Content
Planting and caring for meadowsweet is not particularly difficult. But first, it’s worth studying the features and popular types and varieties of plants.
What does meadowsweet look like and where does it grow?
Meadowsweet, or meadowsweet (Filipendula) is a perennial herbaceous plant from the Rosaceae family. It has a branched root system and a straight, rigid stem, simple alternate leaves of a dark green color, pinnately dissected or palmate. At the surface of the earth, the plates are collected in a rosette. Another name for meadowsweet is meadowsweet.
Meadowsweet rises a maximum of 2 m from the ground
From mid-summer it bears fragrant flowers, and in August fruits - multi-leafed or multi-nutted - form in their place. The decorative effect of meadowsweet, or filipendula, remains throughout the summer, and the plant delights with its bright greenery until late autumn.
The perennial can be found in temperate latitudes. In Russia, meadowsweet is found in the European part and the middle zone, in Siberia and Kamchatka, in the Amur region and Primorye. Around the world it grows 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 swamp meadowsweet and has good cold resistance.
How meadowsweet blooms
In July, the perennial herb 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 color.
Meadowsweet emits a rich, sweet aroma that sometimes causes allergies in humans
Types and varieties of meadowsweet
The meadowsweet plant has about two dozen varieties. Among the most popular and well-known in Russia, several can be listed.
Red meadowsweet
Red meadowsweet (Filipendula rubra) is a North American species that reaches 2.3 m in height. Photos and descriptions of the meadowsweet plant show that the grass is characterized by large palmate leaves of a green hue. The inflorescences of this species of meadowsweet are lush, with pink petals. Reaches maximum decorative value in July and August, prefers well-lit areas with sufficient moisture.
Red meadowsweet tolerates freezing temperatures well
Meadowsweet Venusta
The red meadowsweet variety Venusta reaches 2.5 m in height and can form dense thickets. The stems of the plant are strong, the leaves are cut into five or seven parts, the inflorescences are creamy-pink or pink-red. Meadowsweet blooms in July and bears decorative crimson-colored fruits in August.
The Venusta variety blooms for more than a month.
Red Umbrella
Red Umbrellas meadowsweet is a hybrid variety up to 75 cm tall. It has recognizable green leaves with red veins in the center of the blades and bears small pink buds. It grows an average of 50 cm in width and blooms in June and July.
The Red Umbrella variety is valued both for its flowering and for its decorative large leaves.
Meadowsweet
Meadowsweet (Filipendula ulmaria) rises approximately 1.7 m above the ground. It produces a large number of stems; at the beginning of summer, up to eight inflorescences are formed on each shoot. Meadowsweet buds are white, sometimes cream-colored. The variety prefers light or slightly shaded areas, tolerates high humidity well, but does not like drought.
Elm-leaved meadowsweet begins to bloom in June and remains decorative for about 25 days
Aurea
The decorative variety of meadowsweet Aurea (Aurea) has leaves of a golden-yellowish hue. It bears creamy white flowers in July and August. In landscape design, yellow meadowsweet is valued mainly for the decorative appearance of its leaf blades. Grows well near water bodies.
Meadowsweet Aurea rises an average of 1.6 m above the ground
Common meadowsweet
Six-petalled meadowsweet (Filipendula vulgaris) is widespread in forest-steppes, along river banks and on forest edges in the middle zone, in Siberia and Asia Minor.It is often found cultivated in gardens and may be called Prikamsky meadowsweet. It has a straight stem up to 70 cm, branches slightly, the leaves are elongated, serrated or pinnately dissected. At the beginning of summer it bears medium-sized white buds in paniculate inflorescences.
Flowering of common meadowsweet continues for a month
Captivity
Meadowsweet Plena is an ornamental variety for garden cultivation with double flowers. It rises on average only 60 cm, the leaves of the plant are lush green, dense at the roots and sparse on the stem. From mid-June, double meadowsweet bears white pompom-type buds up to 10 mm in diameter.
Meadowsweet variety Plena is considered a good honey plant
Meadowsweet
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 color of the plates is green, with gray felt pubescence on the reverse side. Kamchatka meadowsweet rises on average up to 1 m above the ground and has long roots. In June and July it bears dense inflorescences up to 25 cm long, consisting of beige or pink small buds.
By the end of flowering, the palm-shaped meadowsweet may change color to white
Nana
The popular decorative variety Nana is a perennial up to 60 cm tall. It bears small pink flowers in long panicles in June and July; it looks impressive on the site due to the contrast between the green leaves and bright buds. It is better to grow garden meadowsweet in partial shade.
The Nana variety grows quickly and can occupy large areas
Purple meadowsweet
Purple meadowsweet (Filipendula purpurea) is a low plant up to 1 m that begins to bloom in early June. Brings unusual buds of a dark pink or purple-lilac hue. It is rarely found in its natural form on the territory of Russia; it often grows in Asian countries, which is why it is also found under the name Japanese meadowsweet.
Purple meadowsweet remains decorative until mid-August
Elegance
Meadowsweet Elegans is a garden variety up to 1 m tall. It has graceful, deeply dissected leaves and bears dark crimson flowers from the end of June. The elegant meadowsweet looks good near bodies of water and in decorative groups against a backdrop of bright greenery.
The Elegance variety can be planted in the Moscow region and in the northern regions
Meadowsweet steppe
Steppe meadowsweet (Filipendula stepposa) is a low plant up to 1 m above ground level. Externally, the grass is similar to meadowsweet, but the edges of its leaves are sharper and more pronounced, and the bottom is covered with thick light pubescence. Bears creamy white inflorescences. It is also called meadow meadowsweet, since it is widespread in open areas throughout the steppe belt in Europe, the Southern Urals and Northern Kazakhstan. It has no garden forms.
The steppe meadowsweet is considered rare, since due to the plowing of the steppes the species began to rapidly disappear
Meadowsweet
Meadowsweet, or spirea (Spiraea salicifolia), rises up to 2 m, has straight branched stems and bears 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 meadowsweet chooses edges, marshy areas and river banks for growth.
Meadowsweet Vangutta
Spiraea, or meadowsweet Vanhouttei (Spiraea vanhouttei) is 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 bears 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. At the beginning of summer it bears white flowers with yellow cores, collected in small sessile umbrellas or candles. The species is widespread in the south of the European part of Russia, Central Asia and Northern Mongolia.
St. John's meadowsweet is not represented by decorative forms
Reproduction methods
In garden plots, meadowsweet is propagated in two main ways - by seed and by dividing the bush. Each of them has its own advantages.
Growing from seeds
Meadowsweet seedlings 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 - placed in a bag filled with moist, loose substrate for two weeks and put in the refrigerator.
- At the end of February, containers for seedlings are prepared and light and nutritious soil consisting of sand, garden soil and peat is poured into them.
- The seeds are removed from the refrigerator and buried 1 cm into the soil mixture at a distance of several centimeters from each other. After this, they are sprayed with a spray bottle and covered with glass or film.
- The seedlings are placed in a warm and well-lit place.After the first shoots appear, the shelter can be removed and the boxes can be moved to the western or eastern windowsill.
The seedlings are regularly moistened, pricked when two or three true leaves appear, and a couple of weeks before transplanting they begin to gradually harden off in the fresh air. After warm weather has finally settled, the sprouts are transferred to the garden.
After stratification of seeds, meadowsweet grows more hardy
Dividing the bush
Adult meadowsweet bushes can be propagated by dividing the rhizomes. This is easy to do - in early spring or autumn, choose a large and healthy plant in the garden, carefully dig it out of the ground and cut it into several parts with a knife or sharp shovel. The cutting areas are sprinkled with charcoal and the meadowsweet is transferred to pre-prepared holes in selected areas of the garden. Subsequent care consists of regular watering and loosening the soil around new plants.
On each of the meadowsweet sections there should be at least two growth points
Planting and caring for meadowsweet in open ground
Photos about planting and caring for Plena meadowsweet or other varieties show that growing meadowsweet in a summer cottage is quite simple. The perennial has good reserves of endurance and has moderate care requirements.
Landing dates
You can plant meadowsweet in the garden both in spring and autumn; it is important to do this during the warm period, but outside the active growing season of the plant. When planted in September or October, meadowsweet acquires higher frost resistance. But if there is too little time left before the first cold weather, it is better to postpone the work until spring.
Requirements for place and soil
Meadowsweet loves good lighting, but also tolerates light shading.It is best to plant perennials on the south side of the garden; you can place meadowsweet in a lowland or near a pond. The plant should not be placed in dense shade; it will develop poorly and lose its decorative effect.
Meadowsweet prefers soil that is nutritious, but light and 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 meadowsweet
A couple of weeks before planting meadowsweet, the selected area needs to be dug up, loosened and complex mineral fertilizers applied to the soil. It is recommended to dig a hole in advance, twice as deep as the root system of the seedling, and place pebbles or broken bricks on its bottom. Before planting meadowsweet, the hole will need to be filled halfway with soil.
After planting, meadowsweet can be mulched with wood chips.
The plant is carefully lowered into the hole and its roots are straightened. Then the hole is filled to the end, the soil around it is lightly compacted and watering is carried out. If meadowsweet is to be planted in several copies, 40-50 cm of free space should be left between the 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, meadowsweet needs to be watered weekly or more often as the soil dries out.
Fertilizing is carried out 3-4 times per season; from May to August, complex fertilizers containing potassium, nitrogen and phosphorus are applied to 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 that rarely suffers 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 the meadowsweet.
- powdery mildew - a white coating appears on the leaves of the plant, which, if left untreated, moves from bottom to top of the perennial.
Powdery mildew quickly takes hold of meadowsweet and requires immediate treatment.
In the fight against fungal diseases, fungicidal agents - Titan, Topaz, Fundazol and copper sulfate - have a good effect. The plantings need to be sprayed several times at intervals of 2-3 weeks until the disease is completely eliminated.
As for pests, the main danger to meadowsweet is aphids. You can see it by carefully examining the leaves of the plant. The parasite develops in large colonies and usually densely covers the perennial blades. Under the influence of aphids, leaves begin to curl and dry out, and crop growth slows down.
Aphids feed on meadowsweet juice and can lead to its death
In case of mild infestation, insects on meadowsweet can be eliminated with a simple soap solution. If the plant is densely covered with parasites, it is better to use insecticides, for example, Skor or Fitoverm.
Pruning and preparation for winter
With the onset of autumn, the wilted inflorescences and foliage of the meadowsweet are removed, and the stems are cut at the root. The perennial's cold resistance is quite high, so it is allowed not to be covered for the winter.But if severe frosts are expected, the meadowsweet can be covered with fallen leaves or coniferous spruce branches, in which case the roots of the plant will definitely not freeze.
Meadowsweet in landscape design
The crop is used very widely in the garden. In a close-up photo of the plant, meadowsweet can most often be seen:
- as part of green hedges dividing the internal space of the site into separate zones;
Bright meadowsweet is optimal for planting along paths
- in flower beds with short or medium-sized plants;
Meadowsweet can dilute a motley composition or enliven a monotonous group
- near artificial reservoirs;
Blooming meadowsweet decorates empty banks and beautifies space
Meadowsweet can be combined with most flowering perennials. For example, phlox, irises, delphiniums, ferns and hostas, as well as lilies will be good neighbors for the crop.
Conclusion
Planting and caring for meadowsweet is quite simple; the gardener only needs to follow a few basic rules. But before placing meadowsweet on the site, it is worth carefully studying the popular species and ornamental varieties in order to choose the optimally suitable plant.
