Cultivation and utilization of wasp grass

It looks like peppermint, but it has nothing to do with mint. The whole plant exudes a strong lemon fragrance, and it is a great enjoyment to drink tea with fresh or dry leaves. Can be planted all the year round, like a wetter climate, but summer should be avoided. Can be slightly resistant to drying, but need more water, the growth will be good. Therefore, we should keep the soil properly moist and don't let the soil be too dry.

[scientific name] Melissaofficinalis.

[English name] LemonBalm,BalmMint,BeeBalm

Labiology

[character] perennial herbs, plant height about 30cm to 50cm, good branching, so clustered, leaves heart-shaped, leaf margin shallowly serrated, leaf veins obvious stems and leaves densely covered with coarse villi, flowering is rarely seen in Taiwan, but the stem suddenly grows when flowering, the new leaves become smaller, and the flowers are whorled in the axils of the leaves. In addition to the green leaf variety, there is also a golden variegated leaf species, in which the performance of the variegated leaves is unstable, and the golden leaves are prone to sunburn and poor growth. Xiangbong steppe is produced along the coast of the Mediterranean and West Asia, and its economic cultivation is more common in Central Europe, while the tea consumed by American immigrants is the native American tube wasp grass.

[cultivation method] Vilia is naturally strong and easy to cultivate, compared with other herbs, it is more heat-resistant and the soil moisture is high without rotting roots, so it can still grow well in the high-temperature and rainy environment in Taiwan in summer. About two weeks after the initial planting, after the new root has been developed, it should be picked 2 or 3 times in a row to promote more branches to increase the harvest in the future. Because the stem is slender and the branches will lodge naturally after elongation, this habit makes the plants occupy a large area, so the plant spacing in foreign economic cultivation fields is about 50 cm, and it is more suitable to plant in flowerpots with a large area.

Propagation can be done by sowing, cutting and dividing plants. As the seeds have good optical activity, there is no need to cover soil after sowing, and the germination rate is about 50%. Cuttings with terminal buds 5 cm long are easy to survive in a clean medium and can be transplanted in about 2-3 weeks, but note that the leaves of vanilla are thin and must be watered regularly to maintain humidity and shade 50%, otherwise the cuttings will be dry before they have time to send roots. The ramification rule is that the part of the plant stem that touches the ground is easy to grow roots and can be replanted after cutting.

[harvest and utilization] the harvested sweet bee grass is mainly stem and leaf, which can be cut directly, and the leaf base can be easily re-germinated, but if the inflorescence appears, it should be removed immediately to promote regeneration, because flowering and seed will stop its growth. Vanilla tastes pleasant and not irritating, so it is suitable to be used as a seasoning when cooking. Vanilla tea is also very simple. 1.5-4.5 grams of fresh vanilla in a liter of boiling water is filtered for 10 minutes. Pharmacologically, it has the effect of calming and treating insomnia, and it is also known as "green wound medicine", because the carbon oxide contained in vanilla oil absorbs oxygen. Make the bacteria die from lack of oxygen, but it is better to use no more than 10 grams a day. Home use: the juice extracted from fresh stems and leaves has the effect of embellishing wooden furniture and giving off luster.