Planting, caring for and harvesting meadowsweet

Meadowsweet is an ancient medicinal plant and a popular flowering plant in the home garden. With us you can find out more about the filigree herb and its demands in the garden.

In summer, the sweet smell of meadowsweet beguiles all the senses and the filigree leaves and flowers inspire every herbaceous bed. We will introduce you to the perennial plant and give you tips on choosing a variety, planting and caring for meadowsweet.

Meadowsweet: origin and characteristics

The tender, mostly white flowering meadowsweet (Filipendula) is a wild plant native from Europe to Asia Minor and North America. For planting in the home garden, varieties with larger flowers or better cultivation properties were selected. The herb, which belongs to the rose family (Rosaceae), is known by numerous names. It is called, among other things, Meadow Goat's Beard, Meadow Queen, Geißripp or Johanniswedel.

Meadowsweet was already considered a medicinal herb by the Celts due to its healing properties. The sweet and almond-like scented and edible flowers of the meadowsweet were previously scattered in front of the bridal couple at weddings. In the 19th In the 19th century it was possible for the first time to extract salicylic acid, the active ingredient in aspirin, from meadowsweet. It is true that the old medicinal plant never donated the active ingredient for the drug, its previous name Spiraea ulmanaria but was the namesake for the aspirin.

The meadowsweet is a perennial up to two meters high, so it grows herbaceous and perennial. Meadowsweet forms its pinnate leaves on long, red-colored stems. With our native species, the real or the great meadowsweet (Filipendula ulmaria), the shape of the individual leaves is reminiscent of elm leaves (Ulmus). This is where the species name comes from. At the tip of the long stalk, numerous flower buds form in large panicles in spring. When meadowsweet is in bloom from June to August, these bloom cream-white. Their sweet scent and the rich supply of pollen attract numerous pollinators such as bees, hoverflies and small species of beetles that cavort on the tiny flowers. Other types of meadowsweet also produce pink flowers - more on this in the following paragraph. After flowering, many small, screw-like, crescent-shaped seeds form, which turn dark brown as the seeds ripen.

Note on the risk of confusion: The real meadowsweet is easy with the little meadowsweet (Filipendula vulgaris) to be confused. There is also a certain similarity, especially with the leaves of the meadowsweet, in the forest goat's beard (Aruncus dioicus). Both plants contain toxic hydrogen cyanide glycosides in their raw state and should therefore not be eaten or prepared in any other way. The little meadowsweet has much larger flowers than the real meadowsweet. The seeds can also be used to distinguish the two: The twisted, twisted, curved seeds of the real meadowsweet are easy to distinguish from the straight nuts of the small meadowsweet.

The most important meadowsweet species

Meadowsweet occurs in different species in our gardens, whereby differences in the shape and color of the flowers as well as in the shape of the leaves and the height of growth are particularly noticeable. Both species are native to us Filipendula ulmaria and Filipendula vulgaris. We introduce you to the most important types of meadowsweet:

• Real meadowsweet (Filipendula ulmaria): Can grow up to 120 cm high and blooms from June to August. Only the real meadowsweet is used as a medicinal herb.
• Little Meadowsweet (Filipendula vulgaris): Grows to a height of just 40 cm and blooms from June to July. The flowers are much larger than those of the other species.
• Pink meadowsweet (Filipendula rubra) reaches a height of up to 150 cm and is particularly noticeable for its pink and red colored panicles of flowers. The flowering period lasts from July to August.
• Giant Spierstaude (Filipendula camtschatica): Can reach a height of over 200 cm and forms large, hogweed-like leaves. She comes from Japan and Eastern Siberia.

Plant meadowsweet

The ideal location for meadowsweet is a partially shaded to sunny spot. The soil should be rich in nutrients and moist to wet and, if possible, never dry out completely. Meadowsweet quickly feels at home near streams and ponds.

As with most perennials, late autumn from October to November or early spring in March is an ideal time for planting meadowsweet.

To do this, first loosen the soil widely. Then some compost or a mainly organic slow release fertilizer like ours is used Plantura organic universal fertilizer, incorporated. Then the meadowsweet plants are placed in the ground, pressed down well all around and poured vigorously.
Usually two to three meadowsweet plants are planted together in small groups - this looks particularly attractive and corresponds to the natural sociability of the plant. The planting distance to the neighboring plants should be at least 45 cm.

An annual fertilization reliably supplies your meadowsweet with all the important nutrients on normal soils. In poorer and sandy soils, generous use of good potting soil should be used when planting recommend so that the meadowsweet is sufficiently moist and the subsurface stores enough nutrients can. A peat-free and nutrient-rich earth like ours Plantura organic universal soil is ideally suited for this. Meadowsweet is hardy down to -40 ° C, so it can be safely released into hibernation without protection.

Planting meadowsweet at a glance:

• Partly shady to sunny location with nutrient-rich and moist to wet soil.
• Planting time in late autumn or early spring.
• Loosen the soil widely and improve it with compost or long-term fertilizer.
• Plant meadowsweet, press down well and water.
• Plant in small groups of two to three plants.
• Distance of 45 cm to neighboring plants.
• Annual fertilization for nutrient supply.

Care of meadowsweet

Meadowsweet is an easy-care flowering plant that should mostly only be watered in dry summers. In autumn the plant can be cut back after the above-ground parts of the plant have died. The dead leaves also serve as winter protection for the plant in harsh winters and can also provide winter quarters for insects. If, however, it is cut back for visual reasons, the leaves can remain on the bed as clippings.

Every now and then the meadowsweet is replaced by a rust fungus (Triphragmium ulmariae), which forms red-orange spore beds on the underside of the leaf. Diseased leaves should be removed to reduce further infestation. In healthy and well-nourished plants, however, the rust fungus hardly poses a threat to meadowsweet.

Propagate meadowsweet

In the garden the meadowsweet usually sows itself and can spread in this way in the bed. If this seems too undirected or even annoying, you can cut off the meadowsweet seeds, which turn brown in autumn, along with the entire flower panicle. Fortunately, the seeds stick to the shoot for a long time and do not fall to the ground easily. If you want to sow the meadowsweet yourself, you can plant the seeds directly at the desired location or dry them in the house and then store them in a cool and dry place. In November or February, the cold-germinating seeds can then be sown directly on the surface of the bed. Pay attention to a sowing depth of only 0.5 cm and a planting distance of around 35 to 40 cm. The seeds need cool temperatures for weeks to germinate and must never dry out during this time.

A good alternative to sowing meadowsweet is to split an existing rootstock in early spring or autumn. With the help of a spade you prick out part of the root ball and transplant it elsewhere. If transplanting takes place in spring, water should be well watered in the first few weeks so that the meadowsweet quickly forms fresh roots.

Harvest, medicinal properties and use of meadowsweet

Medicinal flowers are mainly used in medicine. The leaves of real meadowsweet are processed much less frequently. The harvest time for meadowsweet flowers extends from June to July before the seeds develop. To do this, cut off whole flower panicles and dry them gently in a dry, well-ventilated place without direct sunlight. It is best to harvest early in the morning and before the flowers are fully open, because then the content of the effective ingredients in meadowsweet is highest. Completely dried flowers are best kept dry and airtight as well as cool and dark. This is the best way to preserve the ingredients. The dry meadowsweet flowers can be kept for about a year.

Meadowsweet is used to relieve colds, but also for bladder and kidney problems. The contained flavonoids, tannins and salicylic acid components also have a soothing effect on stomach pain and promote wound healing. The flowers are therefore offered in various mixtures as meadowsweet tea. A meadowsweet tincture made with alcohol acts externally against headaches and slight tension. However, people who are sensitive to salicylic acid should avoid meadowsweet entirely. The fragrant flowers are also used in various meadowsweet recipes, where they are used to flavor jams, jellies and meadowsweet syrups.

Note: True meadowsweet is not poisonous, but as with all medicinal plants there is a maximum daily dose that should not be exceeded. More than the recommended 2.5 to 3.5 grams of meadowsweet flowers per day can lead to stomach upsets and nausea.

Another native wild plant that has been used in medicine for thousands of years and which also attracts dozens of bumblebees into your garden is this Comfrey. We give tips on planting, caring for and harvesting the perennial shrub.