The woodruff is also known under the Latin name Galium odoratum because it exudes a very fragrant scent. In careful dosage, the medicinal plant grown in pots can be used as a natural remedy and flavoring.

The natural location of the woodruff in nature

If you would like to plant the woodruff in pots, you should be aware of where it prefers to grow in the forest and in the garden. The relatively shady forest floor in beech forests is an ideal location for woodruff. If the sun is not too strong, it spreads via root runners, so that in a few years large masses of the plant, which grows like a ground cover, can develop.

The right care for potted woodruff

Basically, the pot for growing woodruff should not be too small, so that the roots of the plant that overwinters in the ground can spread well. It meets the natural needs of the plants if they are cultivated in a shady spot on the balcony or terrace and not on the window sill that is usually too warm and too sunny. Choose a humus-rich and loose soil as substrate, which should be calcareous and can also be mixed with some beech leaves. As the bottom layer, you should use some clay to line the pot. In this way you create a natural water reservoir that is modeled on the forest floor. Since the seeds of the woodruff need frost to germinate, you should sow the hardy woodruff from around September.

Harvest woodruff and use it properly

In the first year, you should still harvest very sparing quantities of your potted woodruff, otherwise root growth can be inhibited. From the second year, you should ideally harvest the stalks of the woodruff shortly before flowering, as they are particularly aromatic then. You can use the medicinal herb woodruff as a medicine or as a flavoring in the following products:

  • May punch
  • herbal tea
  • moth pillow
  • woodruff syrup
  • Berliner Weisse

tips and tricks

Before using it, be sure to find out about the correct dosage of woodruff: the soothing effect of the coumarin it contains on headaches can lead to nausea, headaches and liver damage in the event of an overdose.

WK

Category:

Herbs