The Inula plant also known as
Elecampane root is an herbal perennial plant that has value as a medicinal as
well as an ornamental presence in the backyard. There are actually different types
of Inula plant that is useful to the landscape and also at home. Continue
reading to learn how to grow Inula plants.
Inula Plants Info
The Inula plant is a bushy herbaceous
summer flowering plant. The Inula plant blooms from July to October in most
zones and it produces five inch blooms with slender rayed petals in yellow and
deep orange-yellow. Most of the species of the plant are hardy to USDA planting
zones five to eight. The Inula plant is a low maintenance plants that usually
get only about one to one and half feet tall with a similar spread. On the
other hand, the Inula helenium may get as tall as six feet in appropriate
conditions.
Furthermore, the rockeries, perennial
gardens and borders are actually the perfect areas for growing Inula plants,
although you can also use the plant in container gardens. Some of the types of
Inula plant are native to North America and they are found in damp pastures,
roadsides and unmanaged fields.
Elecampane Root Varieties
There are about one hundred species
in the Inula genus. A vintage herb, Inula helenium is an ingredient in
absinthe, vermouth and some perfumes. Most types of the Elecampane root have
herbal qualities and have been part of treatments for digestive ailments,
respiratory illness and to also enhance the immune system.
The Chinese had information about Elecampane
root that showed them useful in Eastern medicine as well as the source for xuan
fu hua, an important scent.
Inula helenium and I. magnifica found
growing wild in the United States have naturalized when they escaped from
cultivation. The majority of the genus is native to central Asia. Inula
verbasscifolia is native to the Balkans and Italy and has foliage like lamb’s
ears, with fuzzy white hairs.
How to Grow Elecampane root
The seeds can be started indoors in
flats six to eight weeks before the date of the last frost. You can transplant
them outside when soil temperatures have warmed to at least sixty degree
Fahrenheit. Plant them twelve inches apart and keep the seedlings well watered.
The Inula plant will often form only vegetative growth the first year but will
flower prolifically the next year. The plants in some climates will spread each
year and they will require division approximately every third year. In a perfect
condition they can also self seed.
Caring for Inula Plant
Elecampane root actually need plenty of space
to grow, also a well drained soil and a sunny location. The Inula plants are
tolerant of a range of soil types, but make sure you avoid heavy clay soils
which do not drain well. You can prune back the Inula plants in early spring to
remove the dead stems from winter. The Inula plants have few pests and disease
problems. The Inula plants are relatives of aster plants and they benefit from
a top dressing of manure around the base of the plants in spring.
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