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Sweet Woodruff
Galium odoratum
Sweet Woodruff blooms from May through June.
Months here are Northern Hemisphere months; in the Southern Hemisphere, shift them by six months.
Growing Sweet Woodruff
Plant it in full shade. It prefers moderate water. It is hardy in USDA zones 4–8. Expect it to reach about 8 in tall and 16 in wide at maturity, in roughly 2 years (not yet checked).
What this means
Written with AI assistance and not yet checked plant by plant against recorded sources, so treat every fact above as a starting point. Its scientific name was checked against botanical registries, an audit keeps its values consistent with the rest of the library, and a July 2026 review re-read the main facts of every plant then in the library against horticultural authorities without recording a source for each, which is why none of that counts as checked here. The source-by-source check is working through the whole library in the open, and a checked plant says so in this row.
When to plant Sweet Woodruff
Plant Sweet Woodruff in early spring as soon as the soil is workable, or in early fall at least six weeks before your first frost, so roots establish in cool weather. In zone 6, the middle of its hardy zones 4 to 8, spring means March to May and fall means August or September. Once settled, it blooms from May to June.
Month-by-month timing for your zone is on the planting calendar; if you garden near zone 6, the middle of this plant's hardy range, start with zone 6 in March. Derived from the plant's category, zones and bloom months plus typical zone frost dates, not checked separately.
How big does Sweet Woodruff get?
8 intall5 ft 7 inan adult16 inwideSee Sweet Woodruff in a garden plan: the planner shows it in 3D beside everything else you add, growing toward this size over the years.
How far apart to plant Sweet Woodruff
Derived from the mature spread above by a fixed rule, not checked separately: spacing is the spread, center to center.
Space Sweet Woodruff about 16 in apart, center to center, so each plant has room to reach its full width.
Add Sweet Woodruff to a garden plan and the planner draws it at its full width, so you see the spacing before you buy.
Good to know about Sweet Woodruff
Curated from university extensions, botanic gardens and other primary sources, with the source named on every note. A note reports what its source says; where that differs from a fact above, the fact above is this entry's stored value, and its mark says whether it has been checked.
Safety
Coumarin, the compound behind its scent and flavor, is toxic in quantity and hard on the liver at high doses. Use only small amounts to flavor food. per NC State and Molecules
Worth knowing
The fresh plant is nearly scentless; only as the cut foliage dries does it develop its famous sweet scent of fresh-mown hay and vanilla. That scent is coumarin. per Penn State
The blood-thinning question
NC State warns the flowers can thin blood if eaten in quantity. Toxicology sources disagree: fresh or dried woodruff does not, but moldy material becomes a real bleeding hazard. per NC State and Cornell
Spreads fast; can turn weedy
In moist, fertile shade it runs hard by rhizome and seed into a weed-suppressing carpet, and can overrun neighbors. Drier soil and cooler sites keep it tamer. per NC State
Thrives in deep, dry shade
One of the few groundcovers happy in deep or even heavy shade, including the dry, root-filled ground under trees like black walnut, whose juglone does not bother it. per NC State
Deer and rabbit resistant
Reliably passed over by deer and generally left alone by rabbits, so it holds up as a shade groundcover where browsers are a problem. per NC State
Few pests or diseases
Largely trouble-free: no serious insect or disease problems reported. Powdery mildew is the main risk, curbed by good spacing and by not watering overhead. per South Dakota State
What pairs well with Sweet Woodruff
Good companions share its growing conditions and add something it lacks: an earlier or later bloom, a lower carpet in front, or structure through winter.
Azalea
Takes part shade to full shade and moderate water; opens in mid spring and overlaps into this one's season; taller at 4 ft, for the layer behind it; evergreen, so the bed keeps its shape through winter.
Northern Sea Oats
Takes part shade to full shade and moderate water; blooms in midsummer as this one finishes; taller at 3.5 ft, for the layer behind it; its seed heads stand through winter, for structure and the birds; this one spreads, so it will crowd its neighbor in time.
Summersweet
Takes part shade to full shade and moderate to high water; blooms in midsummer as this one finishes; stands well above at 6 ft, a canopy to plant beneath; its white flowers settle the white.
Camellia
Takes part shade to full shade and moderate water; blooms in midwinter, before this one opens; stands well above at 6.5 ft, a canopy to plant beneath; evergreen, so the bed keeps its shape through winter; they only overlap in zones 7 to 8.
Pachysandra
Shares full shade and moderate water; opens in mid spring and overlaps into this one's season; evergreen, so the bed keeps its shape through winter; its white flowers settle the white.
Ligularia
Takes part shade to full shade and moderate to high water; blooms in midsummer as this one finishes; taller at 4 ft, for the layer behind it; a soft color beside the white; this one spreads, so it will crowd its neighbor in time.
Goatsbeard
Takes part shade to full shade and moderate water; overlaps, then carries the display into midsummer; taller at 4 ft, for the layer behind it; its white flowers settle the white; this one spreads, so it will crowd its neighbor in time.
Ostrich Fern
Takes part shade to full shade and moderate to high water; taller at 4 ft, for the layer behind it.
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