Meadowsweet

This upright perennial can reach 4 ft in height, with its masses of cream flowers, it is sometimes mistaken for one of the parsley family.

Uses

Meadowsweet is the food plant for the larvae of several moth species including the emperor moth, grey pug, Hebrew character, lime-speck pug, mottled beauty, and the satellite. Many species of insects are attracted to the flowers.

Persistence

This upright plant is able to persist into winter.

Strengths

This plant is able to grow in damp soils alongside canals and rivers, as well as water meadows in boggy and seasonally flooded ground. To grow meadowsweet all you need is a spot in full sun with rich, moist soil.

Frost Tolerance

Seedlings may be killed by frost.

Ideal Sowing Time

Can be seeded during the late autumn for spring germination, requiring a period of vernalisation for optimum germination rates. Seeds can take a long time to germinate, generally its about 21 days but it can take up to three months, depending on conditions.

Management

Annual cutting can be used to control coarse and dominant meadowsweet effectively.

Distinguishing characteristics

Seed
Flattened, kidney shaped seeds with pointed ends, light green-brown in colour.

Flowering Plant
This species has masses of cream flowers, the flower stalks however, are not arranged in umbels, and there are numerous stamens and carpels. The stems are up to 4 feet tall, with leafy stalks. Meadow-sweet has up to 5 pairs of large, strongly toothed leaflets on the lower leaves, which are often white and hairy underneath.

Additional Info

Flowers June-September.

You can find Meadowsweet in the following mixtures

• Acid & Clay Soil Mixture
• Damp Meadow

History

Meadowsweet was said to be Queen Elizabeth I’s favourite scent and means ‘queen of the meadow’ in several languages.