Meadowsweet: How to Grow and Care for It

Meadowsweet is a medicinal herbaceous plant with a horizontally creeping rhizome. The stems, erect and up to 1 meters tall, are simple or branched only at the top. leaves There are two types: basal, up to 50 centimeters long, with a long stalk; and stem-like, simpler ones, with two auricle-shaped leaflets at the base. The flowers, gathered in a widely branched terminal panicle, are scented, creamy white, and oval in shape. Botanists colloquially call meadowsweet "queen of the meadows" due to the elegance of its inflorescences, while herbalists also know it as Spirea meadowsweet. It is excellent for growing along the banks of ponds, lakes and waterways.

Index of topics

How it is grown

It grows well in humid areas and up to 1.500 meters above sea level. The plant is also considered a natural remedy for inflammatory conditions, so much so that some call it "natural aspirin": compresses should be made with the extracts.

Exposure and climate

It's a hardy plant that tolerates low temperatures and isn't afraid of frost. It prefers full sun exposure.

Land and cultivation care

It grows well on all types of soil. Plot (preferably alkaline), as long as it is fresh and well-drained; a good supply of humus, added periodically to the substrate, is also important.

Irrigation

Meadowsweet needs plenty of water to thrive, but avoid waterlogging.

Sowing and flowering

Propagation is done by rhizome cuttings in autumn. Flowering appears in July. Meadowsweet flowers are much loved by api for collecting pollen and nectar.

Parts useful as a medicinal plant

The useful parts of meadowsweet as a medicinal plant are the flowering tops and the rhizome. The flowers should be cut 20 centimeters below the inflorescence; the rhizome is harvested by digging up the inflorescence with a hoe. The flowers should be dried in the shade and stored in a glass jar; the rhizome should be dried in the sun and stored in a paper bag.

Meadowsweet, the queen of the meadows