Help the development of the site, sharing the article with friends!
Growing hyssop is not only worthwhile for use as a spice in the kitchen. Its intense smell also keeps some pests at bay.
Hyssop (Hyssopus officinalis) is popular as a spice in sauces, dressings or for the preparation of various meat dishes. Due to its pronounced aroma intensity, hyssop should be used in rather small quantities. The spicy shrub was once used as a medicinal plant. However, since hyssop can cause cramps in higher quantities due to its ingredients, the use of hyssop as a medicinal plant is a thing of the past. In addition to the spicy leaves, the ornamental flowers, which appear in a strong blue-violet color from June to September, are also edible. The intense smell of the semi-shrub keeps some pests such as aphids, some caterpillars or snails away. So if you have problems with such unwanted guests, you can try to solve the problem gently and ecologically by planting hyssop in the problem area. In the following you will find out what little things have to be considered in the cultivation of the versatile but extremely easy-care hyssop.
Growing hyssop - step by step
1. Location:
If you can offer the hyssop a sunny location that is as sheltered as possible from the wind, this is a good foundation. The soil should also be as permeable as possible and not prone to waterlogging. Otherwise, root fungi could quickly threaten the hyssop. If there is only heavy, wet soil in the garden, this can either be loosened up by working in sand or you can switch to pot cultivation. This is also possible without any problems, but the planter should be selected large enough to give the hyssop enough space to develop. For cultivation in pots, it is best to use a well-drained herb soil such as our Plantura organic herb and seed soil.
2. Propagation:
There are various ways of multiplying hyssop for cultivation in your own garden. Of course, hyssop seeds can simply be bought and sown. Should be outdoors due to the frost sensitivity of the seedlingsnot be sown before the beginning of May. Indoors, the seed can be sown earlier, starting in March, so that young plants can be grown for later planting out in the garden. If you want to propagate hyssop from cuttings, fresh, unwoody shoots of around 5 cm in length can be removed in spring or early summer. It is an advantage if the cuttings do not yet have a flower or flower bud. A flowering would mean a high expenditure of energy to the detriment of the rooting of the shoots stuck in permeable substrate. The hyssop can also be easily propagated by lowering individual shoots and bringing them into contact with the ground. There roots are then formed on the shoot and the lowered branch of the hyssop can then be removed from the mother plant and transplanted.
3. Watering and fertilizing:
The hyssop can also adapt to a very dry location and cope with prolonged drought. When growing in beds, it is therefore usually not necessary to water the hyssop. If the perennial subshrub is grown in a pot, occasional watering may be necessary. However, less is more here, because the hyssop does not like too wet or even waterlogging.
If a little organic material such as compost or alternatively an organic slow-release fertilizer such as our Plantura organic universal fertilizer is hooked into the soil in spring, this is how it works the nutrient supply of the hyssop is ensured. When growing in a pot, it is sufficient to fertilize once or twice with a complete nutrient fertilizer during the main growth phase until flowering begins. Occasional repotting in fresh substrate also has an invigorating effect and refreshes the nutrient balance in the hyssop planter. It makes sense to repot every two to three years in spring with the budding hyssop.
4. Cutting:
If the hyssop is not cut, it will gradually lose its shape. The shoots become long, increasingly woody from below and become bare. A lively branching of the semi-shrub then no longer takes place. However, you must not cut back into the already woody part of the hyssop. The hyssop does not have enough strength to sprout again from this part of the plant. A regular cut is an alternative. In order to avoid frost damage as a result of a cut in autumn, it is better to cut in the spring before the hyssop sprouts again. The shoots are then shortened to just above the woody part of the plant.
5. Overwintering:
Actually, winter is not a problem for hyssop. Nevertheless - and especially if a shaping autumn cut has been made - the hyssop should be covered to protect it. Raisers, a thick layer of leaves or garden fleece are ideal for this. With rising daytime temperatures, the protective layer should be covered in early spring to prevent mold from forming underneath.
6. Harvest:
Hyssop can be harvested anytime the spicy leaves are on the plant. These can be plucked off individually or cut off as a whole shoot. Harvest is most intense in aroma if done before flowering occurs. But the intensely colored flowers of hyssop are also edible. They make a great sideboard for all kinds of dishes.
7. Storage:
Hyssop is best used freshly harvested. However, so that the harvest can be consumed for longer, there are different methods of storage. The spicy leaves can be dried either individually or attached to shoots. You can also freeze it very well. The advantage here is that the loss of aroma is not as great as with drying. Depending on requirements, the hyssop can also be removed from the freezer in portions. Another way of preserving them is to soak the shoots in oil or vinegar. The oil or vinegar then absorbs the aroma of the hyssop and can be used for seasoning and cooking. However, if the shoots are not completely immersed in the liquid, the parts of the plant quickly begin to mold.
If you want to learn more about harvesting, storing and using hyssop, you will find helpful tips in this article.