Meadowsweet

Meadowsweet: how do you recognise it?

Habit

Upright clump 80–120 cm high and about 60 cm wide, with sturdy, often reddish stems.

Leaves

Pinnate, with large toothed leaflets and a three-lobed end leaflet; dark green above, often silvery and downy beneath.

Flower

Frothy, somewhat irregular plumes of countless tiny creamy-white flowers with long stamens, from June to August.

Scent

The flowers smell sweetly of honey and almond; crushed leaves have a fresh, slightly medicinal smell.

Fruit

Small, spirally twisted nutlets that turn brown in autumn.

Roots

A short, creeping rhizome; the clump spreads slowly.

Flowering: June–August · Harvest and fruit: May–August · Plants: March–April and September–October · Pruning: March and August

Why grow it?

• A native plant that suits a natural garden, a waterside or a flower-rich meadow.
• Creamy-white, scented plumes in midsummer, when many spring flowers are over.
• The flowers provide plenty of pollen for bees, bumblebees, hoverflies and beetles.
• Grows in wet soil where many other perennials rot away.
• Together with other waterside plants it makes a lovely transition from garden to pond or ditch.

Meadowsweet: where does it grow best?

• Sun or partial shade; full sun only if the soil really stays moist.
• Fertile, moisture-retentive loam, clay or peat, acid to chalky.
• Moist to wet: at the edge of a pond, along a ditch or in a boggy corner. It copes well with wet soil, but not with dry.
• Plant 50–60 cm apart; in larger groups in a wildlife garden.

Light

Sun and partial shade

Soil type

Loam, clay or peat

Acidity

Not fussy

Moisture

Normal or wet

Size

1.2 m tall, 0.6 m wide

Hardiness

Hardy (to -40 °C)

Goes well with

• Purple loosestrife: Purple-pink spikes beside the creamy plumes, in the same wet soil.
• Yellow flag iris: Yellow flowers in May–June and sword-shaped leaves at the water’s edge.
• Hemp agrimony: Dusky pink flower heads that attract butterflies in late summer.
• Yellow loosestrife: Yellow flowers in July; also native and fond of moisture.
• Common valerian: Pale pink, scented flower heads in the same damp spot.

Meadowsweet: when and how to plant it?

Plant in March–April and September–October.

1. Plant in March–April or in September–October.
2. Dig a hole twice as wide as the root ball and add compost if the soil is poor.
3. Set the plant at the same depth as in the pot and firm the soil well.
4. Allow 50–60 cm from other plants.
5. Water well straight away and keep the soil moist for the first few months.
6. A layer of compost or leaf mulch helps keep the soil moist in a less wet spot.

Care

Water

Unnecessary in a wet spot. Elsewhere, water generously in dry summers: drought brings brown leaves and powdery mildew.

Feeding

A layer of compost in spring is enough.

Deadheading

Cut off spent plumes after flowering to limit self-seeding; in a wildlife garden, leave some for the insects.

Support

Usually not needed; in a windy spot the tall plumes can flop, though.

Division

Every 4–5 years, when the centre of the clump goes bare.

Tip: Plant it where the soil stays naturally wet, such as the lowest corner of the garden or beside a pond: there it grows without fuss and stays free of mildew.

Meadowsweet: when to prune it?

Pruning months: March and August.

When: After flowering, in August, and the dead stems in March.

How:

• In August, cut off the spent plumes to limit self-seeding.
• If the leaves are brown or grey with mildew after flowering, cut the whole plant back to 10 cm: fresh new foliage soon follows.
• In a wildlife garden, leave a few stems over winter as shelter for insects.
• In March, cut all old stems back to just above the ground.

Caution: In wet soil it self-seeds readily: remove the plumes in time if you do not want seedlings.

Pruning: when and how · Pruning calendar and basic rules

Propagation

Division

In March–April or in October: lift the clump and cut it with a sharp spade into pieces, each with a few buds. Replant at once and water.

Seed

Sow ripe seed outdoors in autumn, in a pot or where it is to grow; it needs a cold spell and germinates in spring.

Meadowsweet: how does it get through the winter?

Hardy to −40 °C.

• Very hardy, to about −40 °C: no protection is needed in Belgium.
• The leaves die back in autumn; the plant overwinters with buds at ground level.
• Wet soil in winter is no problem for this plant, unlike for many other perennials.
• In a wildlife garden, leave the dry stems standing: they give insects a place to overwinter.

Diseases and pests

• Powdery mildew: White powder on the leaves, especially in dry soil and after flowering. Water it or move it to a wetter spot, and cut back affected foliage.
• Self-seeding: In wet soil, seedlings appear around the plant. Cut off the plumes after flowering or weed out the seedlings in spring.
• Rust: Orange pustules and swellings on leaves and stems, often in spring. Cut out affected parts and do not compost them.
• Aphids: On young shoots and flower buds. Ladybirds usually deal with them; otherwise spray them off with water.

Through the year

• March: Cut down old stems. Divide and plant.
• April: Plant. Add compost.
• May: Watch for aphids and rust.
• June: Flowering begins. Water if the soil dries out.
• July: Full flower: scented plumes full of insects.
• August: Last flowers. Cut off spent plumes; if there is mildew, cut back the whole plant.
• September: Plant. Collect seed.
• October: Plant and divide. Sow outdoors in a pot.
• November: Leave a few stems for insects.
• December: Rest.

Edible and useful

Flowers (June–August)

Cut the frothy, creamy-white flower heads from June to August on a dry day, when most of the flowers are open. They smell sweetly of honey and almond. For cordial, tea, in cream or panna cotta, or in a herb beer; in the Middle Ages it flavoured mead.

Leaves (May–June)

The young leaves in May–June smell of antiseptic (salicylate) when crushed; dried, a little can be added to tea.

Storing

Dry the flower heads in a thin layer or in a paper bag somewhere airy and dark and keep them in a closed jar for up to a year. Fresh, they keep for a day in the fridge.

Caution: Meadowsweet contains salicylates, related to aspirin: do not use it with an aspirin allergy, asthma, during pregnancy, with blood thinners or for children under 12. Do not drink large amounts of the tea. Shake the flower heads before use: small insects often hide in them.

Eating and using is at your own risk: see the terms of use.

Recipes

• Meadowsweet cordial (Syrup · ± 1 litre · 20 min + overnight steeping)
• Meadowsweet tea (Tea · 1 cup · 10 min)

Good for wildlife

Bees

Nectar and pollen for honeybees and wild bees.

Did you know?

• It is the food plant of the lesser marbled fritillary, a butterfly whose caterpillars feed on its leaves in wet meadows.
• It used to be called Spiraea ulmaria, which is why its Dutch name means ‘marsh spiraea’.
• The species name ulmaria refers to the leaves, which look a little like those of the elm (Ulmus).