Members of the Lunaria genus are often grown as hardy annuals in the garden, even though they are hardy biennials or perennials.
They have a bushy nature and reach from 45 to 90 cm (18 to 36 inches) in height.
Lunaria annua - Annual Honesty by Amandabhslater; creative commons.
They have purple or white flowers that set attractive silver coloured seed pods that can be used in flower arrangements.
Lunaria pods by Mangpages; creative commons.
Some of the common names for Lunaria include Money plant, Moonwort, Honesty, and Satin pod.
Lunaria Rediviva – Perennial Honesty by Alexandre Dulaunoy; creative commons.
Lunaria annua; syn. Lunaria biennis (Money Plant in bloom), photograph by peganum; CC.
Lunaria annua Pods (Silver dollar plant translucent seed pods), picture by James St. John; CC.
Lunaria Rediviva (Perennial honesty), Image by Babij; CC.
Lunaria rediviva pods (CommName), photograph by Leonora (Ellie) Enking; CC.
There are also two more, much rarer, species in this genus: Lunaria elongata, andLunaria telekiana
Money Plants and other Lunaria members such as Moonwort can be grown outdoors from seed by sowing at a depth of 3 mm (1/8 th inch).
This can be done either in autumn or just before the last frost of spring.
Money plants can be grown in either sunny or partially shaded parts of the garden that have good soil.
Lunaria can easily be started indoors. Plan to start the growing process about seven weeks before you expect the last frost.
The seeds should take about two weeks to germinate at 21 degrees centigrade (70°F).
Once growing transplant the young Money plants at about 30 to 40 cm (12 to 16 inches) apart.
Money plants and Honesty are pretty easy to look after. They will self seed, so if you do not require more Lunaria plants in the garden the following year, remove the plants before they shed seed.
It is necessary to mulch the plants at the beginning of winter if you are planning to grow Lunaria as a biennial.
I hope that you enjoyed this guide on how to grow Lunaria plants. You may also enjoy the following Gardener's HQ growing guides: How to grow Ionopsidium, Yucca Plant, and Iberis plants.