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Sweet Woodruff
Galium odoratum
Sweet Woodruff blooms from May through June.
This entry comes from our curated library and has not yet been independently checked against outside sources. Curated is not unreliable: a standing audit keeps every entry internally consistent, and the source-by-source check is working through the whole library in the open.
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 1.3 ft wide at maturity, in roughly 2 years.
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. For the middle of its hardy zones 4 to 8 range, 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: for the middle of its range, start with zone 6 in March.
Good to know about Sweet Woodruff
Curated from university extensions, botanic gardens and other primary sources, with the source named on every note.
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 3.9 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 3.3 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 5.9 ft, a canopy to plant beneath; a soft color beside the white.
Camellia
Takes part shade to full shade and moderate water; blooms in midwinter, before this one opens; stands well above at 6.6 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.
Ligularia
Takes part shade to full shade and moderate to high water; blooms in midsummer as this one finishes; taller at 3.9 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 3.9 ft, for the layer behind it; a soft color beside 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 3.9 ft, for the layer behind it.
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