Sweet Woodruff

A lush spread of sweet woodruff (galium odoratum) makes a beautiful groundcover in the shady areas of your garden or under trees.

The beautiful violets and early-flowering Japanese iris set off its lovely white blooms and provides a graceful reminder that spring has arrived in wooded areas.

This herb is sometimes referred to as woodruff, wild baby's breath, and master of the woods.

Its traditionally used to add vanilla-like flavor to wines and other alcoholic beverages. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration considers these uses to be safe but warns against eating it because of the risk to damaging the liver and other organs.

Description

A perennial herb that grows 8 to 12 inches tall in zones 3 to 9.

Flowers: Showy white clusters of small, funnel-shaped, four petaled blossoms appear in loose clusters above the foliage in the spring.

Leaves: Interesting whorls of six to eight lance-shaped bright green leaves grow directly from the stems.

Flavor and fragrance: No longer recommended for internal use, sweet woodruff has the clean fresh aroma of newly mowed hay. As it dries, the foliage develops a vanilla scent.

How To Grow

When to plant: Buy young plants and transplant them to the garden in the spring or summer. The seeds are notorious for being difficult to germinate. Sow the seeds in the fall where they are to grow, and let them freeze and thaw over the winter. Germination is apt to be spotty, so plant them thickly. Some seeds will wait a year to sprout.

Once it is firmly established, it will self-sow if it likes the site. Divide the established plants in the very early spring.

Where to plant: Woodruff prefers full shade but will tolerate partial shade.

Soil and fertility: Plant in moist, humus-rich soil with a pH of 5.0 to 5.5. If you grow woodruff under hardwood trees, leave the leaf litter in place and it will adequately feed the plants over the years. Plants without this source of nutrition require yearly applications of 1/2 to 1 inch of compost in the late winter.

Plant spacing: Space the plants about 8 inches apart.

Pests: Usually pest-free

Diseases: Usually disease-free

Harvesting

When to harvest: Harvest the leaves anytime one the plants are established.

How to harvest: Snip the leaves with stems.

Drying: Hang the stems upside down to air dry.

Uses

Arrangements and crafts: Add dried woodruff to potpourris, sachets, and herbal wreaths.

Tips

Make sure to place potpourris, sachets, or anything else that contains sweet woodruff where children cannot reach them.