It is unlikely that among the green inhabitants of the swamp kingdom there will be a more fragrant plant than wild rosemary. An interesting case is described in one of his books by the famous phenologist and expert on Russian forest D.N. Kaygorodov: “Many years ago I was hunting white partridges in the Shlisselburg district. I had to wander for several hours in a row through mossy swamps, abundantly overgrown with blueberries and wild rosemary. My dog, usually so tireless and lively, suddenly became strange after several hours of hunting. sway, gave up looking for game, began to lie down on the ground, as if in great exhaustion, with difficulty, reluctantly rose to her feet and, swaying, reluctantly approached me at the whistle, which she usually obeyed well. Wondering what had happened to her, I abandoned hunting and returned home. An hour later, after a sound sleep, the dog became completely fresh and cheerful, as if nothing had happened. Subsequently, when I once told this incident to an old hunter, he explained to me that the dog was “intoxicated” with wild rosemary, which I smelled too much of, looking for game among its bushes for several hours in a row.” D.N. is right. Kaygorodov, calling wild rosemary an insidious plant, because the initially pleasant aroma ultimately causes a very strong, sometimes nauseating, headache.
The genus Ledum, belonging to the heather family, is very small. There are 8 species known throughout the world, but only 4 are grown in gardens, including in Russia. Russian name“Ledum” comes from the ancient verb “bagulit”, which means “to poison”, and the now forgotten derivative of it, the adjective “Ledum” means: poisonous, stupefying, tart, strong. The Russian title reflects characteristic feature This bush has a strong, suffocating smell. The scientific name is "ledum" (ledum) comes from Greek ledon- this is what the ancient Greeks called the plant from which the aromatic resin was extracted - incense (ladanum). Often wild rosemary is called Daurian rhododendron, the branches of which are sold in Moscow in winter. But Dahurian rhododendron has nothing to do with wild rosemary. This name is incorrect. So, let's get back to the real wild rosemaries.
Greenland rosemary(Ledumgroenlandicum)
A shrub native to North America, up to 1 meter high, with oblong leaves, white flowers collected in an umbrella-shaped inflorescence. Blooms from mid-June to the second decade of July. The seeds ripen by the end of September. Growth is moderate. From the end of July until autumn frosts, there are cases of secondary growth due to which, probably, the ends of young shoots do not have time to completely lignify and freeze slightly. However, this does not affect the decorativeness of the view.
Exists interesting shape wild rosemary "Compact"(" Compacta"). This is an evergreen, upright growing shrub up to 45 cm high with creamy-white flowers collected in spherical inflorescences. Blooms profusely in May-June. Young shoots are brown and pubescent. Deserves more attention. Can be recommended for planting in heather gardens.
Creeping wild rosemary(ledum decumbens)
Homeland: Eastern Siberia, Far East: Chukotka, Kamchatka, Okhotia, Sakhalin, northern part of North America, Greenland. It grows in shrub tundras on hummocks with open forests, on sandy hills, loaches, in thickets of dwarf cedar, in high-mountain sphagnum bogs, and rocky placers. Evergreen shrub 20-30 cm tall. It does not bloom profusely, but annually from the second ten days of May to mid-June. Fruits irregularly. The seeds ripen at the end of August. Grows slowly, annual growth is about 1 cm.
Large-leaved wild rosemary (Ledummacrophyllum)
Homeland: Eastern Siberia, Far East: Sakhalin, Primorye, Amur River basin; northern part of Korea, Japan (Hokkaido). It grows in the undergrowth of mountain coniferous forests, in sphagnum bogs, along the edges of stone placers among thickets of heather shrubs. Evergreen shrub up to 1.3 m tall. It blooms profusely, from the second half of May to the first ten days of June. The seeds ripen in late August - early September. Annual growth is 34 cm, rarely 6-8 cm.
Marsh rosemary(ledum palustre)
Widely distributed in nature and most often found in culture. People call it: bagun, bagula, bagunnyak, bogovnik, bagunnik, bugun, swamp hemlock, gologolovo, bagno, oregano, oregano, kanabornik, swamp canaber, large bug grass, bog grass, swamp stupor, forest rosemary. Homeland: Arctic, East European Plain, Western and Eastern Siberia, Western, Northern, Southern Europe, Northern Mongolia, Northeastern China, Korea, North America. It grows in the tundra and forest-tundra on peat bogs, in high bogs, in the undergrowth of damp coniferous forests, along mountain rivers and streams, in the highlands, in groups, in small thickets, among dwarf cedar trees. Evergreen shrub 0.5-1.2 m tall. The diameter of the bush in adulthood is about 1 meter. Young shoots are covered with thick rusty-felt pubescence. The leaves are leathery, on short petioles, linear-lanceolate, dark green above, rusty-felt-like with hairs below, and smell when rubbed. It blooms from mid-May to the second decade of June. The flowers are white, less often pinkish, fragrant, collected in inflorescences. The fruits are dark brown capsules. The seeds ripen in mid-August.
It grows slowly. Lives in culture for more than 30 years. Overwinters without shelter.
In moss bogs, wild rosemary is in danger of being pulled into the thickness of the moss, since the moss grows every year and the surface of the bog invariably rises. Thus, the root and most of the shoots eventually end up in a waterlogged, oxygen-deprived layer and gradually die off, rot and become part of the peat, and adventitious roots form on living shoots, above the surface of the mosses. Ledum flowers make a charming impression on a moonlit night: they seem to be sculpted from white marble. A pleasant intoxicating aroma complements this truly fabulous picture.
Based on materials from the magazine “In the World of Plants”, No. 4, 2004.
Ledum palustre L., along with large-leaved, creeping and other species, belongs to the genus Ledum. But to this day, Russian and Western botanists still have disagreements regarding its belonging to a specific family. In Russian publications, this plant is classified as a member of the Heather family (Ericaceae), and in foreign publications – as a member of the Rhododendron family.
People call it bagoon, swamp, bug. There are eight species of wild rosemary, common in the temperate and arctic climate zones of the Northern Hemisphere. The most common wild rosemary in our country is bog rosemary.
Check out the photo and description of marsh wild rosemary, and also learn about its use for decorative and medicinal purposes.
Description of the marsh wild rosemary shrub
Evergreen, strongly fragrant shrub, 20-125 cm high. Young shoots with rather dense red pubescence. Leaves are alternate, linear-oblong or linear, length (1.5) 2-4 (4.5) cm and width 1.5-4 mm, overwintering, with entire edges turned to the underside, on short ones (about 3 mm ) petioles, dark green above, shiny, below, especially along the midrib, reddish pubescent. The flowers are white, five-membered, rather large (petal length 4-8 mm), collected at the ends of the branches in a multi-flowered corymbose inflorescence.
As you can see in the photo, the pedicels of the marsh wild rosemary are thin, reddish pubescent, and glandular:
The fruit is an oblong-oval, dark, slightly glandular-pubescent capsule, 4.5-5 mm long. Blooms in May - July; the seeds ripen in July - August.
Ledum flowers emit a strong intoxicating smell, so in hot, windless weather you can get “drunk” in its thickets. Brewers and innkeepers sometimes took advantage of the intoxicating properties of wild rosemary, adding it to beer for greater “hopiness.”
Similar types:
Creeping wild rosemary - L. decumbens (Ait.) Lodd., native to extreme northeast Asia. The description of this wild rosemary is similar to the marsh species, but it has creeping shoots, smaller [up to 1.4 (2.5) cm in length] leaves with strongly curled edges and few-flowered inflorescences with smaller petals (3.5-5 mm long) .
Far Eastern large-leaved wild rosemary - L. macrophyllum Tolm. distinguished by thick branches covered with brown bark, more large leaves(2.5-8.5 cm long and 4-18 mm wide), very crowded during flowering and spaced, elongated inflorescences during fruiting.
Wild rosemary - L. hypoleucum Kom., also found on Far East, is distinguished by straight thick branches and white-tomentose pubescence on the underside of the leaves.
Where does marsh wild rosemary grow?
This is a hypoarctoboreal Eurasian species. It is found in forest and tundra zones of the European part of Russia, Western and Eastern Siberia, and the Far East. Distributed from the Southern to the Polar Urals (excluding highlands), north of the Arctic Circle it grows in forest-tundra woodlands and swamps. It is found in sphagnum bogs, peat bogs, and swampy coniferous forests.
Widely distributed in the forest belt of South-Eastern Altai. On the northern slopes, under the canopy of wild rosemary-lingonberry larch forests, blueberry larch forests and blueberry-lingonberry larch forests, it is one of the dominants of the herbaceous-shrub layer. Often it also enters the lower part of the Alpine belt. It descends along river valleys into the lower half of the forest belt. Most often and with the greatest abundance, wild rosemary is found in cedar and wild rosemary larch forests, in cedar forests and wild rosemary-lingonberry larch forests.
The species is included in the Red Book of the Republic of Bashkortostan.
Growing and propagating wild rosemary
Marsh wild rosemary is frost-resistant and unpretentious, it takes root well in gardens, however, in order for this plant to develop and please the eye with its flowering, you must follow some techniques for caring for it.
When growing this plant, you need to choose the right place in the garden, given that it loves bright light or diffused light. Wild rosemary will look advantageous against the background of coniferous plants: spruce, pine, thuja.
Planting wild rosemary on permanent place produced in the spring, having previously prepared a planting hole about 40 cm deep. It is worth considering that root system The plant is located at a depth of 20 cm. When planting several bushes, you need to leave a distance of 60 - 80 cm between them.
The planting hole is filled with a mixture of peat, forest soil, pine needles, and sand. Ledum can grow on any soil, including poor and sandy soils, but develops better in areas with increased acidity(pH – 3-4). It does not tolerate compacted soil or prolonged drought.
It is recommended to pour a drainage layer (7 - 10 cm) from broken bricks. After landing seat cover with mulch of pine bark or pine needles and systematically care for the plant. Ledum responds well to fertilizing with mineral fertilizers, which must be applied at least 2 times a year (spring and autumn). In hot, dry weather, the plant is watered abundantly, the soil is loosened and mulched with peat to retain moisture. When loosening, one must not forget about the roots located close to the soil surface and carry out this work carefully.
So that wild rosemary does not lose its decorative properties dried leaves and branches are cut off.
At proper care this species is capable of growing up to 30 years. Does not require shelter for the winter.
Reproduction of wild rosemary is carried out using seeds and cuttings. The cuttings are cut in the summer, after which they are kept for 24 hours in a heteroauxin solution (0.01%). Then the cuttings are washed clean water and planted in a small container. The callus of the treated cuttings will appear by autumn, the root system will form on next year.
When propagating by seeds, only fresh seed material is taken.
Application of marsh wild rosemary and grass harvesting
Marsh wild rosemary is used for landscaping, since this plant does not require much effort when growing and at the same time perfectly decorates the garden landscape.
The plant is also used for medicinal purposes. Ledum herb preparations (infusion, “Ledin”) are used as an expectorant and antitussive for acute and chronic bronchitis, laryngitis, tracheitis, whooping cough, as well as in the complex treatment of bronchial asthma and bronchopneumonia (only as prescribed by a doctor). They also have a diuretic and disinfectant effect due to the effect of arbutin and essential oil on the urinary tract.
Marsh wild rosemary is a strong spring honey plant. It is well visited by bees. Blooms from late May to mid-June. One wild rosemary flower releases 0.22 mg of sugar in nectar per day. He lives for 2 days. Honey productivity of 1 ha of wild rosemary is up to 87 kg. Monofloral wild rosemary honey has an intoxicating effect. If it is heated in a water bath at a temperature of 70 °C for 30–40 minutes, it loses its narcotic effect. Usually, the content of wild rosemary in forest honey is low, and it does not have toxic properties.
The leaves of wild rosemary, like black root, are laid out near the burrows and the entrance holes are clogged with a phytoncide plant. Ledum is rich in essential oils that intoxicate and repel rodents. Animals leave their shelters and never return there.
The use of wild rosemary as an insecticide is also effective. Its leaves and stems, containing tannins, were used to tan leather. All parts of wild rosemary are poisonous.
Raw materials are collected in the fall (August-September). To do this, young non-lignified shoots during flowering, up to 10 cm long, are cut and dried, dried in the shade on outdoors or in dryers at a temperature not exceeding 40 °C. Dry raw materials have a characteristic pungent resinous odor.
Repeated harvesting of grass in the same area is permissible no earlier than after 7–8 years. Harvesting woody two-year and three-year-old shoots is not allowed.
When harvesting wild rosemary, care should be taken, as the plant is poisonous and has a strong odor that causes nausea, dizziness and headaches.
Ledum (lat. Ledum) is a genus of evergreen shrubs of the Heather family (lat. Ericaceae). The genus is named similarly to another genus (cistus), for similar properties - plants of both genera have an unusual strong smell thanks to the presence in its composition large quantity essential oils. The Russian name comes from the old Russian “bagulit” - meaning to poison, since the aroma of the plant can really be slightly stupefying and intoxicating.
Description
The genus consists of shrubs, wildlife- inhabitants of swamps and shores of reservoirs of northern and temperate latitudes, upright or creeping, the plant is completely poisonous. A special property of very odorous wild rosemary is the ability to destroy in the surrounding air harmful bacteria.
This is what wild rosemary looks like
The root system of wild rosemary is short, the roots are located close to the surface of the earth. The trunk is very short and almost completely underground. The crown of the bushes is highly branched, with thin shoots, with a dense edge; glandular hairs secrete essential oils with a pungent aroma.
Whole leathery leaves on short petioles are arranged in an alternate order, their shape is oblong, the edges are rolled up, the bottom of the leaf has a “rusty” edge or is covered with scales, and also has a strong odor.
The flowers on thin stalks are very small and fragrant, most often white or pinkish, collected in corymbose or umbrella-shaped dense inflorescences on the tops of the branches; there are a lot of flowers in the inflorescences. The corolla of the flower consists of 5 petals, the stamens (5-10 pieces) are longer than the corolla. The fruit is a dry capsule of five sections, small seeds with wings. Flowering occurs from April to June.
General structure wild rosemary
Popular types
The genus cannot boast of a large number of wild rosemary species included in it. There are only 8 of them, 5 of which have been actively used in decorative landscaping since the beginning of the 18th century. These wild rosemary shrubs are popular due to their unpretentiousness and beautiful flowering.
Ledum (L. glandulosum)
Marsh rosemary(lat. L. palustre) - ubiquitous in gardens and parks of temperate latitudes. Its bushes do not exceed 120 cm in height on average, and are distinguished by raised branched stems with reddish pubescence. The foliage is dark, dense and has a pleasant aroma. The flowers are small, white and pale pink, collected in numerous umbrella-shaped inflorescences. It is dangerous during the flowering period, as volatile substances are released that have an intoxicating effect on humans.
(lat. L. glandulosum) has larger flowers, also collected in umbrellas. The leaves are wider, rounded, slightly curled at the ends.
Felt pubescence of leaves
Greenland rosemary(lat. L. groenlandicum) reaches a maximum height of 0.9 m. The leaves are wrapped, linear on top, smooth on top, and soft tomentose on the bottom. Small flowers are collected in shields 5-6 cm in diameter. It has excellent frost resistance. The ‘Compacta’ variety looks very interesting - a low shrub up to 50 cm in height. Cream graceful flowers united in spherical inflorescences. The shoots have a beautiful dark brown color.
Creeping wild rosemary (L. decumbens)
(lat. L. decumbens) - the shortest species, pubescent shoots 20-30 cm long are densely surrounded by dark green oblong foliage. The inflorescences do not exceed 2 cm in diameter.
Large-leaved wild rosemary(lat. L. macrophyllum) - a tall and profusely flowering shrub, wide, light green, relatively little pubescent. The shoots lose their red pubescence over time.
Photo gallery of species
Growing and care
Let's talk about where and how to plant wild rosemary. It loves good lighting, grows successfully in partial shade, and will not die if it is in the shade, but may partially lose its decorative effect.
It needs ordinary, light, loose, acidic soil. Growing and caring for wild rosemary is possible on infertile soils. It is advisable to add sand and pine needles to the soil.
Ledum on the site
Caring for a rather unpretentious wild rosemary consists of the following operations:
- good watering, especially with a long absence of precipitation, since the plant is not drought-resistant;
- careful destruction of weeds and loosening the soil, because the roots are short and fragile, mulching with peat so that the soil does not dry out;
- periodic feeding with complex mineral fertilizers, preferably in spring period;
- pruning damaged branches for decorative purposes.
Ledum is quite frost-resistant and successfully withstands cold seasons without protective measures in the presence of snow. The height of the bushes depends on the depth of the snow cover, since uncovered branches freeze out.
Ledum seeds
Reproduction
You can propagate wild rosemary different ways: seed and vegetative (dividing the bush, cuttings, shoots of rhizomes).
When growing wild rosemary from seeds, the latter must be sown freshly harvested, but they will only sprout next spring.
To propagate wild rosemary by cuttings, they are harvested in the summer, treated with special preparations, planted in boxes; the appearance of roots should only be expected the next season. You can more successfully propagate wild rosemary by carefully dividing an adult bush or using root suckers in early spring.
Young plants are planted in holes about 40 cm deep; in group plantings of wild rosemary, the distance between specimens is at least 50 cm, since the bushes grow about a meter in diameter.
Ledum (L. palustre)
Diseases and pests
Ledum has good disease resistance and is rarely damaged by pests if you create for it comfortable conditions. Rarely occur fungal diseases with insufficient soil aeration.
Susceptible to pests spider mites and bugs that cause leaves to turn yellow and fall off. To combat them, it is necessary to spray with insecticides.
Ledum among the stones
Use in decorative landscaping and medicine
The attractive appearance of exquisitely flowering evergreen bushes with a dense crown has won the hearts of gardeners who plant wild rosemary in damp and even marshy areas in groups and one plant at a time. It can also be used to decorate the shoreline of reservoirs and on rocky hills.
Ledum contains natural essential oils that slightly irritate the mucous membranes of the respiratory tract and generally stimulate their functioning, help relieve spasms, and have a bactericidal effect. It is taken in the form of an infusion based on leaves, which contain active medicinal components in significant concentrations.
The Russian name “Ledum” means intoxicating, poisonous, strong, which accurately characterizes this shrub with a suffocating odor. The ancient Greeks obtained an aromatic resin from wild rosemary - incense.
Name
Ledum belongs to the heather family. Botanists assign it to the genus (Rhododendron). In regions with cold and temperate climate 6 species of wild rosemary grow, and 4 species are registered in Russia.
Ledum Description
Ledum is a branched shrub with evergreen, leathery leaves. Escapes dark gray grow up to 80 cm. Entire, elongated leaves have a curled edge and alternate arrangement.
A special feature of the shrub is the strong, intoxicating aroma emitted by the branches and leaves, which contain a high concentration of essential oil. The oil has a toxic effect on the human body, affecting nervous system. Leads to dizziness, headaches, nausea and vomiting, and in some cases to loss of consciousness.
During the flowering period, umbrella-shaped inflorescences on long stalks appear on the edges of last year's branches, formed from five-dimensional flowers of white or whitish-yellow color.
After pollination of bisexual flowers. The fruit begins to form, which after ripening resembles a box with five nests. The fruit splits at the base and small, winged seeds appear.
Common types of wild rosemary
How to land
Ledum is shade-tolerant, unpretentious in care and loves damp areas. Ledum planting is carried out in the spring. In order to immediately get an attractive, bright bush and not wait for one plant to grow, do a group planting of several specimens, placing them at a distance of 50-70 cm.
For the perennial, deep holes are prepared, dug to a depth of 30-40 cm. The bottom of the prepared hole is filled with drainage from a mixture of river pebbles and sand 5-7 cm thick. The soil for the full development of wild rosemary must be acidic. The hole is filled with a composition of 3 measures of peat, 2 measures of coniferous soil and 1 measure of sand. When planting, the root system of wild rosemary is located in a hole at a depth of 20-25 cm. New plantings are mulched.
Certain types of wild rosemary are less demanding on soil composition and grow well on poor sandstones. These include Greenland rosemary and large-leaved wild rosemary. When preparing soil mixtures for them, add more sand.
Caring for wild rosemary
Ledum responds positively to waterlogging, but does not tolerate overdrying and compaction of the soil.
In the hot summer months, wild rosemary is watered at least 1-2 times a week at the rate of 5-8 liters of water per bush. It is recommended to periodically carry out light loosening, acting carefully so as not to damage the superficial roots of the shrub. Wet, loose soil is covered with peat or mulch to retain moisture.
Thanks to its repellent, pungent odor, the shrub is resistant to diseases and insect pests.
The required level of acidity in the soil is maintained by watering twice a month with acidified water. Root feeding comprehensive mineral fertilizer carried out in the spring. Fertilizing is distributed around the bush in April-May. Can be sprinkled thin layer earth or dig it in. For 1 adult bush, 50-70 g/m2 is enough, for young plantings – 30-40 g/m2.
Reproduction of wild rosemary
Under natural conditions, wild rosemary reproduces by seed. U cultural species They carry out cuttings, rooting by layering, dividing the bush and planting new root shoots.
For effective rooting, the cuttings are left for a day in a 0.01% heteroauxin solution. They are then washed and placed in a container with a nutrient substrate. With spring cuttings, the root system will grow only next year.
Ledum is endowed with grace and decorative appeal, and in any case will decorate the garden. The shrub is successfully used to form group plantings, such as hedge and in solitaire compositions.
The aroma of the leaves destroys bacteria and drives away blood-sucking insects.
Do not forget that wild rosemary emits toxic substances that cause headaches, so it is not recommended to plant it near residential buildings and near an apiary. The honey from its flowers is called “drunk” and can be eaten only after mandatory boiling.
Medicinal properties
Ledum contains a rich set of useful substances, which are actively used in folk medicine. IN essential oil Ledum includes iceol and palustrol, cineole. Tannins, coumarins and resins, and flavonoids were identified in the above-ground part of the plant.
The plant has the following effects:
- Antispasmodic
- Sweatshop
- Expectorant
- Diuretic
- Wound healing
- Calming
- Antiseptic and analgesic
Ledum helps with all types of respiratory diseases, including pneumonia and bronchial asthma. It is prescribed for diseases of the stomach and liver, dysentery, cystitis and urethritis, diabetes and cancer.
Baths and lotions are effective for boils, frostbite, rheumatism, gout, arthritis, bruises and eye diseases. Compresses are applied to wounds for healing. An infusion of wild rosemary shoots helps dilate blood vessels and normalize blood flow. Ledum is used for insomnia and hypertension.
Based on wild rosemary, the production of pharmaceuticals in the form of tablets, infusions, herbal preparations, essential oils, ointments and drops has been launched.
Watch also the video
Ledum - poisonous plant and it came from its name ancient word"bagulny", which means "poisonous" or "poisonous". Its pleasant aroma beckons, you want to inhale it, but as a result, a headache occurs. Hunters go around the thickets of wild rosemary “the tenth side”, because the hunting dog, having sniffed wild rosemary, “gets drunk” and becomes lethargic.
Somewhere wild rosemary is blooming on the hills,
Cedars pierce the sky...
It seems like it's been waiting for me for a long time
A land where I have never been.
Of course, this refers to Siberia and the Far East. Ledum grows in swamps, peat bogs, moss bogs, very often it can be found in wetlands of coniferous forests with dwarf cedar, not far from blueberry bushes and deciduous woodlands (mainly among shrubby birches). Ledum can be found along mountain streams and rivers on the eastern slopes of the highlands.
Types of wild rosemary
Only 8 species of wild rosemary are known throughout the world, four of which grow in Russia:
- Creeping Ledum (Ledum decumbens). A squat shrub up to 30 cm high with dense rusty-pubescent shoots. The leaves are narrow, curled: with a width of 2 mm, the length reaches 25 mm. Small white flowers are collected in inflorescences up to 2 cm in diameter. It blooms at the end of May and blooms for one month. The annual growth is only 1 cm. It grows in the Khabarovsk and Primorsky territories, Sakhalin, Kamchatka, the Kuril Islands, the Chukotka Peninsula and the Commander Islands;
- Ledum Podbel (Ledum Hypoleucum). A shrub with straight branches reaches a height of 1.2 m. At first, the shoots are dense, white-pubescent, and then become bare. The leaves have an oblong shape, 3-8 cm long. White flowers are collected in inflorescences in the form of an umbrella. Blooms in June – July. The wild rosemary Podbel grows in the Khabarovsk and Primorsky territories;
- Ledum makrophyllum. An erect shrub up to 80 cm high, sometimes reaching 1 m. Young shoots are rusty-pubescent, becoming bare over time. The leaves reach 4 cm with a width of 1.5 cm, the edges are slightly curled. It blooms white from mid-May to mid-June. The annual growth is 4-6 cm. The homeland is the Amur River basin, Sakhalin and Primorye;
- Ledum palustre L. The most common type. An evergreen shrub 60 cm high, rare, but specimens reaching a height of 1.2 m are still found. Young shoots are rusty-felt, well pubescent, and old shoots are bare, grayish-brown in color. The roots can reach 40 cm. The leaves are dark green, up to 4 cm long, slightly curled downwards. Swamp wild rosemary has two varieties: one blooms white and the other bright pink. Small flowers are collected in 15-25 pieces in a brush in the form of an umbrella with a diameter of 5 cm. It blooms in May-June. Marsh wild rosemary grows not only in Siberia and the Far East, but also on the East European Plain.
Growing wild rosemary
In gardening the most popular view is wild rosemary. If you dig it out of the swamp and plant it in the garden, it will simply die. It is better to purchase wild rosemary from a nursery, where it is already adapted for growing in the garden.
Produced in spring in holes 40 cm deep. If several bushes are planted, then the distance between them should be at least 50 cm. Ledum prefers acidic soil. The hole is filled before planting soil mixture in the composition of sand, coniferous land and peat in proportions 1:2:3. For drainage, 5 cm of pebbles or sand are poured into the bottom of the hole. After planting, mulch.
Under natural conditions, wild rosemary thrives in poor soils, but in the garden it still needs feeding. It is carried out in the spring using: about 40 g per 1 m2 is applied to young plantings, and 70 g per 1 m2 to adult plants.
If the summer is hot and dry, then wild rosemary is watered once a week. The roots of the plant are located very close to the surface of the earth, so after watering, in order to retain moisture, the plant is mulched with peat.
Ledum propagates by cuttings and seeds. held in summer. Before planting in a box, the cuttings are placed for a day in a heteroauxin solution, which is prepared as follows: 1 tablet (0.1 g) of the drug is crushed and dissolved in 2.5 liters of water.
By autumn, thanks to phytohormone, a callus-like mass appears on the lower sections of the cuttings - callus, from which roots grow the following year. Such a long process of root formation and growth of wild rosemary does not always suit gardeners. For this reason, there is an opinion that growing wild rosemary at home is extremely difficult.
Application of wild rosemary
Ledum is an excellent honey plant, but its honey is poisonous to humans, so it is used only by bees for the development of their families.
The shoots of wild rosemary are used as medicinal raw materials. An essential oil is obtained from it, which contains tannins, vitamin C, glycosides, flavonoids and the unique substance iceol. Thanks to it, the oil has an antitussive effect and suppresses Staphylococcus aureus and Giardia.
Thanks to bright flowering wild rosemary can decorate garden plot and please the owners, but on condition that it is planted at a certain distance from the recreation area and does not “intoxicate” with its insidious aroma.