How to Grow Sweet Woodruff (Galium Odoratum)

Hi, this Yolanda Vanveen, and in this segment we're going to learn all about how to grow sweet woodruff. And it's a gorgeous ground cover from Europe. Galium odoratum or sweet woodruff is native to Europe, so it's found all over Europe. So it's pretty hardy, it can go down to zone five which means that it can actually go below freezing, maybe as low as zero degrees or even minus ten degrees, so it's really hardy and really easy to grow in almost any climate. So I love my sweet woodruff or my galium odoratum and in the fall the foliage turns a little bit bronze and has different shades just like the fall colors of a maple tree, so that makes it really pretty, and they have beautiful flowers and the foliage have a sweet new like a honey fragrance and they make great potpourri or sachets and they are even used as a tea. And they even use it in wine in Germany. So it's great in the rock garden or herb garden or as a ground cover. Now sweet woodruff actually does better in part shade, sometimes if they're put in full hot sun, they'll sunburn. So if you live in a real mild climate you could probably put them in part shade and they'd do really well. But if you live in a really hot climate then you definitely have to put them in almost full shade because if they get too much sun they'll burn. But they're a gorgeous plant that you can start by seed in the spring or you can actually take any part of a division, they're just like any other ground cover as long as you've got part of the plant and a root, you can turn around and plant it and it will come back. And it's hardy down to zone five, so you can plant it outside knowing that it will come back from year to year to year if you live in any climate that's zone five or warmer. And they're a great garden ground cover.