-
CATEGORY ::
- All Seeds /
- All Herb Seeds
![Oyster Plant Seeds](/images/products/detail/herbseed/oysterplant.jpg)
![Oyster Plant Seeds](/images/products/detail/herbseed/oysterplant.jpg)
Oyster Plant Seeds
About...
Oyster Plant (Mertensia martima dolphin) - Also known as Oyster Leaf and Sea Bluebells. Mertensia maritima has its unique name because it gives off a faint smell of mushrooms and when eaten it tastes vaguely of oysters.MORE HERB OPTIONS
Herb Specifications
SEASON
Perennial
USDA ZONES
3 - 7
HEIGHT
6 - 10 inches
BLOOM SEASON
Summer
BLOOM COLOR
Purple
ENVIRONMENT
Full sun to partial shade
SOIL TYPE
Light, sandy, loamy
LATIN NAME
Mertensia maritima dolphin
Planting Directions
TEMPERATURE
30F - 40F, then move to 72F
AVERAGE GERM TIME
20 - 60 days
LIGHT REQUIRED
Yes
DEPTH
1/8 inch
SOWING RATE
1 - 2 seeds per plant
MOISTURE
Keep seeds moist until germination
PLANT SPACING
8 - 11 inches
Oyster Plant (Mertensia martima dolphin) - Also known as Oyster Leaf and Sea Bluebells. Mertensia maritima has its unique name because it gives off a faint smell of mushrooms and when eaten it tastes vaguely of oysters. The chemical that gives this plant the oyster-like odor when its leaves are crushed is dimethyl sulphide, a compound that is noted for being a major part of the odor profile of raw oysters.
- Edible variety for pots and hanging baskets or in the garden
- Plant height mature plants 6 inches in pots, 10 inches in the garden
- Ornamental value
- Salt tolerant
- Leaves have an oyster- like taste
- Suitable for salads, garnish and mixed containers
If raw oysters are your thing, this is the herb plant choice for you. Beautiful glaucous blue-green leaves on sprawling stems tipped in small sky blue flowers. This likes ample nutrition. Perennial and dormant in winter. This is a plant of just above high tide line on cold northern hemisphere beaches from Maine to Greenland and Japan to Alaska so if you have a cool to cold garden, here you go.The fleshy leaves of this low-growing shore plant are rich in flavor, which is comparable to oysters, anchovies, mushrooms, and borage depending on your palette.
Oyster leaf needs cold to germinate and its seeds require stratification and germinate rather irregularly, distributed over a longer period of time. Sow from October to February directly outdoors. Only sparsely cover with soil. Since this plant is very popular with snails, it should be cultivated in pots. Oyster leaf loves sunny locations and fresh, permeable, slightly sandy soils.
Flower Specifications
SEASON
Perennial
USDA ZONES
5 - 8
HEIGHT
24 - 36 inches
BLOOM SEASON
Late spring through summer
BLOOM COLOR
Mix
ENVIRONMENT
Full sun
SOIL TYPE
Well-drained, pH 5.8 - 6.8
DEER RESISTANT
Yes
LATIN NAME
Verbascum Phoenicium
Planting Directions
TEMPERATURE
68F
AVERAGE GERM TIME
14 - 21 days
LIGHT REQUIRED
Yes
DEPTH
Do not cover the seed but press into the soil
SOWING RATE
8 seeds per plant
MOISTURE
Keep seeds moist until germination
PLANT SPACING
18 - 24 inches
CARE & MAINTENANCE
Verbascum (Verbascum Phoenicium Hybrids Mix) - This free flowering mix grown from Verbascum seeds will give your garden weeks of lovely colors. Commonly called Purple Mullein, this plant has dark green, crinkly leaves and beautiful spikes of papery-thin, round 5 - petaled blooms in shades of white, rose, and violet. The Purple Mullein plant starts blooming from the bottom of the spike and proceeds upward, opening one by one. Mullein flowers look lovely in a mixed border, and they can bloom from late spring up until the first frost. It is both deer and rabbit resistant, and butterflies love it! Verbascum flowers are excellent for cutting as well. Also considered to be a medicinal herb, the Mullein herb has diuretic, analgesic, expectorant, and antiseptic properties.
How To Grow Mullein From Seed: Plant Mullein seeds indoors 6 - 8 weeks before last frost date. Lightly press the Verbascum flower seeds into the soil, but do not cover with soil since the seeds need light to germinate. Keep constantly moist, not wet, and the herb seeds will germinate in 14 - 21 days. For outdoor sowing, wait until frost danger has passed, and sow Purple Mullein seeds directly into prepared seed bed. Spacing should be about 18 - 24 inches apart. Verbascum Mullein will bloom the first year if the flower seeds are sown early enough in the season. Flowers can be left on to self-seed or can be deadheaded to encourage more blooming.