Worth knowing:
The rather undemanding and frost-hard Bergamot with its aromatic lemon fragrance is without a doubt one of the most beautiful medicinal plants. In a temperate climate it brings already from end of June and until September a nice coloring into your midsummery garden, when it shows its red-coloured inflorescences that remind one of a whorl. All parts of the plant, including the blossoms, the leaves and the stalks, have a pleasant aromatic lemon fragrance due to the high content of essential oils and thymol.
Natural Location:
Originally, the Bergamot comes from North America and is mainly found in moist woods in the eastern USA.
Cultivation:
Place:
The Bergamot prefers a sunny place, and in tub cultivation it can be moved outdoors from mid May.
Care:
A loose, humus-rich soil that stores water easily or a special earth for herbal plants would be the best option for cultivation. Water the plant plentiful during the growth period, but always let the substrate become dry on the surface before watering again, and avoid water logging. From spring until autumn, you may provide the Bergamot with fluid fertilizer for herbs every four weeks. During autumn, after the blossoming, or in early spring you can prune the plant back until a handswidth above ground, and the rest of the year you only have to take out the dead parts from time to time. If your plant grows too dense, you can also easily split the Bergamot.
During the winter:
Outdoor plants should be pruned back before the winter season. Watering and fertilizing is not necessary any more. Tub plants, however, hibernate best in a cool and frost-free and either bright or darker place.
Picture credits:
- © © H. Zell - CC-BY-SA-3.0 - http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0
- © Frank Laue - © Saflax - http://www.saflax.de/copyright
- © Frank Laue - © Saflax - http://www.saflax.de/copyright
- © Henry Heatly - CC-BY-SA-2.0 - http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0
- © Hermann Luyken - CC-BY-SA-3.0 - http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0
- © Karelj - CC-BY-SA-3.0 - http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0
- © Kor!An - CC-BY-SA-3.0 - http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0
- © Kor!An - CC-BY-SA-3.0 - http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0
- © H. Zell - CC-BY-SA-3.0 - http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0
