pachyrhiza. It originated on the Greek island of Corfu. The flowers have a distinct blue tinge and the plant is more branched than the species.

Honesty Companion Plants

Lady’s Mantle

With its tidy, low growth habit, this long-lived perennial plant blends well with other spring-blossoming plants and makes a good front-of-the-border option. In addition to its flowers, lady's mantle is prized for its foliage. Shallow leaves of cool green with softly scalloped edges are covered with soft hairs. Once established, it is drought-tolerant. Zone 3-8

Globe Thistle

Hardy and tolerant to drought and poor soil, globe thistles are appreciated for growing even in difficult conditions. They make dramatic centerpieces in garden beds and add height to the back of border gardens When fully open, globe thistle blossoms are magnets for pollinators, but the ball-shaped blooms are also stunning in floral arrangements. Zone 3-10

Autumn Joy Sedum

Sedums are quite undemanding in terms of soil but they need as much sun as you can give them. Sedum ‘Autumn Joy’ is a classic upright sedum that grows about 2 feet tall. Its stems carry gray fleshy leaves and are topped with green broccoli-like heads of flower buds that open pink and turn rusty red by fall. Zone 3-8

Garden Plans For Honesty

Low-Water Garden Plan

Use the water-wise selections in this low-water garden plan to create a beautiful display near your home's foundation, along your driveway, or on the streetside strip of grass in front of your house where you may need some extra durable options. Stocked with low-maintenance plants that thrive in full sun and well-drained soil, this garden is designed to look good, even through extended dry spells.