The meadowsweet is an ancient medicinal plant and a popular flowering plant in the home garden. With us you will learn more about the filigree herb and its requirements in the garden.
In summer, the sweet scent of meadowsweet beguiles all the senses and the filigree leaves and flowers delight in every perennial border. We introduce you to the perennial plant and give tips on choosing a variety, planting and caring for meadowsweet.
Meadowsweet: Origin and Characteristics
The delicate, mostly white flowering meadowsweet (Filipendula) is a wild plant native to Europe, Asia Minor and North America. Varieties with larger flowers or better cultivation characteristics were selected for planting in the home garden. The herb, which belongs to the rose family (Rosaceae), is known by a number of names. It is called, among other things, goat's beard, meadow queen, goat's rib 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 formerly scattered in front of the bridal couple at weddings. In the 19th century, it was possible to extract salicylic acid, the active ingredient in aspirin, from meadowsweet for the first time. Although the ancient medicinal plant never donated the active ingredient for the drug, its former name Spiraea ulmanaria was the inspiration for the aspirin.
The meadowsweet is a perennial plant up to two meters high, so it grows herbaceously and perennial. Meadowsweet develops its pinnate leaves on long, red-colored stems. In our native species, the true or Great Meadowsweet (Filipendula ulmaria), the shape of the individual leaves is reminiscent of elm leaves (Ulmus). Hence the species name. In spring, numerous flower buds form in large panicles at the top of the long stems. When the meadowsweet blooms from June to August, these blossom in creamy white. Their sweet fragrance and rich pollen supply attract numerous pollinators such as bees, hoverflies and small species of beetles, which cavort on the tiny flowers. Other meadowsweet species also produce pink flowers - more on this in the following paragraph. After flowering, many small spirals form into each othertangled, crescent-shaped seeds that turn dark brown as the seeds mature.
Note on the risk of confusion: The real meadowsweet is easily confused with the small meadowsweet (Filipendula vulgaris). There is also a certain resemblance, especially with the leaves of the meadowsweet, with the forest goat's beard (Aruncus dioicus). When raw, both plants contain toxic hydrocyanic acid glycosides and should therefore not be eaten or prepared in any other way. The small meadowsweet has significantly larger flowers than the real meadowsweet. The two can also be distinguished by the seeds: the helically twisted, curved seeds of the common meadowsweet are easy to distinguish from the straight nuts of the small meadowsweet.
The most important meadowsweet species
Meadowsweet occurs in various species in our gardens, with differences in flower shape and color as well as leaf shape and growth height being particularly noticeable. The two species Filipendula ulmaria and Filipendula vulgaris are native to us. We introduce you to the most important types of meadowsweet:
- Meadowsweet (Filipendula ulmaria): Can grow up to 120 cm high and flowers from June to August. Only meadowsweet is used as a medicinal herb.
- Little Meadowsweet (Filipendula vulgaris): Only grows up to 40 cm high and flowers from June to July. The flowers are much larger than the other species.
- Pink Meadowsweet (Filipendula rubra) reaches a height of up to 150 cm and is particularly striking because of its pink and red colored panicles of flowers. The flowering period lasts from July to August.
- Giant Spiraea (Filipendula camtschatica): Can reach a height of more than 200 cm and develops large, bear claw-like leaves. Native to 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 should never dry out completely. Meadowsweet quickly feels at home near streams and ponds.
As with most perennials, an ideal time to plant Meadowsweet is in late October to November or early spring in March.
To do this, first loosen the soil over a wide area. Then some compost or apredominantly organic long-term fertilizers, such as our Plantura organic universal fertilizer, are incorporated. Then the meadowsweet plants are placed in the ground, pressed down well all around and watered vigorously.
Usually two to three meadowsweet plants are planted 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.
Annual fertilization reliably supplies your meadowsweet with all the important nutrients on normal soil. In poorer and sandy soils, generous use of good potting soil is recommended when planting, so that the meadowsweet is sufficiently moist and the subsoil can store enough nutrients. A peat-free and nutrient-rich soil like our Plantura organic universal soil is ideal for this. The meadowsweet is hardy down to -40 °C, so it can be released into hibernation without hesitation.
Planting Meadowsweet at a glance:
- Semi-shady to sunny location with nutrient-rich and moist to wet soil.
- Planting time in late autumn or early spring.
- Loosen the soil over a large area and improve it with compost or slow-release fertilizer.
- Plant Meadowsweet, press down well and water.
- Planting in small groups of two to three plants.
- Distance of 45 cm to neighboring plants.
- Annual fertilization for nutrient supply.
Care of Meadowsweet
The meadowsweet is an easy-care flowering perennial that should usually only be watered in dry summers. In autumn, the plant can be cut back after the above-ground parts of the plant have died. However, the dead leaves also serve as winter protection for the plant in harsh winters and can also offer insects a winter quarters. However, if cut back for aesthetic reasons, the leaves can remain on the bed as clippings.
Every now and then the meadowsweet is attacked 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 he althy and well-nourished plants, however, the rust fungus hardly poses a threat to meadowsweet.
Increase Meadowsweet
In the garden, the meadowsweet usually sows itself and can spread in this way in the bed. Does that seem to you?undirected or even annoying, you can cut off the seeds of the meadowsweet, which have turned brown in autumn, together with the entire flower panicle. Fortunately, the seeds stick to the shoot for a long time and do not fall to the ground so easily. If you want to sow the meadowsweet yourself, you can sow the seed directly in the desired place or dry it indoors and then store it in a cool and dry place. In November or February, the cold-germinating seeds can then be sown directly into the bed. Pay attention to a sowing depth of only 0.5 cm and a planting distance of about 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 seeding meadowsweet is to divide an existing rootstock in early spring or fall. Using a spade, dig out part of the root ball and transplant it elsewhere. If transplanting takes place in the spring, the first few weeks should be well watered so that the meadowsweet forms fresh roots quickly.
Meadowsweet Harvesting, Healing Effects, and Usage
In medicine, the healing flowers are mainly used. The leaves of real meadowsweet are processed much less frequently. Harvest time for meadowsweet flowers is from June to July before the seeds set. To do this, cut off whole panicles of flowers and dry them gently in a dry, well-ventilated place out of direct sunlight. It is best to harvest early in the morning and before the flowers are fully open, because then the content of the active ingredients in meadowsweet is highest. Fully dried buds are best stored in a dry and airtight place, in a cool, dark place. This is the best way to preserve the ingredients. The dry meadowsweet flowers will keep for about a year.
Meadowsweet is used to relieve pain in colds, but also in 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 mixed with alcohol works externally against headaches and slight tension. However, people with a salicylic acid sensitivity should avoid meadowsweet altogether. The fragrant flowers are also used in various meadowsweet recipes, where they are used to flavor jams, jellies and meadowsweet syrupsbe used.
Note: True meadowsweet is not poisonous, but as with all medicinal plants, there is a maximum daily dose that should not be exceeded. Eating more than the recommended 2.5 to 3.5 grams per day of meadowsweet flower can lead to stomach upset and nausea.
Comfrey is another native wild plant that has been used medicinally for thousands of years and also attracts dozens of bumblebees to your garden. We give tips on planting, caring for and harvesting the perennial shrub.