Growing And Using Purple Loosestrife In The Landscape

2024 Author: Sebastian Paterson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:47

Purple loosestrife for garden decoration

Loosestrife is best grown from seeds, as this plant looks better if you plant several bushes in a row.

I purchased the seeds of the "Pink Pearl" variety of loosestrife from an English company, grew according to the instructions on the package and now I am experimenting with it in the garden. The loosestrife grows up to 1 m tall, the stems are tough, like a bush, erect, bright purple-pink inflorescence in the form of an ear 15-20 cm long.

After the end of flowering, dried purple spikelets do not lose their decorative effect from rains to autumn, and by this time the leaves acquire a reddish tint. The plant does not litter with seeds, not aggressively, there are no creeping root shoots, it grows in a bush, like phlox. I suppose that after a few years its roots need to be rejuvenated by dividing the bush.

For the winter, I cut off the stems completely and cover the plant with them, it is better to remove the winter shelter early so that new shoots do not grow crooked. I cover young leaves in severe frosts in the spring, as they can freeze slightly.

If your plot is small and you use it not only for recreation, but also for growing vegetables and fruits, there is always a desire to decorate the elements of economic activity that are visible from your recreation area.

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So I freed the protruding end of the garden bed with arcs for flowers, pushed it back by 70 cm, and planted pink-colored plants on the freed land. Several loosestrife bushes, planted in a row 1 meter long, played the role of a wall covering the arches and garden plantings. On the right, I planted a Japanese spirea bush with small pink flowers - it is half a meter high, in the middle there is a pink terry erigeron bush, spreading from several roots, 30-40 cm high. Its bright green leaves cover the brown woody stems of the loosestrife.

The left corner of the bed goes to a large path and should be low, I planted a creeping pink phlox spread out, but if it is not there, you can put a few stones in the corner of the bed and plant a creeping pretty pink phlox.

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You can decorate a bathtub with water, a barrel, or a compost heap with a loose-leaf wall. My neighbor decided to make a rabatka along the wall of the house, stepping back half a meter from the wall. The foundation of the house was not a decoration for flowers, and here a loosestrife also helped out, it grew up as a wall in the background of a rabatka 5 meters long, all of the same meter height.

Large-sized plants look good against the background of the loosestrife: conifers, Siberian irises, variegated euonymus, hosts in the near row, but it is better for flowering plants to be in harmony with the loosestrife, for example, pink roses. If the site has a small reservoir in the far corner, then in order to draw attention to it, you can plant loosestrife bushes in a wide arc on the far side of the reservoir, at some distance, which can visually increase the reservoir.

The loosestrife is also good because the wall can be transplanted to another place in late summer or spring. It is unpretentious, grows in any soil with any care.

I propagate this plant by dividing the bush, and you try to cut lateral shoots before flowering, I think it will work out. Good luck.