Image - Wikimedia / Chhe
All aromatic plants have something special, and the one that I am going to present to you here is no exception. Its -old- scientific name is calamintha nepeta, and it is very interesting: it has a perfect height for both its cultivation in a pot and in a garden.
In addition, it produces flowers that, although they are tiny, are of a very pretty pink-lilac color. Want to know more about her?
Origin and characteristics
Image - Flickr / Ferran Turmo Gort
It is a stoloniferous perennial herbaceous plant which is native to North Africa, the temperate regions of Asia and Europe, mainly the Mediterranean. Its current scientific name is Clinopodium nepeta, but the old one is still used, calamintha nepeta.
Grows to a maximum height of 60 centimeters. Its leaves are opposite, ovate, the lower ones being hairy and with whitish spots. The inflorescences, which sprout in summer, are axillary, solitary or appear in clusters, and are composed of 3-9 pink-lilac flowers.
Uses
Apart from being used as an ornamental, it is also medicinal. It is tonic, sudorific, carminative, antispasmodic, astringent and emmenagogue. The infusion is taken for cases of fever, stomach weakness and colic, as well as depression, insomnia, colds and respiratory infections combined with yarrow and thyme.
What are their cares?
Image - Flickr / cultivar413
Do you want to have a copy of calamintha nepeta? Provide the following care, and enjoy:
- Location: it must be outside, in full sun.
- Earth:
- Garden: grows in limestone soils, well drained.
- Flowerpot: can be had with peat black mixed with 20% perlite and an 10% of earthworm humus. Or universal growing substrate.
- Irrigation: about three times a week in summer, and every 4-5 days the rest of the year.
- Subscriber: in spring and summer, with a little guano for example.
- Multiplication: by seeds in spring.
- Rusticity: resists cold and weak frosts down to -4ºC.
What did you think of the Calamintha nepet?