Cut for harvest
Anyone who wants to take advantage of the healing powers of the lady's mantle should harvest the plant in good time. With the beginning of the flowering period, the time begins to harvest it. The leaves and stems as well as the flowers are cut off.
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The harvested herb can be dried after harvest to give it a longer shelf life. Be careful not to expose the lady's mantle to excessive heat or direct sunlight when drying. This would lead to the plant parts turning brownish and losing active ingredients.
Later you can do all sorts of things with the dried herb. It is suitable, for example, for making tea, compresses, ointments and mouthwashes. Among others it works:
- promotes the flow of milk when breastfeeding
- relaxing on the uterus
- anti-inflammatory
- reassuring
- pain reliever
- blood purifying
- stimulates blood circulation
Cut back before the onset of winter and afterwards
Another cut is made every year before the onset of winter. Here the lady's mantle is subjected to a strong cut back. In autumn, cut the long and withered inflorescences to the ground.
If necessary, you can also remove old leaves. But be careful: leave some leaves on the plant. It works like a natural frost protection in winter. It protects the clumps of the plant from wintry moisture, snow and ice.
After the winter has passed and the warmer days knock in the spring, you can proceed with the cleanup pruning. Begin as soon as the lady's mantle is about to forcefully drive out again. Cut off any parts of the plant that are bothersome and look unsightly.
Prune to extend the flowering period
Another reason to cut lady's mantle is to extend its flowering period. The herb usually blooms for several weeks in June. If the old inflorescences are cut off after the flowers have wilted, new buds will form a short time later and flowering will last until September. The flower stalks are simply cut off close to the ground.
This cut after the flowering period has the additional effect of preventing the plant from sowing itself. In addition, it does not lose too much strength by developing its seed heads and the leaves keep their healthy appearance.
It is also worth pruning during the flowering period. You can cut off the freshly opened inflorescences and use them to create a bouquet, for example. These cut flowers have a long shelf life in the vase compared to other cut flowers.
Tips & Tricks
Use either sharp scissors or secateurs to cut. Clean the tool beforehand so that there is no risk of diseases from previous cuts being transferred to the lady's mantle.
KKF
