Sacred herb is not only valued in the garden as a pretty ornamental plant. It is also considered a medicinal product and is used in the home to combat pests. She doesn't need much care. Only regular pruning after flowering is recommended.
How do you cut saintwort correctly?
Sacred herb should be cut back heavily after the flowering period from June to August. Cut back the perennial heavily as a whole, remove dried branches, thin out the plant and cut it into shape. This promotes the formation of new shoots and maintains the bushy shape.
Pruning after flowering
Holywort blooms from June to August. Then it's time to cut the plant back vigorously.
- Cut back the perennial heavily overall
- Cut out dried branches
- Thinning out plants
- Cut to shape
Sacred herb can easily tolerate severe pruning. This stimulates the formation of new shoots. If no pruning is done, the saint's herb will become bald over time and lose its bushy shape.
Cut cuttings for propagation
Sacred herb can be easily propagated from cuttings. From spring to summer, small shoots are cut for propagation.
The individual cuttings should be 15 to 20 centimeters long. The lower leaves are removed and the shoots are planted in the ground in a bright but not directly sunny place. The cuttings do not need any special care, only moderate watering is necessary until they grow.
Next spring, the perennials propagated in this way will be transplanted to a sunny location.
Cut flowers to dry
The flowers play an important role in natural medicine. They are usually used dried.
To do this, cut off the fully bloomed inflorescences so that a longer stem remains on the flower. It is best to cut in the morning when the plants are no longer wet. The flowers are tied into bouquets (€13.00 on Amazon) and hung upside down to dry.
You can also place the fresh flowers as a bouquet in a vase or a bowl on the garden table to repel mosquitoes.
Harvesting leaves for the kitchen
The green leaves of saint herb are not only used in medicine, but also as a spice in the kitchen.
To do this, cut or pluck a few leaves from the plant and chop them as fresh as possible.
Tip
Sacred herb comes from the Mediterranean region and only grows up to 60 cm high. It is the ideal plant for roof gardens and flowerbed borders. In addition to pruning, only light winter protection is required.
