The forest goat's beard is a very robust perennial in the garden. It does not make any great demands on care and is easy to propagate.
The forest goat's beard (bot. Aruncus dioicus) is a long-lived and robust wild perennial that requires little care. Nevertheless, by optimizing the site conditions, a lush abundance of flowers can be ensured. If the plants are given the necessary space in the perennial bed, growth heights of two meters and more are not uncommon. We will now explain to you what else needs to be considered when caring for the imposing wild perennials.
Care for forest goat's beard
If you take good care of the plant, you will enjoy it for a long time. Because then it hardly happens that your forest goat's beard is attacked by diseases or pests.
Water goat's beard
Even if the plant is quite undemanding, watering should not be neglected. Whether and how often watering is required depends not least on the location. In a shady place you have to water the plant less than in a sunny place. During longer periods of drought in summer, the plant needs additional watering. The soil must not dry out completely. At the same time, watering should not be too intensive. The forest goat's beard does not tolerate waterlogging. If the soil is too wet for a long period of time, the roots begin to rot and the plant can no longer obtain sufficient nutrients.
Fertilize the goat's beard
The forest goat's beard does not need to be fertilized regularly. The nutrient requirement of the plant is rather moderate. If the young plants are supplied with compost, they do not need any further fertilizer in the first year.
» Tip: Fertilization with compost can be repeated annually in spring.
Cutting the goat's beard
The plant can be pruned in late autumn or early spring. The forest goat's beard is generally well tolerated by trimming and can therefore cope with both variants.
» Tip: Choose a frost-free, cloudy day for pruning.
How should pruning be done?
The forest goat's beard forms a strongroot system out. This makes the plant well tolerated by pruning. Before winter, or alternatively in early spring, you can prune the plant back about a hand's breadth from the ground.
» Tip: The closer the goat's beard is cut off to the ground, the more intensively it will sprout and grow correspondingly bushy.
If you want to prevent the forest goat's beard from multiplying uncontrollably, you should remove the faded flower panicles. The panicles of the male plants, in particular, are still a pretty vase ornament even when they have faded and look particularly decorative in wildflower bouquets.What should be considered during the winter?
The forest goat's beard is hardy and tolerates temperatures down to - 20 degrees without any problems. Winter protection is not necessary. Don't forget to cut back in the fall. Then the flowers will be all the more lush in the next early summer.
Reproduction of the forest goat's beard
The forest goat's beard does not develop deep roots, but has a woody rhizome. The plant reproduces vegetatively through the rhizomes and the formation of entire stands is not uncommon.
If you prefer to propagate your forest goat's beard in a controlled manner, then propagation is possible by dividing the roots on the one hand and by sowing on the other:
root division
A division of the root nodules is still possible with younger plants without any problems. Heavily lignified older plants, on the other hand, are difficult to divide. For the division, the entire plant must be taken out of the ground. The tuber is then divided with a spade or a sharp knife and the sections can be replanted at the desired location.
Sowing
Sowing is also a popular form of propagation. The seeds are cold germs. The seeds ripen in September and October.
A few things should be considered when sowing:
- Placing seeds in a shallow planter
- Keep seeds moist
- Cultivate seeds for about four weeks at room temperature
- Put the seeds in the fridge for four to six weeks
- Continue to cultivate seeds at room temperature