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Planting and caring for the meadowsweet is not particularly difficult. But first, it is worth studying the features and popular types and varieties of plants.
What does the meadowsweet look like and where does it grow
Meadowsweet, or meadowsweet (Filipendula) is a perennial herbaceous plant from the Pink family. It has a branched root system and a straight rigid stem, simple alternate leaves of dark green color, pinnately dissected or palmate. At the surface of the earth, the plates are assembled into a rosette. Another name for meadowsweet is meadowsweet.
Meadowsweet rises a maximum of 2 m from the ground
From the middle of summer it brings fragrant flowers, and in August, fruits are formed in their place – multi-leaflets or multi-nuts. The decorativeness of the meadowsweet, or philipendula, persists throughout the summer, and the plant pleases with bright greenery until late autumn.
You can meet perennial in temperate latitudes. In Our Country, the meadowsweet is found in the European part and the middle zone, in Siberia and Kamchatka, in the Amur Region and Primorye. It grows worldwide in North America, Japan and Korea, China and Mongolia. It prefers moist soils near water bodies, which is why it is found under the name of marsh meadowsweet, it has good cold resistance.
How meadowsweet blooms
In July, the perennial grass meadowsweet blooms with numerous bisexual flowers with rounded petals in the amount of 5-6 pieces. The buds of the plant are collected in loose panicles at the ends of tall straight peduncles, they are pure white, cream or pinkish in hue.
Meadowsweet emits a rich sweet aroma, sometimes causing allergies in humans
Types and varieties of meadowsweet
Meadowsweet honey plant has about two dozen varieties. Among the most popular and famous in Our Country, there are several.
Meadowsweet red
Red meadowsweet (Filipendula rubra) is a North American species reaching 2,3 m in height. The photo and description of the meadowsweet plant show that the grass is characterized by large palmate leaves of a green hue. The inflorescences of the meadowsweet of this species are lush, with pink petals. Reaches maximum decorativeness in July and August, prefers well-lit areas with sufficient moisture.
Red meadowsweet tolerates negative temperatures well
Tavolga Venusta
The variety of red meadowsweet Venusta (Venusta) reaches 2,5 m in height, can form dense thickets. The stems of the plant are strong, the leaves are dissected into five or seven parts, the inflorescences are creamy pink or rose red. Meadowsweet blooms from July, in August it bears decorative fruits of a raspberry hue.
Flowering varieties Venusta lasts more than a month
Red Umbrella
Meadowsweet Red Umbrellas (Red Umbrellas) – a hybrid variety up to 75 cm tall. It has recognizable green leaves with red veins in the center of the blades, brings small pink buds. It grows in width by an average of 50 cm, blooms in June and July.
The Red Umbrella variety is valued for both flowering and decorative large leaves.
meadowsweet
The meadowsweet (Filipendula ulmaria) rises about 1,7 m above the ground. Gives a large number of stems, at the beginning of summer up to eight inflorescences are formed on each of the shoots. The buds of the meadowsweet are white, sometimes cream. The variety prefers lighted or slightly shaded areas, tolerates high humidity well, but does not like drought.
Vyazolistny meadowsweet begins to bloom in June and remains decorative for about 25 days
Aurea
The decorative variety of the meadowsweet Aurea (Aurea) has leaves of a golden yellowish hue. Creamy white flowers in July and August. In landscape design, yellow meadowsweet is valued mainly for the decorative appearance of leaf plates. Grows well near water bodies.
Tavolga Aurea rises an average of 1,6 m above the ground
Meadowsweet ordinary
The six-petalled meadowsweet (Filipendula vulgaris) is widespread in the forest-steppes, along the banks of rivers and on forest edges in the middle lane, in Siberia and Asia Minor. Often found in a cultural form in gardens, it may be called the Kama meadowsweet. It has a straight stem up to 70 cm, branches slightly, the leaves are elongated, serrated or pinnately dissected. In early summer it brings medium-sized white buds in paniculate inflorescences.
Flowering of common meadowsweet continues for a month
Captivity
Таволга обыкновенная Плена (Plena) — декоративный сорт для садового разведения с махровыми цветками. Поднимается в среднем всего на 60 см, листья у растения сочно-зеленые, густые у корней и редкие на стебле. С середины июня махровый лабазник приносит белые бутоны помпонного типа до 10 мм в диаметре.
Plena variety meadowsweet is considered a good honey plant
Meadowsweet palmate
The meadowsweet (Filipendula palmata) is one of the oldest plant species, cultivated since 1823. Often found in natural conditions in the Far East and Kamchatka. The shape of the perennial leaves resembles an open palm, the plates are green in color, on the reverse side with gray felt pubescence. Kamchatka meadowsweet rises on average up to 1 m above the ground, has long roots. In June and July it brings dense inflorescences up to 25 cm long, a state of beige or pink small buds.
By the end of flowering, the palm-shaped meadowsweet can change its shade to white.
Nana
Popular ornamental variety Nana (Nana) is a perennial up to 60 cm tall. It produces small pink flowers in long panicles in June and July, and looks spectacular on the site due to the contrast between green leaves and bright buds. It is better to grow garden meadowsweet in partial shade.
Variety Nana grows rapidly and can occupy large areas
meadowsweet purple
Purple meadowsweet (Filipendula purpurea) is a low plant up to 1 m, which begins to bloom in early June. Brings unusual buds of dark pink or purple-lilac hue. On the territory of Our Country, it is rarely found in its natural form, it often grows in Asian countries, which is why it is also found under the name Japanese meadowsweet.
Purple meadowsweet retains its decorative effect until mid-August
Elegance
Meadowsweet Elegance (Elegans) – garden variety up to 1 m tall. It has graceful deeply dissected leaves, from the end of June it brings dark crimson flowers. The elegant meadowsweet looks good near water bodies and in decorative groups against a background of bright greenery.
You can plant the elegans variety in the suburbs and in the northern regions
Таволга степная
Степной лабазник (Filipendula stepposa) — невысокое растение до 1 м над уровнем земли. Внешне трава похожа на вязолистную таволгу, но края листьев у нее более острые и резко выраженные, а снизу покрыты густым светлым опушением. Приносит кремово-белые соцветия. Называется также луговым лабазником, поскольку широко распространена на открытых местностях во всей степной полосе в Европе, на Южном Урале и в Северном Казахстане. Садовых форм не имеет.
The steppe meadowsweet is considered rare, because due to the plowing of the steppes, the species began to rapidly disappear.
meadowsweet
Willow meadowsweet, or spirea (Spiraea salicifolia), rises to 2 m, has straight branched stems and brings paniculate inflorescences from late June to August. The leaves of the plant are lanceolate, with a serrated edge, similar to willow, the buds are pink or whitish. The species is widespread in Siberia and the Far East.
Willow-leaved meadowsweet chooses edges, swampy areas and river banks for growth.
Tavolga Wangutta
Spirea, or meadowsweet Vangutta (Spiraea vanhouttei) – a hybrid species with a spreading rounded crown and arched shoots. It is a shrub up to 2 m tall and about 3 m in diameter, from mid-June it brings abundant white hemispherical inflorescences. Widely used in hedges and decorative groups.
Meadowsweet Vangutta may bloom again in August
Meadowsweet
Meadowsweet (Spiraea hypericifolia) is a low shrub up to 1,5 m with long straight shoots and oblong ovate or lanceolate leaves. In early summer it bears white flowers with yellow centers, collected in small sessile umbrellas or candles. The species is widely distributed in the south of the European part of Our Country, in Central Asia and Northern Mongolia.
St. John’s wort meadowsweet is not represented by decorative forms
Methods of reproduction
In garden plots, meadowsweet is propagated in two main ways – by seed and by dividing the bush. Each of them has its own advantages.
Cultivation from seeds
Seedlings of meadowsweet seeds are grown at home, and in the spring the grown seedlings are transferred to the ground. The algorithm looks like this:
- First, the planting material is stratified – for two weeks they are placed in a bag filled with a moist loose substrate and put in the refrigerator.
- At the end of February, containers for seedlings are prepared and light and nutritious soil is poured into them, consisting of sand, garden soil and peat.
- The seeds are removed from the refrigerator and 1 cm buried in the soil mixture at a distance of several centimeters from each other. After that, they are sprayed from a spray gun and covered with glass or film.
- Seedlings are placed in a warm and well-lit place. After the first sprouts appear, the shelter can be removed and the boxes moved to the western or eastern windowsill.
Seedlings are regularly moistened, when two or three true leaves appear, they dive, and a couple of weeks before transplantation, they begin to gradually harden in the fresh air. After the warm weather is finally established, the sprouts are transferred to the garden.
After seed stratification, meadowsweet grows more hardy
Division of the bush
Adult meadowsweet bushes can be propagated by dividing the rhizome. This is easy to do – in early spring or autumn, a large and healthy plant is chosen in the garden, carefully dug out of the ground and cut into several parts with a knife or a sharp shovel. Places of cuts are sprinkled with charcoal and the meadowsweet is transferred to pre-prepared holes in selected places in the garden. Follow-up care consists of regular watering and loosening the soil around the new plants.
On each of the divisions of the meadowsweet there should be at least two points of growth
Planting and caring for meadowsweet in the open field
Photos about planting and caring for the Plena meadowsweet or other varieties show that growing meadowsweet in a summer cottage is quite simple. The perennial has good hardiness reserves and has moderate care requirements.
Terms of planting
You can plant a meadowsweet in the garden both in spring and autumn, it is important to do this during the warm period, but outside the active vegetation of the plant. When planted in September or October, the meadowsweet acquires a higher frost resistance. But if there is too little time left before the first cold weather, it is better to postpone work until spring.
Site and soil requirements
Meadowsweet loves good lighting, but also tolerates light shading. It is best to plant a perennial on the south side of the garden; you can place a meadowsweet in a lowland or near a reservoir. In a dense shade, the plant should not be placed, it will develop poorly and lose its decorative effect.
Meadowsweet prefers soil that is nutritious, but light, neutral in composition. If the soil on the site is too heavy, it must be diluted with sand before planting. It is recommended to add ash, chalk or slaked lime to acidified soil.
How to plant a meadowsweet
A couple of weeks before planting meadowsweet, the selected area needs to be dug up, loosened and complex mineral fertilizers added to the soil. It is recommended to dig a hole in advance, twice as deep as the root system of the seedling, and put pebbles or broken bricks on its bottom. Before planting the meadowsweet, the hole will need to be filled up to half with soil.
After planting, the meadowsweet can be mulched with wood chips.
The plant is carefully lowered into the hole and its roots are straightened. Then the pit is sprinkled to the end, the earth is lightly tamped around and watering is carried out. If meadowsweet is to be planted in several copies, 40-50 cm of free space should be left between perennials.
Aftercare
Growing meadowsweet is quite simple and comes down mainly to regular watering. The soil at the roots of the plant should always remain slightly moist. On hot summer days, the meadowsweet should be watered weekly or more often as the soil dries out.
Top dressing is carried out 3-4 times per season, from May to August, complex fertilizers containing potassium, nitrogen and phosphorus are applied under the bush every month. After each watering, the soil should be slightly loosened for good oxygen access.
Diseases and pests
Meadowsweet is a fairly hardy garden plant, rarely suffering from insects and fungi. However, some diseases still pose a danger to him. Most often, meadowsweet is affected by:
- rust – red or brownish spots appear on the leaves at the roots, over time they grow upward and merge with each other;
Rust usually indicates waterlogging of meadowsweet
- mučnistaâ rosa – a white coating appears on the leaves of the plant, which, if untreated, moves up the perennial from the bottom up.
Powdery mildew quickly captures meadowsweet and requires immediate treatment
In the fight against fungal diseases, fungicidal agents – Titanium, Topaz, Fundazol and copper sulfate give a good effect. Planting should be sprayed several times with an interval of 2-3 weeks until the disease is completely eliminated.
As for pests, the danger to the meadowsweet is mainly aphids. You can see it when you carefully examine the leaves of the plant. The parasite develops in large colonies and usually densely covers perennial plates. The leaves under the influence of aphids begin to curl and dry out, the growth of the culture slows down.
The aphid feeds on the juice of the meadowsweet and can lead to its death
To eliminate insects on the meadowsweet with a weak lesion, you can use a simple soapy solution. If the plant is densely covered with parasites, it is better to use insecticides, such as Skor or Fitoverm.
Pruning and preparing for winter
With the onset of autumn, the withered inflorescences and foliage of the meadowsweet are removed, and the stems are cut off at the root. The cold resistance of the perennial is quite high, so it is allowed not to cover it for the winter. But if severe frosts are expected, meadowsweet can be thrown with fallen leaves or coniferous spruce branches, in which case the roots of the plant will definitely not freeze.
Meadowsweet in landscape design
In the garden, culture is used very widely. In the close-up photo of the plant, meadowsweet can most often be seen:
- в составе зеленых изгородей, разделяющих на отдельные зоны внутреннее пространство участка;
Bright meadowsweet is best suited for planting along paths
- на клумбах с низкорослыми или средними по размерам растениями;
Meadowsweet can dilute a colorful composition or enliven a monotonous group
- near artificial reservoirs;
Blooming meadowsweet decorates empty shores and decorates space
You can combine meadowsweet with most flowering perennials. For example, phloxes, irises, delphiniums, ferns and hostas, as well as lilies will become successful neighbors for culture.
Conclusion
Planting and caring for the meadowsweet is quite simple, the gardener needs to follow only a few basic rules. But before placing the meadowsweet on the site, you should carefully study the popular species and ornamental varieties in order to choose the best plant.
