Your own herb bed enriches the garden or balcony not only visually, but also practically. Especially when plants like the Moroccan olive herb thrive in it. Proper care is essential in order for the cultivation to bring a high-yielding harvest. But how should the gardener prune Santolina viridis? And what happens after the harvest? Are the spicy stems suitable for drying? The gardener will find answers to these questions as well as four different instructions for propagating the olive herb in this guide.
Cut
Tip 1: timing
Those who have just planted their olives should give the plant some time to get used to the location. Otherwise it can happen that the perennial plant only yields a single harvest. The herb usually has strong roots after just two weeks. The first pruning should still be done in the second year.
Tip 2: Protect from lignification
The evergreen Santolina viridis tends to become lignified. A rejuvenating cut in spring or autumn counteracts the process. The more lignified the shoots, the less deeply the gardener sets the scissors.
Tip 3: technology
Since Santolina viridis sprouts for several years, the cut is carried out as with conventional perennials:
- cut by half or at most to a third
- Completely remove dead stems
- Shorten growing shoots only slightly (by half or a third)
- never cut into old wood (place scissors at least 1 cm above it)
- Cut thick stalks at an angle so that the rainwater can run off
Note: Since olive herb is very tolerant of cutting, it is ideally suited for keeping in pots.
Multiply
In order to propagate Santolina viridis, the gardener can choose from four different methods:
Tip 4: Propagate by sowing
- Collect seeds in late summer after flowering
- let dry in a warm place
- store in an airtight container until spring
- start sowing in February at the earliest
- Soak seeds in water for 24 hours
- Fill the growing pot with a nutrient-poor substrate
- Press the seeds lightly into the soil
- Transplant seedlings of the appropriate size
Note: Direct sowing in the field is not recommended, as there is a high probability that the seeds fell victim to voracious snails and birds.
Tip 5: encourage germination
- Olive herbs are cold germs - they need a cold stimulus
- Fill the plastic bag with sand
- Put in seeds
- Store in a cool place (for example in the refrigerator) for 3 to 4 weeks
Tip 6: Propagation by division
- Dig up mother plant in spring
- Divide the root with a sharp knife
- replant
- Plant spacing: 30 cm
Tip 7: Increase through subsidence
- Works well because of drooping shoots
- Draw a channel next to the plant
- to push in a shoot
- cover with earth
- Branch tip looks out of the earth
- fix with a stone
- Cut off new shoots when they are 10 cm long
- plant in another place
Tip 8: Propagation by cuttings
The best time to take the cuttings is in spring. Since Santolina viridis takes root relatively slowly, a rooting powder is recommended. The gardener can obtain this from specialist retailers.
- Mix rooting powder with soil and sand
- fill in small pots
- Take 20 cm long, slightly woody cuttings
- Remove leaves at the bottom of the stem
- put in the pots
- pour on
- put a transparent plastic bag over the pot (maintains the moisture)
- top up when no more water droplets can be seen on the bag
- prick out after two weeks
- Do not put them outdoors until the night frosts have subsided
Tip 9: make alternative rooting powder yourself
The commercially available rooting powder is usually from synthetic production. Chemical additives are therefore not excluded. With simple home remedies, however, the gardener succeeds in creating a comparable alternative.
- Collect fresh, tender willow leaves or scrape off the willow bark (about 3 cups), chop into small pieces, pour boiling water over them, let the brew steep and then collect
- Dip the stem end of the cutting in cinnamon
- Stir 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar into 6 cups of water and dip the cutting into it
- Dip the cutting in honey
- Dissolve the uncoated aspirin tablet in water and place the cutting in it for some time
- Drill a hole in a potato and insert the cutting into it
- Dissolve 1 tablespoon of aloe vera juice in water and place the cutting in for about a week
- Pour lukewarm water over 100 g dry yeast, place the cutting in it
Note: If you decide against your own propagation and get your plant from the nursery early, you should definitely pay attention to the substrate when buying. Most of the time herbs from specialist shops are poured over them. Since Santolina viridis does not tolerate waterlogging, this care mistake comes to the fore sooner or later. Moss in the plant pot is a clear sign of poor quality.
To harvest
Tip 10: harvest time
Once the plant has got used to its location, the gardener can harvest it permanently. Santolina viridis feels most comfortable
- in full sun
- in well-drained soil
- in predominantly sandy, nutrient-poor soils.
- the best harvest time is the morning.
Tip 11: combine harvest and cut
The branches of the olive herb taste best fresh. It is therefore advisable to always cut off the stems in the quantities required. Often one or two stems are enough for culinary use. However, nothing speaks against cutting back the plant completely. On the contrary, the gardener encourages bushier growth through branching. Cutting back the shoot tips by a few centimeters is sufficient for this.
dry
Tip 12: air drying
The gardener ties the branches together in individual bundles and hangs them upside down. The place should
- shady
- warm
- protected
- and airy
be. When the moisture has completely escaped, he wipes off the leaves and puts them in an airtight bag.
Tip 13: drying in the oven
The faster option is drying in the oven. To do this, the gardener spreads the twigs on a baking sheet and heats the oven to around 40 ° C. The door should be ajar so that the moisture can escape.
Tip 14: drying in the dehydrator
- Distribute branches on the floors
- select the appropriate program
Note: The dried branches of the olive herb are versatile in culinary applications. However, the loss of flavor due to the drying process cannot be avoided with any of the methods mentioned. In order to keep this as low as possible, the drying should be carried out at a low temperature as gently as possible. The gardener should therefore only dry the branches to stock up or to preserve the spice in the event of an accidental harvest surplus. Otherwise, it is recommended to eat it fresh.
Tip 15: other types of conservation
The taste of the leaves of the olive herb is reminiscent of Mediterranean cuisine. Some people compare the aroma to thyme, others clearly recognize the relationship to the olive. Therefore, Santolina viridis can be processed in a similar way to the oil fruit. For example
- pickled in brine
- soaks in oil
- pickled in vinegar
- processed into pesto
- frozen
