Description

Motherwort is a beautiful pollinator friendly herb to include in the garden. In terms of texture, I love motherwort’s soft leaves and gentle fuzziness on the stalks and around the flowers.

Wort means herb, so motherwort is the herb for mothers. Her medicine is calming and helps to relieve stress, anxiety and nervousness, something many mothers know all to well. But her medicine is not just for mothers, in fact motherwort can be very motherly to any of us as she offers calming reassurance to help us get through tough times.

Motherwort’s medicine doesn’t stop there, in fact she is very strong. Her botanical name is Leonurus cardiaca which means lion hearted. Motherwort is the lion hearted herb because she helps strengthen our hearts, physically speaking, by helping tone the heart muscles, even helping to grow new blood vessels when taken regularly.

In fact motherwort is an antispasmodic and can slow palpitating hearts, helping to modulate the heart beat. She can be sedating and help temporarily lower blood pressure.

Sure enough, my mother who has had increased frequency of heart palpitations as she ages (now in her late 70’s), enjoys near instant relief upon taking motherwort tincture. She takes one dropperful of motherwort tincture as soon as she feels heart palpitations coming on and it stops for her within moments.

Motherwort also helps tone other internal organs including the uterus and is used by many women to help relieve menstrual cramps or pain.

Motherwort is preferred as a tincture of the fresh flowering tops. As a tea motherwort is incredibly bitter, but as a tincture the taste while still bitter is delicious and almost chocolatey.

I am so excited to share seeds from this beautiful, giving plant with you!

Details

Lifecycle: Perennial
Lifespan: 3-5+ years
Hardiness zones: 3-7 (USDA)
Habitats: Disturbed soil, hedge edges, gravelly soils in Europe
Plant size: 2 ft wide x 5 ft tall
Light: Full sun or part shade
Soil: All soils, marginal soils
Water: Moist soil, some drought tolerance
Seeds per packet: 125 seeds

Seed Starting

Sow seed in flats or pots in the spring, just barely cover with soil and keep moist until seeds germinate. Divide seedlings when they are large enough to handle into individual post and plant them out in the summer when they have a few sets of leaves.

Cultivation

Motherwort is easy to grow and takes little attention other than keeping the base weeded while establishing and offering regular water.

Prune back the stalks after they have flowered during the year for a second flush of growth, or alternatively prune the stalks in the winter before the following season. Pruning and deadheading the stalks down to new growth, or even to the ground, will reinvigorate the plant and encourage a longer life.

Harvest

Harvest the fresh flowering tops of the plant while it is in bloom to make tincture from the fresh plant.

Propagation

Motherwort is best grown from seed but can also be divided in the fall, winter or early spring.

Seed Saving

After the seed head has dried, clip portions of stalks with dried seed heads into a container. Allow them to further dry and then thresh by stepping on them, crushing them lightly with a blunt tool or using thick gloves since dried seed heads are prickly. Screen and lightly blow on the seed to winnow dust and small bits of flowerheads.