Search Results for: root division

Root Division: Multiply Your Medicinal Herb Harvest with These Plant Propagation Tips

Planting meadowsweet divisions into pots – Division is the easiest form of vegetative propagation. It involves digging up and severing a portion of the root system of a plant, and replanting it. Depending on the plant species and age, one to twenty divisions may be made from one plant. In running plants, such as the mints (Mentha spp.), partridgeberry (Mitchella…

A Goldenseal bloom.

Cultivating Woodland Herbs: How to Grow Native Forest Medicinals

…Potting up divided valerian roots right into nursery trays – Willow Bark Rooting Hormone Recipe Willow bark extract contains a natural plant hormone called willow-rooting substance, which helps to coordinate plant growth. It can be used as a free natural substitute for commercial rooting powders, and is especially helpful for rooting softwood cuttings. To prepare you own, cut ten 2-…

Yellowroot

Yellowroot growing next to a stream – Yellowroot’s elegant, subtle maroon flowers are just emerging in March in the mountains of North Carolina. This native shrub in the buttercup family prefers the dappled sunlight and silty soils of the streamside and floodplain, but will tolerate drier soil in cultivation. Yellowroot grows abundantly in central and southern Appalachia near forest streams…

Close-up of Calendula.

The Top Ten Medicinal Herbs for the Garden: How to Grow & Use Healing Plants

…to grow meadowsweet by root division than by seed, which requires a complicated stratification regime. Any little piece of the root will take hold, and grow a new plant. See my article on Root Division for more details. Harvest meadowsweet when it is beginning to bloom by cutting the flowering stalks close to the base of the plant. You can…

Removing elderberries from the stem.

Medicinal Plants: Growing Healing Herbs for the Home Garden

…promise to bring them a plate of lemon balm shortbread cookies in exchange for a division or two. For best success, see our guide to herbal root division here. Lemon balm is also easily started from seed. Because this plant is a light-dependent germinator (LDG), the seeds should be planted right on the surface of the soil or just barely…

A basket of foraged stinging nettles.

The Best Wild Foods and Medicinals for Beginning Foragers and Wildcrafters

…the rare inherited disorder G6PD (glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase) deficiency, because it can aggravate hemolytic anemia.1 Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) Edible Parts: Leaves, roots, and flowers Medicinal Parts: Leaves and roots Preparations: Leaf: Infusion, vinegar, bitters, salad, nibble, and cooking green Root: Decoction, tincture, vinegar, bitters, and roasted herbal “coffee” Herbal Actions: Leaf Diuretic Bitter Cholagogue Hepatic Alterative Root Bitter Hepatic Cholagogue Alterative…

Lavender growing in a pot.

Growing Medicinal Herbs in Pots: 10 Healing Plants for Your Container Garden

…too spicy. The root is a classic remedy for allergies, acting as a decongestant and anti-inflammatory. I combine it with turmeric root (Curcuma longa) and goldenrod (Solidago spp.) to treat allergies acutely (right when symptoms are present). A little goes a long way with calamus—its pronounced flavor and spiciness make it an ideal candidate for formulas. In other words, combine…

Juliet Blankespoor in her garden.

9 Tips for Planning the Herb Garden of Your Dreams

…herbs are able to convert atmospheric nitrogen into a bioavailable form of nitrogen, which they release into the soil when they die or lose leaves. Perennial woody nitrogen fixers will also release nitrogen from the roots when they are pruned or cut back. Examples of herbal nitrogen fixers include: bayberry, red clover, alfalfa, sweetfern, redroot, licorice, fenugreek, sweet clover, wild…