Worth knowing:
Mayweed is an old medicinal plant that helps particularly with gastro-intestinal problems and is also known as remedy for inflammations. The annual, herbaceous plant grows 15 to 50 cm tall and exhales with every part a strong camomile aroma. From May until September it produces flower heads with white ligulate ray flowers on the outside and narrowly arranged yellow-coloured tubular florets in the center.
Natural Location:
Mayweed is originally native in the Middle East, as well as in southern and eastern Europe, where it grows in altitudes of up to 1300 meters.
Cultivation:
For propagation outdoors in your garden, you should arrange grooves in the soil to provide some wind-protection - the Mayweed is a light germinator and the fine seeds will not be covered with potting compost, but only gently pressed onto the earth. Usually, it takes only one or two weeks until germination. You will achieve the greatest benefit by planting the seeds in autumn, but only with a frost-protection, and harvesting between end of August and beginning of September. When you spread the seeds in spring, the plants will be less productive, but the separate flowers will be bigger.
Place:
Mayweed is a rather modest plant and doesn’t need a particular location for cultivation, as long as it is kept warm, sunny and moderately moist.
Care:
Mayweed is accustomed to nutrient-poor and dry soil and, therefore, a rather modest plant. Just see to avoid waterlogging, and let the earth rather dry out a bit than watering too much. The right timing for harvesting is important because the further the blossom matures, the less essential oil it contains. If two thirds of the flower heads have flourished, it would be the best time to pluck the flowers – preferably around noon on dry and warm days, when the flower heads contain the most essential oil. Spread the flowers immediately afterwards on a tray and keep them in a windless and warm place without direct sunlight. After one or two days, the blossoms should have been dried sufficiently. Now, the flowers can be removed and the heads can be kept for up to one year in properly sealed glasses in a darker place.
During the winter:
Mayweed is basically frost-hard. However, it is advisable to protect the roots with a layer of straw.
Picture credits:
- © © 1. médée Masclef 2. JanRehschuh - CC-BY-SA-3.0 - http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0
- © Frank Laue - © Saflax - http://www.saflax.de/copyright
- © Frank Laue - © Saflax - http://www.saflax.de/copyright
- © médée Masclef - Public Domain - http://creativecommons.org/licenses/publicdomain/
- © JanRehschuh - CC-BY-SA-3.0 - http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0 - -
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