When it blooms in March and April, the liverwort transforms many forest floors into a veritable sea of flowers. Since few plants grow as gracefully in the shade as the liverwort, it is also becoming increasingly popular in the garden as a spring bloomer.

Hepatica grows very slowly

Choosing the perfect location for the liverwort

Since liverworts grow very slowly, they should be planted in the bare spot in the garden where the liverworts are not crowded or pushed out by other plants. Shady spots with exposure to light in spring are ideal, for example under hazel bushes, forsythia or lilac bushes.

Nursing measures/cut

In a suitable location, hepaticas require little to no maintenance. However, hepaticas planted in pots should be watered adequately and covered with some foliage in winter.

pour

In a sufficiently sandy and humus-rich location in the shade under deciduous trees, liverworts usually do not need any additional water supply. However, it can make sense to ensure that there is sufficient moisture in the soil on slopes that dry out easily or in areas that are affected by wind drying out in summer.

propagation

Hepaticas can be propagated by division a few years after planting, but this costs the plants a lot of vitality and also poses a risk. It is therefore better to let the ants spread the seeds in suitable places in the garden. These carry the seeds of the liverworts into their burrow as a food reserve a few weeks after the flowering period. Once you've eaten off a certain portion of the nutty seeds, carry the leftover liverwort seeds back to the surface where the light germs can germinate.

The international cult of the liverwort

There are also wild and cultivated varieties of liverworts outside of Europe. In Japan in particular, a veritable cult has developed around the fragile flowers in recent decades, which, like bonsai, require a lot of patience when growing and crossing. In addition to the bluish-violet wild form of the native liverwort, there are now also numerous types of liverworts in white, pink and violet.

tips

The liverwort, which grows in many beech and oak forests, is valued as a remedy in traditional naturopathy due to certain ingredients. However, this requires expertise in dosage, since liverworts can also have a toxic effect. You should be particularly careful with children in the garden, as picking the flowers without gloves can cause skin irritation.

Category:

Herbs