code:586
keeping the seed pot in a cool, well-lit spot outdoors
Family: Liliaceae
Common name: Silver rod, Summer asphodel, Common Asphodel
Plant Classification: Hardy bulb Hardy perennial
Minimum Height: 60 cm
Maximum Height: 1.2 meters
Packet Content(approx.): 10
In earliest spring, above handsome winter rosettes of glaucous leaves, arise branching spires of white flowers with brown veins. These reach a crescendo in June, after which they set seed, before dying down again for the winter, leaving just traces of foliage. Surprisingly, these tender-looking plants are completely frost-hardy in well drained soil.
Sowing advice:
Sow seeds at any time covering them with compost or grit 5mm deep, keeping the seed pot in a cool, well-lit spot outdoors. Artificial heat is not needed and can prevent germination so be very patient as many species will only germinate in the spring after chilling or freezing in the moist seed tray in the winter. Grow on individual seedlings in small pots until of sufficient size to be potted on or planted out into the open ground.
Medicinal usage:
The root, gathered at the end of its first year, is acrid, antispasmodic, diuretic, emmenagogue. It was used in the treatment of several diseases by the Greeks and Romans, but is not employed in modern medicine
