Krzysztof Ziarnek, Kenraiz, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
False Solomon’s Seal boasts beautiful white blossoms, scarlet fruit, and fragrant petals. It is native throughout North America. It grows from 30 to 75 cm tall and has light green alternating leaves and a zigzagging stem with a flower head or cluster of fruit at its tip, depending on the season.
In nature, find it in open deciduous woods, borders. False Solomon’s Seal is best when massed in naturalized plantings, wild gardens, native plant gardens, or woodland gardens and is effective with hostas and ferns. It may also be grown in shady borders or in moist areas near streams or ponds. Some have suggested underplanting them with taller ornamental plants such as roses.
False Solomon’s Seal fruit Credit Agnieszka Kwiecień, Nova, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Caring for False Solomon’s Seal
When planting, use mulch such as woodchips or flax straw to keep weeds at bay until the plants fill the space. Allow fallen leaves to stay on the plants in autumn to replenish the mulch every year. Pruning is not required.
Before a plant becomes established, roots do not like to be disturbed.
Propagation
In early autumn, propagate through division or seed. Seeds can be started in pots. It will naturally propagate through rhizomes forming colonies.
Edible and Medicinal Uses
False Solomon’s seal berries are edible but bittersweet. Careful not to eat too many because in quantity they can have a laxative effect. (Unless of course you want an laxative effect!). Young leaves are edible but not particularly tasty. Traditional medicine uses dried rhizomes to make tea to cure coughs and constipation. Clean rhizomes can be ingested in tiny amounts.
Crush the leaf or root and apply it to scrapes, rashes, small wounds, and bug bites as a soothing field poultice. Most people will find it to be somewhat anti-inflammatory and soothing to tissue discomfort. The bitter tasting, somewhat starchy, and mildly astringent root tea is gargled for sore throats and other oral irritations.
Discover Judy's simple process to dry Sage in the oven, which you can use to make tea & add taste to your dishes. Also find out the medicinal benefits of dried sage & how it helps against depression & Alzheimer's.
When reading the post, you’ll know how to care for winter plants, and what conditions to create to ensure their health and survival in cold seasons. You’ll find practical tips and the list of the best plants to grow in winter in either pots or gardens.
If you are fairly new to bulb planting, I suggest that you start with daffodil bulbs. Very few creatures will bother these bulbs. They do well in almost any situation, and they increase their number each year. Tulips, hyacinths, crocuses, and other tasty bulbs are more difficult. Greetings fellow gardeners,
GardeningCalendar.ca gets some funding from advertisers. If you click on links and advertisements at no cost to you, the site may receive a small commission that helps fund its operation.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.