Meadowsweet is a perennial ornamental grass or shrub from the Pink family. It lives on the forest edges and glades of the temperate zone of the Northern Hemisphere. Often the meadowsweet is called "meadowsweet" or "spirea". The plant is used as decoration in the garden. From the beginning of summer until autumn, it will delight you with hats of lush lace inflorescences. Their intense honey aroma extends far around the flower garden. Also, meadowsweet is valued for its healing properties. Decoctions and infusions of grass help to cope with many diseases.
Plant description
Meadowsweet is a perennial deciduous plant in the form of tall grasses or shrubs. The height of the shoots is 15-80 cm. Some species can grow by 2-2.5 m. Thin, erect twigs are covered with a smooth brown bark. Shoots of some varieties spread along the ground. On old processes, the cortex is exfoliated by longitudinal plates.
Regular leaflets on long petioles are painted in gray-green color. They have a lanceolate, lobed or rounded shape. Felted pubescence is often present on the flip side.
By the end of June, on the tops of shoots, and sometimes along their entire length, dense panicle or corymbose inflorescences bloom. They consist of many small flowers of white, cream or pink color. The diameter of the inflorescence is about 15 cm. A single corolla in diameter does not exceed 1 cm. It consists of 5 petals, an ovary and a bunch of long stamens. It is thanks to the stamens that the inflorescences look fluffy.
The complex aroma of meadowsweet includes notes of vanilla, almond, honey and light bitterness. Flowering lasts 1-1.5 months and may occur again at the end of summer. After pollination, the fruits ripen - leaflets with several seeds of a dark brown, almost black color. The length of the seed is 1-2 mm.
Types of meadowsweet
Meadowsweet grass is very diverse, in total about 100 species are registered in the genus. Here are some views:
Meadowsweet (meadowsweet). It is a sprawling bush about 80 cm high. Shoots are covered with cirrus, fern-like leaves. At the end of June, loose creamy white panicles bloom on the tops of the stems, which last for a month. They consist of flowers with six petals and fluffy stamens. Varieties:
- Captive - a shoot with a height of 40-50 cm dissolves fragrant double flowers of white color;
- Grandiflora - a bush of 40-60 cm in height in the middle of summer is covered with cream inflorescences with large flowers.
The meadowsweet is thick-leaved. It is this species that has received the greatest distribution in Russia. It is found along the shores of fresh water bodies and rivers. Loose bushes with creeping rhizomes reach a height of 1.5 m. The shoots are covered with regular pinnately dissected leaves of a dark green color. Shares have a broad ovoid or oblong-lanceolate shape. In June-July panicle inflorescences bloom up to 20 cm in diameter. They consist of small creamy flowers with a strong aroma. A small cup is surrounded by five petals and stamens twice as long as the petals. Varieties:
- Aurea - a bush up to 1.5 m tall grows large golden-green leaves;
- Rosea - blossoms beautiful pinkish inflorescences;
- Aurea variegata - a plant up to 50 cm high is covered with green leaves with creamy yellow stains and shapeless spots.
Meadowsweet red. Plants live in North America and are sprawling bushes up to 2.5 m high. Reddish-brown stems are covered with dissected foliage. In July-August, fluffy corymbose inflorescences with white-pink flowers appear. Light pink five-petalled corollas have pinkish stamens and a raspberry eye in the center. Varieties:
- Magnifica - a bush up to 1.5 m tall blooms dark pink inflorescences;
- Venusta - the plant is distinguished by the largest inflorescences of bright red color;
- Pygmy - vegetation up to 30 cm high is covered with compact pink panicles.
Meadowsweet Kamchatka (shelomaynik). Grassy shoots up to 3 m high are plentifully covered with large palmate leaves of bright green color. Leaf width reaches 30 cm. In July, slender thickets adorn large fragrant inflorescences of a white-cream shade. By August, pubescent fruits ripen. The species is endemic to Kamchatka. Young shoots and rhizomes are used as food by both animals and local residents.
Breeding methods
Meadowsweet propagated by seed and vegetative methods. Seeds are usually sown immediately in open ground. The landing site is chosen in partial shade. Seeds are sown in mid-autumn, in the winter they undergo a natural stratification, and in the spring the first sprouting shoots appear. In order not to confuse them with weeds, markup is done. The soil must be regularly moistened. Flowering seedlings begins in the second year of life.
The meadowsweet constantly gives lateral processes and basal shoots, so vegetative propagation is an order of magnitude easier. It should also be borne in mind that just such a method allows you to save varietal signs of ornamental plants. Cuttings are cut in July-August from young annual shoots. Each should contain 5-6 leaves. The leaf at the lower cut is removed along with the petiole, the remaining leaf plates are cut in half. The lower section is treated with a growth stimulator for several hours, then rooting in individual pots with sandy soil. Cuttings are placed at an angle of 30-45 °, water the earth and cover the plants with a transparent film. Keep them in a shaded, warm place. In autumn, rooted plants are directly buried in the garden with pots. From above they are covered with boxes or banks. In the spring, when young shoots appear, the cuttings are transplanted to a permanent place.
The meadowsweet is common and some other species have a horizontal rhizome. In the spring, young shoots appear next to the bush. They are dug up and transplanted to a new place. Sapling adaptation is quick and easy. Soon flowers will appear.
You can propagate the meadowsweet layering. To do this, in spring, the lower branch is dug up with earth. By the end of summer, roots form on it. The shoot is cut and planted separately.
Landing and care
Meadowsweet grows well in the shaded, moist corners of the garden. But in a too dark place he will be uncomfortable. It is better to plant the plant in a place where direct sunlight falls on the branches in the morning and evening. Labaznik needs a light, fertile soil with a neutral or slightly acid reaction. In too acidic soil, wood ash or chalk is preliminarily added. The optimal soil mixture consists of turf and leaf soil, peat and sand. Broken red brick is additionally added to heavy soils.
Before planting, the ground is dug up with nitrogen fertilizers. Meadow grass is planted in the garden in early spring or autumn. It is best to do this in cloudy and rainy weather. When planting, the root neck should be at ground level. The optimal distance between plants is 30-40 cm. The soil is rammed and mulched to a height of 7 cm with peat.
You need to water the meadowsweet often, since its roots are located close to the surface of the earth. Excess fluid should be absorbed quickly into the soil. After watering, the soil is loosened so that the air enters the roots.
Several times during the season, the meadowsweet is fed with complex mineral compositions for flowering plants. In summer, a solution of mullein and superphosphate is additionally added.
Over time, the bushes grow rapidly and lose their shape, so they are regularly sheared. Pruning stimulates lush flowering. Manipulations are carried out in the spring, and again at the end of summer. Every 7-14 years, lignified, bare shoots are cut to the ground, thereby performing rejuvenation. Young shoots soon form from the hemp, forming a spherical shoot.
Spirea has strong immunity and resistance to parasites. In very rare cases, spider mites and aphids attack it. From pests, spraying with "Karbofos", "Pyrimor" or another chemical insecticide helps.
Meadow in landscape design
Meadowsweet is used to decorate the garden. It looks good in group tape plantings, in the form of a hedge or a flower bed frame. Openwork fragrant inflorescences attract bees, so the meadowsweet is a wonderful honey plant. Low, creeping varieties are used to decorate the border. Lubaznik looks good on the background of conifers and evergreens, as well as the middle tier under the trees. Inflorescences are also used in bouquet compositions.
Fragrant meadowsweet is used in cooking. Her flowers are added to tea, wine and alcohol tinctures. Honey syrup is very popular.
Healing properties
Lubaznik vistifolia is widely used in folk medicine and pharmacology. It has anticonvulsant, anti-inflammatory and bactericidal properties. Decoctions and alcoholic infusions are prepared from the grass of the meadowsweet and its roots, which help to cope with rheumatism, gout, diseases of the genitourinary system, hemorrhoids, gastrointestinal upset, bleeding, conjunctivitis, and fever.
Of the preparations made compresses, lotions, as well as decoctions and tinctures for internal use. Due to the large number of vitamins, tannins, phenol, flavonoids and essential oils, drugs not only relieve diseases, but also strengthen the immune system.
Despite the beauty and benefits of meadowsweet, its strong aroma and abundance of pollen often cause allergies. Treatment is contraindicated for people with hypersensitivity and a tendency to allergies. Do not use meadowsweet for pregnant and lactating women, as well as children under 12 years old. It can cause serious disorders in people with a tendency to hypotension, suffering from poor blood coagulation and constipation.
