HarvestingIn June, July and AugustHarvest skullcap flowering tops
Cut the top third of flowering stems and dry with airflow. Flowering tops are the traditional harvest and regrow from moist crowns.
Skullcap
Scutellaria lateriflora
Family Lamiaceae
Herbalists have long prized skullcap for a calming evening tea, and the true source is this modest native — a moist-meadow mint relative stitched with small blue flowers through summer. Growing your own also solves the herb trade's old problem: knowing your skullcap is actually skullcap.
It belongs where the ground holds moisture — rain-garden edges, damp meadow plantings — spreading gently by rhizome and feeding bees along the way. As with any traditional nervine, respect it: verified plants, sensible use. Give the damp edge of your garden an herb with history.
Full Sun to Part Shade
Moderate water
Moderate growth
Native to North America
Attracts bees
From the print shop
Growing skullcap? Hang it.
Our Plant Library collection carries skullcap — Scutellaria lateriflora, print Nº 434, “Skullcap.”
526 designsfrom $12.99white or black backgroundmatte poster, unframed
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Will it fruit where you are?
Enter your ZIP — we look up your USDA hardiness zone (2023 map) and check it against what skullcap actually needs.
Hardy inZones 4-8Skullcap · Common problems
Common skullcap problems
Pests, diseases and weather to keep an eye on.
Pests
1 problem on file
- Almost none
Diseases
1 problem on file
- Powdery Mildew (minor)
Skullcap · Growing & propagation
Growing skullcap
Light, water, soil, propagation and the season’s jobs.
What it needsThe details
- Light
- Full Sun to Part Shade
- Water
- Moderate-High - moist meadow plant
Soil- Moist, rich, well-drained to wet · pH 6.0 - 7.5
Fertilizer- Compost in spring
Pruning- Spring
Cut old stems in spring; contain by pulling wandering rhizomes if needed.
Spacing- 12-18 in
How to plant & propagate skullcap
- Propagate
- Division or seed
Skullcap · Seasonal care & spray guidance
The skullcap growing playbook
Field-tested instructions for every job skullcap asks of you, compiled from university extension guidance — in the order the season brings them.
When to spray skullcap
Growing season. Airflow helps in humid sites.
Through summer
the growing season
1 jobHarvestingIn June, July and AugustSkullcap · Calculators & field guides
A little help in the garden.
Calculators for the figures. Field guides for the hands-on work.
Skullcap · Yearly calendar
The skullcap year, month by month
What skullcap asks for, month by month.
Jan
No calendar activity is listed for this month.
MonthJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
BloomPruneHarvestBloomJune to August
PruneMarch to May
HarvestJune to August
What each band means
- Bloom — flowers open — pollinators working, frost on blossoms is the danger.
- Prune — shape it now — cuts heal cleanly and structure is visible.
- Harvest — picking time — check ripeness every few days.
These are the species' typical months — expect them a few weeks earlier in warm zones and later in cold ones. Watch the plant, not just the calendar.
Skullcap · Ecology & uses
Ecology & uses
What it does for the garden, and what it is grown for.
Scutellaria lateriflora
Skullcap in the garden system
- Herbaceous layer perennial
- Nectary/insectary
Attracts- Bees
Habitat- Prairie/meadow
- Moisture
- Facultative / average
Deer- Browsed
Protect young plants
- Origin
- Native to North America
What skullcap is grown for
! Some parts toxic — see notesCaution: medicinal nervine tea; use verified material and avoid pregnancy or liver-risk combinations
- Traditional use
- Medicinal tea
- Use
- Moist meadow
- Use
- Native herb
- Use
- Pollinators
- Edible value
- 3/5
- Traditional use rating
- 4/5 in herbal tradition
Harvesting & storing skullcap
Flowering tops in summer for traditional tea.
Edibility, identification, and traditional-use notes here are general reference — not medical or veterinary advice, and not a claim that any plant treats or prevents anything. Medicinal ratings record how strongly a plant features in herbal tradition, nothing more. Never eat or dose a plant you have not positively identified. More on how to use this library.
Skullcap · Varieties & cultivars
Choosing a skullcap variety
Match the plant to your climate, season and available space.
Species
Sources & plant identity
Know what you’re growing.
See where the knowledge comes from.
Skullcap
Scutellaria lateriflora
The plant, at a glance.
- Botanical name
- Scutellaria lateriflora
- Plant family
- Lamiaceae
- Growth habit
- Perennial
- Origin
- Native to North America
- USDA plant symbol
- SCLA2
- Invasive risk
- Low
- Other names
- Scutellaria lateriflora (blue skullcap)
Every garden is different.
Hardiness, size and timing vary with your cultivar, soil and climate.
Rooted in research.
University extension research, brought together with hands-on growing experience at Story Thyme Farms.
Explore Skullcap’s sources2 reference links
for Skullcap
for Skullcap
Research from these sources
Publisher marks identify sources, not sponsorship or endorsement.
Questions
Skullcap questions, answered straight.
Is skullcap safe for kids and pets?
With care. Caution: medicinal nervine tea; use verified material and avoid pregnancy or liver-risk combinations Site it accordingly if children or pets roam the garden. This is general reference, not medical or veterinary advice — call a vet or poison control if something has actually been eaten.
When do you harvest skullcap?
Flowering tops in summer for traditional tea.
How do you propagate skullcap?
Division or seed.
Elsewhere
Where skullcap sits in the library.
Common Milkweed
Ironweed
Cup Plant
Helen's Flower (Sneezeweed)