You love woodruff punch? Then do it yourself in the future. All you have to do is plant woodruff in the garden. Read here what you should consider.
We know woodruff primarily as a drink additive and as a jelly. You don't even have to buy these things!
Because if you plant the pleasantly smelling, delicate-looking plant in the shady part of your herb garden, then you can easily make jelly or punch with woodruff flavor yourself. We will now tell you what you need to consider when planting and caring for the woodruff.
Plant Woodruff
» Location:
The woodruff prefers a semi-shady to shady location, also under deciduous trees, with soil that is as chalky as possible. Since the woodruff grows very profusely over the years, it is also very suitable as a flowering groundcover in the shaded area of your garden.
» Soil:
After - as the name suggests - the woodruff is primarily at home in the forest in nature, there is also a humus-rich, always moist soil an advantage - you must water this when it is dry.
» Sowing:
You have to sow the woodruff in autumn so that it will bloom for the first time next spring. Alternatively, you can also buy annual or perennial potted plants in the garden store.
We decided on "Real Woodruff" from the Horstmann tree nursery. We planted the 25 plants directly under a maple on the shady side of our garage. It grows really well there and has already found its way into the kitchen. ;- )
Care for Woodruff
» Harvest:
The woodruff develops its first fine, white blossoms as early as the end of April. Its main bloom, however, is from May to June. During this time you can also harvest the woodruff herb (always just before flowering). Here, however, you should know that you can only harvest the woodruff from the second year.
» Processing:
After harvesting, you can dry the herb in the shade (in the sun it would wither) and thenfurther processing - e.g. as tea. Fresh woodruff, on the other hand, is ideal in small quantities as a flavoring, e.g. in salads or fruit salads, on cakes, in drinks, in desserts, etc.
You can also sew dried woodruff into scented sachets. You can then put these pillows in the wash. There they drive away annoying moths.
» Woodruff in winter:
During the winter months you should always cover the woodruff plant with needle green. Piling up old leaves is also well suited, as they can rot well over the winter and provide the woodruff with sufficient nutrients.
» Do not fertilize!
You should never fertilize woodruff. You should also not rake in the immediate vicinity of the woodruff. Because the plant has very soft, flat roots that could be destroyed immediately.