How to grow Wood Betony
I got a seedling from Horizon Herbs, and it is neither dead nor thriving, some leaves a bit yellow. I really want to make it feel good, because tincture works so well for headaches, even migraines. Like Advil without side effects (nausea and general feeling unwell.) Does it need some special soil mix or something else?
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rainbowgardener
- Super Green Thumb
- Posts: 25279
- Joined: Sun Feb 15, 2009 6:04 pm
- Location: TN/GA 7b
I'm not familiar with wood betony.
To be much help we would need to know more about how you are growing it. In a pot? In the ground? Indoors/ outdoors? What kind of soil? How are you watering? You are in SoCal in the midst of horrific drought and betony likes a lot of moisture. A picture would help too.
Despite what I said about the drought, yellowing leaves is often a sign of over watering and/or lack of nutrients (which go together since overwatering tends to flush nutrients out of the soil and make it harder for plants to access what is there).
Here's an article about growing wood betony:
https://www.heirloom-organics.com/guide/ ... etony.html
Note that the scientific name is stachys officinalis. When Linnaeus developed the binomial system of naming/ classifying plant names back in the 1700's, he gave the name officinalis to plants that were most well -recognized as medicinal, part of the "official" pharmacopeia as it were.
It is in the same genus as stachys byzantine, lamb's ears. Lambs ears are pretty heat and drought tolerant, but the wood betony may be less so. But lambs ears like rich, not sandy, soil and mildly acid pH. Sometimes when plants fail to thrive, it's because the soil conditions aren't right for it.
Hope this helps!
To be much help we would need to know more about how you are growing it. In a pot? In the ground? Indoors/ outdoors? What kind of soil? How are you watering? You are in SoCal in the midst of horrific drought and betony likes a lot of moisture. A picture would help too.
Despite what I said about the drought, yellowing leaves is often a sign of over watering and/or lack of nutrients (which go together since overwatering tends to flush nutrients out of the soil and make it harder for plants to access what is there).
Here's an article about growing wood betony:
https://www.heirloom-organics.com/guide/ ... etony.html
Note that the scientific name is stachys officinalis. When Linnaeus developed the binomial system of naming/ classifying plant names back in the 1700's, he gave the name officinalis to plants that were most well -recognized as medicinal, part of the "official" pharmacopeia as it were.
It is in the same genus as stachys byzantine, lamb's ears. Lambs ears are pretty heat and drought tolerant, but the wood betony may be less so. But lambs ears like rich, not sandy, soil and mildly acid pH. Sometimes when plants fail to thrive, it's because the soil conditions aren't right for it.
Hope this helps!