2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38
Hyssop (Latin Hyssopus) - a genus of herbaceous plants and dwarf shrubs of the Lamb family, or Lipocytes. Natural range - Western Asia, North Africa, Southern, Eastern and Central Europe. Nowadays, the plant is widely cultivated practically throughout Europe, in Russia and the USA. The homeland of the hyssop is considered to be the Mediterranean and the southern regions of Asia Minor.
Characteristics of culture
Hyssop is a herbaceous plant or a highly branched shrub 20-90 cm high. The root system is taproot, the main root is woody. Stems are numerous, rod-shaped, glabrous or pubescent with short hairs, tetrahedral, often greyish at the base. Leaves are sessile, lanceolate, whole-edged, opposite, edges slightly bent. Compared to the lower leaves, the upper ones are much smaller.
The flowers are white, pink or dark blue, collected in oblong, false whorled or spike-shaped inflorescences sitting in the leaf axils. The calyx is two-colored: outside - violet, inside - light green. The corolla is two-lipped. The fruit consists of four dark brown triangular-ovoid nuts. Seeds will remain viable for 3-4 years.
Hyssop blooms in July-September. The fruits ripen in August-September. All parts of the plant have a pleasant aroma and a bitter spicy taste. Hyssop is cold-resistant and drought-resistant, practically not affected by pests, since it contains essential oils that repel insects.
Growing conditions
Hyssop is undemanding to growing conditions. Prefers moderately moist, calcareous, loose soils. The culture of saline and swampy areas, as well as sites with a close occurrence of groundwater, does not accept. Hyssop is photophilous, develops best in open sunny places. Light shading is not prohibited. The plant does not tolerate a continuous shadow.
Reproduction and planting
Hyssop is propagated by seeds, cuttings and dividing the bush. Seeds do not need preliminary preparation. Most often, crops are grown in seedlings. Seeds are sown in greenhouses or seedbeds in March. The seeding depth is 0.5-1 cm. Seedlings appear on the 10-12th day. Seedlings are planted in open ground at the end of May, the distance between plants should be 40-45 cm. Sowing hyssop directly into the ground is not prohibited.
With the seedling method, in the first year of life, the plants grow rather slowly; in subsequent years, the half-shrubs branch strongly, bloom profusely and bear fruit. Hyssop is divided every 3-4 years. Young cuttings grow rapidly and yield a good harvest of fresh herbs. Cuttings are rarely carried out. cuttings are cut in the spring and planted for rooting in a substrate consisting of fertile soil and sand. Cuttings take root quickly enough.
Care
Care consists in weeding, loosening the aisles, watering and feeding. Intensive weed control is carried out in the first year of life, in the future weeding will not take much time. Hyssop is neutral about pruning. After each cut, fertilizing is carried out with complex mineral fertilizers. In central Russia, plantings are covered with a thick layer of peat, humus or sawdust. The culture is extremely rarely affected by diseases and pests, but prevention is necessary.
Harvesting
Harvesting of greens intended for drying is carried out at the beginning of mass flowering. It is at this point that the plants contain the maximum amount of essential oil. Young shoots of hyssop can be harvested throughout the season. With proper care and favorable growing conditions, hyssop quickly builds up a powerful green mass.
Application
Hyssop is widely used in folk medicine and cooking. Dry and fresh young hyssop shoots have a pleasant sage aroma. They are used as a seasoning for flavoring first and second courses, as well as cold snacks. Hyssop is also used to make a special tonic drink intended for the elderly. Hyssop is suitable for cooking stews, zraz, marinades, potatoes, salads and various fish dishes.
Dry leaves and hyssop oil are used in perfumery. In terms of the therapeutic effect of hyssop, some properties are similar to sage. It is useful for constipation, dyspepsia, anemia, bronchitis and intestinal catarrh. Often, dry parts of plants are used for bronchial asthma, neurosis, rheumatism, excessive sweating, chronic colitis, flatulence, angina pectoris and other diseases. Hyssop infusions and decoctions are used to rinse the eyes, as well as rinse the throat and mouth.
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