Bagwort or sandweed are excellent for the rock garden, but also suitable for green roofs. The perennial is floriferous and easy to care for.
Chickweed (Arenaria) is a welcome eye-catcher in the rock garden. There the evergreen plant forms dense cushions. The small white flowers last all summer. In winter, the leafy green sets lively accents in the dreary garden. The frugal plant grows persistently and is robust and easy to care for. Diseases and pests have little effect on the perennial bloomer.
Mountain Origin
The original home of the decorative small perennial is in the Pyrenees and other mountain regions in south-west Europe. The carnation family can also be found in Morocco and comes in about 300 species. More than 100 species are native to China. About 80 of them grow nowhere else in the world.
| Mountain Chickweed (Arenaria montana) | |
|---|---|
| Growth: | cushion-like, prostrate, clumpy |
| Growth: | 5 - 10 cm |
| Growth: | 20 - 25 cm |
| Usage: | Rock garden, green roof, mat planting |
| Location: | Sun |
| Floor: | well drained, low nutrient requirement |
Plant Chickweed
➔ Find the right location
Sandworts prefer a sunny spot. The cushion perennial will usually also develop well in semi-shade. A shady location is not advisable. Chickweed would grow stunted and would not produce any flowers. Daily sun exposure should be at least three hours.
The rock garden perennial forms pretty arrangements in beds with blue cushion, saxifrage or carpet phlox. Chickweed is also suitable for edging paths or greening roofs.
➔ Choosing the ideal substrate
The plant is satisfied with normal garden soil. The nutrient requirement is classified as low. The permeability of the soil is an important prerequisite for sand herbs to grow well. There must be no waterlogging. Older plants do not have problems with soil dryness. Lime also represents forchickweed is no obstacle.
➔ Planting chickweed - step by step
- Select Location
- Prepare the ground
- Create planting holes
- Note planting distances
- Place Plants
- Fill up soil
- Press the base lightly
- Water plants
➔ The most important planting tips at a glance
| Activity | Explanation |
|---|---|
| Select Location | • sunny to semi-shady • at least three hours of sunshine daily |
| Prepare substrate | • permeable • loose • calcareous |
| planting | • Group planting • 30 cm planting distance • Water young plants a lot |
Popular varieties at a glance
The variety of sand herbs allows for a varied picture in the rock garden.
| Type | Origin |
|---|---|
| Heaped Chickweed | France, Spain, Portugal, Morocco |
| Balearic Chickweed | Balearic Islands, Corsica, Italy, Sardinia |
| Purple Chickweed | France, Spain |
| Big Chickweed | Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Czech Republic |
| Common Chickweed | Central Europe, Eastern Europe, Siberia |
| Common Chickweed | France |
| Algarve Chickweed | Spain, Portugal |
Care for Sandweed
➔ Water chickweed properly
The water requirement is generally low. Young plants need regular watering. It should be poured penetratingly. However, the plants do not tolerate waterlogging. Older plants can cope well with longer periods of drought. This makes the plants ideal for the rock garden.
» Tip: The lime-loving plants can be watered with tap water.
➔ Fertilize Chickweed
No additional fertilizer is necessary in the rock garden. The substrate can be used to stimulate floweringmixed in with compost once a year in spring. If the chickweed is cultivated in a plant pot or balcony box, the limited supply of substrate results in an increased need for nutrients. This can be met with sparing doses of liquid fertilizer at two to four week intervals.
➔ Cut Chickweed
If the cushion perennial has developed luxuriantly and threatens to displace other plants from the bed, the chickweed can be shortened on all frost-free days. Weak or diseased shoots are also regularly removed. If you continuously cut off faded flowers, you can extend the blooming season of chickweed into autumn.
➔ Propagating Chickweed
The Chickweed can be propagated by division and sowing.
➔ Propagating Chickweed by Division
The plants can be divided every two to three years. On the one hand, this is used for propagation, but it is also important to rejuvenate the mother plant and promote vigour. Division can be done in spring, before the growing season begins, or in fall.
Proceed as follows:
- Dig up plant
- Removing the soil from the roots
- Examine Roots
- Split root ball
- Transplant sections separately
After the plant has been completely dug up, the roots are exposed. This gives an opportunity to remove old and dried up root sections. The root ball is then divided and the newly obtained plants are cultivated as usual at separate locations or in the group planting described.
➔ Propagating Chickweed by Sowing
The sowing of chickweed requires a little patience and a few things have to be taken into account. The seeds are placed in plant pots filled with seed soil and sand. The containers should then be set up for about a month at temperatures of around 20 degrees and kept evenly moist. This is followed by a cold phase. In order for germination to occur, the seeds are now placed in the refrigerator for about six weeks. Then the plant pots are set up warm again and germination should begin.
Detect diseases on chickweed
If the described requirements for the location and the care instructions are taken into account, the plants will be largely spared from diseases and pest infestation. Even snails avoid chickweed.
The chickweed does not tolerate waterlogging. Due to the dense growth, little water can evaporate. This shows a certainSusceptibility to fungal diseases.
Winter Chickweed
The robust plant does not need winter protection. Temperatures down to -20 degrees are tolerated. If there are late frosts in spring, when the budding has already started, a brushwood protection is appropriate.
Additional protective measures should also be taken if the young plants are tender or if there is a thaw after heavy snowfalls. Then the risk of waterlogging is particularly high.
If the chickweed is planted in a bucket, winter protection made of brushwood or garden fleece is necessary. The planters freeze over quickly and the roots can no longer absorb any nutrients.
» Tip: Place plant pots on a base made of polystyrene or wood to protect against frost.
If there are long, dry periods in winter, chickweed needs liquid. There is no fertilization during the winter months.