If you want to plant the shrub directly in a visible area, you should find a bright, semi-shady location for the elf flower. You can also use this grateful plant to add greenery to previously bare areas under trees. You would then just have to check whether the foliage of this tree lets in a minimum amount of sunlight, which a goat weed plant also needs.
Profile
- Goatsweed is also known under the names elf flower or sock flower.
- Botanical name: Epimedium grandiflorum.
- These are shrubs with flowers in white, pink, yellow or purple.
- They grow in partial shade and sometimes in the shade and are easy to grow.
- As a medicinal herb, the goat weed plant is said to have special effects on sexuality and general physical well-being.
Growing and care
The young plants (which you can also grow yourself from seeds) are planted in the spring after the Ice Saints, when there is no longer any risk of late frosts. Once goat weed has grown, most species are well hardy. Once you have dug the planting hole, you should first add good, ripe humus to the pit. The goat weed plant is one of the heavy feeders with high nutrient requirements. Humus is also mixed into the soil to close the planting hole.
In nature, the elf flowers prefer to grow in sparse forests - they can therefore tolerate any soil that is even remotely similar to a forest floor. Your horny horny goat weed can be left slightly moist as long as the soil is permeable enough so that it doesn't sink into lakes of accumulated moisture (then the roots could start to rot). A horny horny goat weed plant, on the other hand, does not experience complete dryness; at least the roots will always be able to draw moisture in the forest.
To start with, goat weed needs a lot of moisture. It is best to leave a small channel around the planting hole when planting so that rainwater can collect and then flow towards the roots. Once the goat weed has grown well, you can always ensure a slightly moist soil environment, then the roots can never dry out, which could cause the goat weed to take offense.
Tip:
A wall floor very often has a slightly acidic soil environment. So you can do your goat weed a favor if you add slightly acidifying fertilizer (coffee grounds) or mulch (coniferous litter). And you should, on the other hand, make sure that you leave out goat weed if you apply lime powder anywhere in the garden (which changes the pH of the soil in a more alkaline direction).
Once your goat weed has established itself, it is almost impossible to stop it. You should even prune the plants by about a hand's width every spring, this will help with flower development. The elf flower, which is always keen on nutrients, is also happy about a generous amount of compost being added to the soil between the individual plants at the beginning of the season; the undemanding plant does not need any more care.
Effect
Goat weed is said to have very special powers, which is why in Chinese medicine it is called “Yin Yang Hou”=“lewd goat root”, the English express themselves with their “Horny goat weed”, the “Horny goat weed”.)kraut” is a little clearer. The name in both languages probably goes back to similar observations by shepherds whose billy goats (the only animals that fearlessly eat the spiny-ciliated leaves) showed unusual sexual desire and stamina after nibbling goat weed.
The ingredients have of course been examined. n-Hexacosyl alcohol and the kaempferol derivatives icariin and des-O-methylicariin, which belong to the flavonoids (secondary plant substances), were found. The combination of these substances is intended to ensure that the blood supply to the sexual organs is stimulated - there is even talk of an effect that increases testosterone levels and an increase in the number of sperm. In China, the plant has long been used to produce aphrodisiacs. However, we are still awaiting a final scientific study of the ingredients.
However, other overall physical effects are also suspected:
- like expansion of blood vessels
- Promoting memory skills
- Lowering blood pressure
- antiphlogistic (anti-inflammatory)
- diuretic
- antioxidant effects
Therefore, it is believed that goat weed may have an overall rejuvenating effect.
Caution when using
However, the active ingredients also include glycosides and alkaloids, substances that can have a toxic effect if the dosage is too high. Nosebleeds, dizziness and vomiting have been reported when consuming tea made from dried goat weed in excess. Therefore, a limit of use to one cup per day is generally recommended, and cautious people will refrain from using it themselves (which should only take effect after two weeks) without first consulting a specialist.
