Agrimony

How to recognise it

Growth habit

Perennial with a woody rootstock and an upright, little-branched stem of 30–100 cm.

Leaf

Interrupted pinnate: large, coarsely toothed leaflets alternating with small ones. Green above, greyish and hairy beneath.

Flower

Yellow flowers of 5–8 mm with five petals, in a long, slender spike. From June to August.

Fruit/seed

A cone-shaped fruit, grooved along its whole length and topped with a ring of hooked bristles; it clings like a small bur to fur and clothing.

Stem

Round, hairy and often reddish at the base.

Confusion with

Fragrant agrimony (Agrimonia procera) is larger, smells stronger when the leaves are crushed and has fruits that are grooved only at the top, with the lowest hooks bent back. The leaves with large and small leaflets mixed together give both agrimonies away at once.

Flowering: June–August · Pruning: March and September

Why grow it?

• Long, slender spikes in warm yellow from June to August, which look natural among grasses.
• The flowers offer plenty of pollen for solitary bees, bumblebees and hoverflies.
• Food plant: the caterpillars of the grizzled skipper, a small butterfly, feed on agrimony among other plants.
• The hooked fruits travel in animal fur: a lovely example of seed dispersal to show children.
• A useful plant in history: it was dried for herbal tea and used to dye wool yellow.

Agrimony: where does it grow best?

• In the wild: verges, dykes, woodland and scrub edges, rough grassland and chalk grassland.
• Sun to light part shade; it feels at home on a sunny woodland edge or along a hedge.
• Dry to normal, well-drained soil; chalky or loamy is ideal, but it also tolerates somewhat more acid soil.
• Poor, unfertilised soil keeps the plant compact and gives it a chance among the grasses.
• Lovely in a flower meadow, in a strip along a hedge or in a natural border.

Goes well with

• Wild marjoram: Pink flowers beside the yellow spikes, in the same sunny, chalky spot.
• Knapweed: Purple flower heads, also a favourite of butterflies and bees.
• Perforate St John’s-wort: Flowers at the same time and suits the same sunny edge.
• Wild carrot: White umbels for contrast, also good for insects.

Agrimony: when and how to plant it?

1. Buy plants from a native plant nursery or sow your own seed of wild origin.
2. Sow in September–November in a pot outdoors or where it is to grow: the seed needs a cold period and only germinates in spring, often slowly and unevenly.
3. Press the seed 0.5–1 cm into the soil and leave the pot outside all winter.
4. Plant pot-grown plants in March–April or September–October, 30–40 cm apart, ideally in groups of three to five.
5. Water after planting, and during dry spells for the first few weeks; after that it is no longer needed.
6. Never dig up plants from the wild.

Care

Water

Only in the first year during dry spells. After that it copes well with dry summers.

Feeding

Not needed. In rich soil it gets crowded out by grasses and nettles.

Mowing

Mow a flower meadow in September, once the seeds are ripe, and remove the cuttings.

Letting it seed

Leave some spikes standing until the fruits turn brown: it will then self-seed gently.

Stems

In a border, only cut off the dead stems in March.

Tip: Plant agrimony in a strip along a sunny hedge or woodland edge: there it gets the light shade and the peace it seeks in the wild, and it will last for years.

Pruning and mowing

Pruning months: March and September.

When: Remove the old stems in March; mow a meadow in September.

How:

• Leave the faded spikes standing over winter: they give structure and shelter insects.
• In March, cut the dead stems just above the new leaf rosette.
• Mow a flower meadow in September, once the fruits are ripe, and remove the cuttings.
• Cut off spikes with fruits if you do not want them in your dog’s coat.

Pruning: when and how · Pruning calendar and basic rules

Propagation

Seed

Pick ripe fruits in September and sow them outdoors straight away; they need a winter to germinate.

Division

Carefully divide older clumps in March–April or October, each piece with part of the rootstock.

Agrimony: how does it get through the winter?

Hardy to −30 °C.

• Above ground the plant largely dies back; the buds overwinter at soil level.
• Fully hardy, to about −30 °C.
• Leave the dry spikes: they look lovely with frost, and insects find shelter in them.

Diseases and pests

• Crowded out: In rich soil grasses and nettles grow over it. Mow every year and remove the cuttings to make the soil poorer.
• Powdery mildew: White powder on the leaves in dry late summers; harmless. Give it space and do not feed.
• Burs in fur: The fruits hook into the coats of dogs and cats and into clothing. Do not plant it right beside a path.
• Slow germination: The seed germinates unevenly, sometimes only in the second spring. Do not throw the seed pot away too soon.

Through the year

• March: Cut off dead stems. Plant or divide.
• April: Autumn-sown seedlings appear. Plant.
• May: Leaf rosettes grow; flowering stems come up.
• June: Flowering begins.
• July: Full flower: bees and hoverflies on the spikes.
• August: Last flowers; the first hooked fruits.
• September: Collect seed and sow outdoors straight away. Mow the flower meadow.
• October: Plant or divide. Leave seed pots outside.
• December: Leave the dry spikes standing.

Did you know?

• The species name eupatoria refers to King Mithridates VI Eupator of Pontus, who was famous for his knowledge of herbs and poisons.
• The above-ground parts of the plant were once used to dye wool yellow.
• Thanks to the hooks on the fruits, the seeds travel with animals, sometimes far from the parent plant.