Galium odoratum - Sweet Woodruff - Plant

Description

• Rubiaceae Gentianales
• Northern Asia and Europe, to North Africa
• H 0.2m x W 0.5m
•  Z5 
• Perennial
• Synonyms: Queen of the Woods, Little Lily of the Valley, Lady's Lily of the Valley, Belle Étoile, Sweet Bedstraw
• 1 plant bare root
  Available in fall and winter

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Details

Galium odoratum is a loveable ground cover: Easy to grow, maintenance-free (it smothers weeds), very aesthetic during the flowering period, then later in summer and autumn by the thick carpet of tender green vegetation it forms, as well as for its vanilla scent once dry and its multiple uses

The Sweet Woodruff grows naturally in humid forests

It develops from a creeping underground stem and forms dense mats covered with white starry flowers in May

Galium odoratum is therefore interesting in a garden and creates fresh greenery at the foot of trees or in cool, semi-shaded areas
(in full sun, its foliage becomes chlorotic, loses its ornamental interest, and develops little)

Galium odoratum contains coumarin at high concentration

This substance gives it a remarkable vanilla scent, which only appears when the plant dries, giving it some food uses (flavoring drinks, liqueurs, fruit wines, infusions), domestic uses (potpourri to perfume the house or linen in cupboards), and insect repellent

It is also a medicinal plant, which was used in the Middle Ages to treat wounds, cuts, and digestion and liver problems

Its medicinal properties are: Antispasmodic, Cardiac, Diaphoretic, Diuretic, and Sedative

Today, it is used against insomnia, nervousness, circulatory disorders, and liver disorders

Finally, the root of the Sweet Woodruff is a source of dye, for solid red and apricot colors

For dyeing, however, it is better to use its cousin Madder

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Cultivation

Plant during the fall or winter the stoloniferous roots horizontally, under 5cm of soil, without packing, and water immediately

Select a cool soil, in a shaded location
(in a sunny location, growth is limited and the leaves get chlorotic)

Soil must have a high organic matter content and be lighten with decomposing dead leaves

During winter, the aerial part of the plant dries and dies - it can be left

The plant grows back from its roots in spring every year

When it thrives, it quickly forms very ornamental dense clumps