The non-toxic silver leaf is one of the plants that, with its dried seeds, can give the garden interesting eye-catchers in autumn. The propagation of the flowering plant, which also occurs in nature and requires very little care, is done by seeds.

The seeds are hidden in the silvery leaves, which become more transparent as they mature

A plant with many exciting facets

The moon-shaped seed pods of the silver leaf, which become translucent like parchment as the seed ripens, have given it the following names in the vernacular:

  • Judas Siberling
  • Garden Silverleaf
  • moon violet
  • Judas penny
  • silver coins

The Latin name "Lunaria annua" also refers to the seeds of the "moon plant", although the addition of the one-year period is not really correct. Although the silver leaf actually dies after flowering, it is actually biennial and only flowers in the second year. The conspicuous seed heads are usually the main reason for a culture in the garden. The pink-purple or white flowers are also an aesthetic bee pasture and mainly emit their scent at night to attract moths for pollination.

Harvest the seeds and sow them in the right rhythm

Harvesting the seeds is relatively easy with the silver leaf, as they are located between the two layers of the seed pods, like on a platter. You can put a plastic bag over the whole flower stalks with the seed pods and sort them into seeds and compost material indoors after cutting them off, so that not too many seeds fall on the ground in the garden. Sow some of the seeds in the garden every year to really get flowers and seeds from the biennial flowering plant every year.

Sowing and caring for the silver leaf

The silver leaf is ideally sown directly outdoors in early summer, covering the seeds with a little soil. The chosen location should be free of strongly growing neighboring plants so that the young plants, which are still quite small in the first year, have enough light and space for their development. The young plants should be in semi-shade and kept evenly moist.

tips

After the first sowing in the garden, the silver leaf usually spreads all by itself through self-seeding. If this multiplication is to be curbed, the seeds must be cut off before they ripen, but this reduces the ornamental value of the plants. In this case, you should under no circumstances put the seed pods on the compost heap with other clippings, as otherwise you will spread the long-germinable seeds with the compost throughout the garden.

Category:

Herbs