Growing Honesty (Lunaria): A Complete Profile
By Growing Home Greens Team · August 20, 2026
Honesty is grown for what is left after it dies: flat, papery, translucent seed pods that hold their shape indoors for years.
A biennial, despite being called annua
The species name is Lunaria annua and the plant is a biennial. A spring sowing gives you a rosette of leaves and nothing else. The following spring it throws up two to three feet of purple flowers, and by late summer those become the pods people grow it for.
Anyone expecting flowers in year one will conclude it failed. It did not.
Harvest by doing nothing
The pods need to stay on the plant until they dry and the outer skins loosen, at which point the plant looks thoroughly dead. Cut the stems then, rub the two outer skins off each pod with a thumb, and the silver disc inside is what you keep.
It will not leave
NC State Extension is blunt: “If you start it in your garden it will be there forever as it can be weedy”, and it is reported invasive in some parts of the country. Every one of those pods is a seed packet, and rubbing them clean scatters seed exactly where you are standing.
If you want it contained, do the cleaning somewhere other than the bed, and pull the seedlings you did not plan for.
It runs zones 5 through 9, in full sun or partial shade.
Source: NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox, Lunaria annua.
Companion planting guide for Honesty (Lunaria) · Find your planting dates
Typically viable in USDA zones 5-9. Not sure your zone? Look it up by ZIP code.
Mature height: 2-3 ft
Method: Direct sow: Direct-sow outside. It doesn't transplant well, or doesn't need the extra time indoors.
When to plant honesty (lunaria), by zone
Every zone honesty (lunaria) grows in. Pick your zone in the header and it will be highlighted here. Each zone links to its full page.
| Zone | Start indoors | Sow or plant out | Bloom |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5a & 5b | Not usually | May 10–May 17 | Sep 7–Sep 14 |
| 6a & 6b | Not usually | Apr 25–May 2 | Aug 23–Aug 30 |
| 7a & 7b | Not usually | Apr 10–Apr 17 | Aug 8–Aug 15 |
| 8a & 8b | Not usually | Mar 25–Apr 1 | Jul 23–Jul 30 |
| 9a & 9b | Not usually | Feb 15–Feb 22 | Jun 15–Jun 22 |
Bloom dates are about 120 days after the sow or plant-out date.
See exact start-indoors, direct-sow, and harvest dates for your zone →
How many Honesty (Lunaria) plants fit per square foot?
Spacing: about 2 square feet per plant (square-foot-gardening spacing). Mature height: 2-3 ft.
Where to buy honesty seeds
None of the seed suppliers we list carries honesty seeds right now. A local garden center or a specialty seed house is the place to look.
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See it growing
Search YouTube for "growing honesty (lunaria)" videos → (a live search, not a hand-picked video; results vary and aren't vetted by us)
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Growing Honesty (Lunaria): Grown for translucent seed pods rather than flowers, which means leaving it standing until it looks dead.
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