The Roman Chamomile lawns are looking good this time of year, after a drink of atmospheric water. They came through the drought surprisingly well. I get a lot of correspondences from people who want to replace grass lawns with chamomile lawns. This is a reasonable project which can be done fall or spring. Prepare a fine seedbed. So easily said, so much work to do! Erase the slate. Thats the easiest approach. Till in the grass. Cultivation is the best form of grass control. Till and wait for resurgence of grasses, then till again. Dress surface with compost and set in your transplants. When they spread, they will disallow the grasses. Family: Aster (Asteracea) Hardiness: -30 degrees F Perennial ground cover. Native to Europe. Cultivated worldwide. Plants grow thickly to interlock, forming an aromatic lawn which may be mowed to maintain close-cropped. A nice place for an afternoon nap. Happy dreams! Plant prefers full sun and will thrive especially well if transplants are planted into about 2 inches of compost on surface--this is the way we make our chamomile lawns (see picture). Very cushy carpet. Sow seed in fall or early spring, on surface. Tamp in and keep moist. Direct-seed or space transplants 8 inches apart. I do recommend planting in controlled conditions in a flat and working up nice-sized (maybe 3 inch) transplants instead of direct-seeding. This method uses less seed and is more sure-fire. I get lots of requests from people who want to make chamomile lawns. The requirements are fertile soil, full sun, plenty of water and a robust transplant. Then the chamomile lawn is more likely to succeed. But with care you can indeed direct-seed it. Mix very fine seed with sand before planting, to stretch it, increasing distance between plants. If not mowed, the chamomile will go up to flower at about 12 inches or so, making multiple flat-topped aster-like flowers, somewhat larger than those of German Chamomile, aromatic and pleasant, worthy of tea, but not quite so nice as German Chamomile for tea. Medicinally interchangeable. To maintain a Roman Chamomile lawn, keep it well-watered and when it starts to go up into flower, mow it down to about 3 inches. The energy will go back into the plants and make them spread. This is needed to maintain a dense stand. You may wish to fertilize with dilute kelp tea. Fertilize in the spring and summer.
Posted on: Thu, 16 Oct 2014 15:32:21 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015