- Dyer's chamomile: origin and properties
- The most beautiful varieties
- Sowing of dyer's chamomile: location, time and more
- The right care
- Is dyer's chamomile hardy?
- Effects and uses of dyer's chamomile
- Is dyer's chamomile poisonous?
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The yellow flowers of the dyer's chamomile are not only beautiful to look at - they also provide bees with plenty of nectar and are also used to dye wool.
The dyer's chamomile (Anthemis tinctoria) hardly needs any care. We show in which locations the dyer's chamomile grows well and how to plant it in the garden. We also give a brief overview of the most beautiful varieties.
Dyer's chamomile: origin and properties
Dyer's chamomile (Anthemis tinctoria) is also called dyer's dog chamomile because it belongs to the dog chamomile genus (Anthemis) - not to the chamomiles (Matricaria). Nevertheless, it looks very similar to the real chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla) except for the color of the flowers. With a height of up to 80 cm, it is a bit larger, but forms similarly narrow pinnate leaves, which are hairy gray and felty on the underside.
Typical of the daisy family (Asteraceae), the tiny tubular and ray florets are arranged in a dense inflorescence. The tubular florets inside, together with the ray florets on the edge, form the basket floret. The ray florets are so called because they have an elongated petal. In the case of chamomile, these are the yellow marginal petals.
The flowering period of chamomile begins in July and lasts until September. Insects like to visit their bright yellow flowers. But the dyer's chamomile is not only useful for bees, but was also used by people in the past to dye fabrics. It also exudes the wonderful scent typical of chamomile.
Dyer's chamomile is native to parts of Europe and Asia. It was introduced as a neophyte in many northern regions. In Germany it is considered a native wild perennial and is often used as an ornamental plant in the garden.
Is chamomile perennial? Yes, chamomile is perennial and will sprout again next spring.
The most beautiful varieties
There are also some varieties of dyer's chamomile, for exampledifferent growth heights, foliage or flower colors than the wild form. To avoid confusion with varieties of real chamomile, you can always take a closer look at the leaves: In the case of dyer's chamomile, these have a gray felty underside.
- Light Dyer's Chamomile 'Sauce Hollandaise': With its creamy white ray florets, this variety looks almost like real chamomile.
- Dwarf Dyer's Chamomile 'Dwarf Form': At 30 - 40 cm, the dwarf form remains slightly smaller than the wild form.
- Gray Dyer's Chamomile 'Susanna Mitchell': This variety also produces creamy white flowers, but also has grey-green foliage.
- 'Grallagh Gold': This variety develops rich golden yellow flowers.
- 'Kelwayi': The flowers of this variety are more lemon yellow.
Sowing of dyer's chamomile: location, time and more
With the dyer's chamomile you get a fairly undemanding, decorative plant in the garden. It can be sown very easily and is not very demanding. However, some aspects should be considered. In addition to a rather dry, nutrient-poor substrate, the dyer's chamomile needs a location in the sun to grow well. It also thrives in other soils - however, if the nutrient and moisture content is high, hardly any flowers are formed, only leaves.
The dyer's chamomile is ideal for rock gardens, especially the low varieties, or in pots and planters in a sunny location.
Between April and May, the dyer's chamomile is sown directly in the bed. Pre-cultivation indoors is not necessary. You should upgrade very barren soils a little to improve the standing conditions. You can use our Plantura organic soil activator for this, for example. It supports active soil life, resulting in a loose structure. The seeds are scattered on the prepared soil, lightly pressed and watered. The seeds of the light germinator should be barely covered with soil. The planting distance is about 50 cm. That means: There are four copies per square meter. When sowing, however, you can be a little more generous and prick out the successfully germinated plants later. With the right conditions, you can usually see the first seedlings after two weeks.
Tip: In the year of sowing, initially only a rosette of leaves is formed. Only the following yearthen the yellow flowers of the dyer's chamomile appear.
The right care
The dyer's chamomile is even more frugal when it comes to care than when choosing a location. The undemanding plant usually does not need to be fertilized or watered. If it droops in a long, dry summer, a little watering should be given. However, wet soil is far more damaging than drought.
Withered flowers can be cut off to prolong flowering. In September, the dyer's chamomile is cut back more generously in preparation for winter. By cutting, no more energy is invested in flower and seed formation, instead strong shoots are formed. This is how the dyer's chamomile will sprout again next spring.
Alternatively, you can leave the blossoms and rely on the self-sowing of the dyer's chamomile after successful pollination and fruit formation.
Is dyer's chamomile hardy?
The dyer's chamomile is hardy and tolerates temperatures below - 20 °C. With a courageous pruning in September, it usually survives our winters without any problems. To do this, cut off all the shoots except for a hand's breadth above the ground. To protect the chamomile from frost, a layer of mulch, for example leaves, can be spread over the shoots.
Tip: The flower shoots of dyer's chamomile that have been cut off keep for a long time and are ideal as cut flowers in the vase.
Effects and uses of dyer's chamomile
As a dye plant, dyer's chamomile is primarily used for dyeing fabric and wool. The fabrics must be pre-treated with a stain such as potassium aluminum sulphate so that they can absorb the color well. The yellow color of dyer's dog chamomile is obtained by boiling the flowers. Different shades of color from sun to lemon yellow are possible. The dye that is primarily responsible for the yellow color is called luteolin. You can also use the flowers as a decoration for dishes and teas, because the dyer's chamomile is edible. In contrast to real chamomile, however, dyer's chamomile is not said to have any healing properties.
Is dyer's chamomile poisonous?
No, the dyer's chamomile is neither for pets nor forchildren poisonous. It can even be used in the kitchen. However, real chamomile is usually preferred here.
Another medicinal and aromatic plant is Roman chamomile (Chamaemelum nobile), which belongs neither to the chamomile genus nor to the dog chamomile genus.