How to Grow and Care for Honeyworts

Honeywort (Cerinthe major) is a variant of the flowering plants known as "honeyworts." Its historical native habitat is the Mediterranean region. It grows in moist but well-drained soil and full sunlight. Honeyworts bloom in a variety of colors, but the honeywort is particularly espoused for the unusual blue leaves surrounding its flowers.

Lesser honeywort is a charming herbaceous annual with fleshy, blue-green leaves and nodding, tubular flowers that are a soft yellow with purple accents. Its unique blossoms emerge from cohorts of purplish bracts, adding to its ornamental appeal. Thriving in well-drained soil, lesser honeywort attracts pollinators in sunny to partly shaded gardens, adapting well to a Mediterranean climate.

Honeywort 'Purpurascens' is a Blueshrimp plant cultivar, selected to have more vibrant flowers than its parent plant. This hardy cultivar has masses of vibrant, nodding, bell-shaped purple flowers. It is the most popular and most commonly available Cerinthe major cultivar.