Sweet Mace is one of the Mexican Tagetes, the best known plants of the Tagetetes species, in England, are African and French Tagetes. They all orginated in Central and South America and were used in healing and ritual ceremonies. T. Lucida is also known as Mexican Tarragon.
I will be growing this plant for the first time next Spring. It is a tender herbaceous perennial but I may treat it as a half hardy annual so I will pot the plants up in winter and put them in a frost free cold frame.
The seeds are sown in early spring in a greenhouse or on a window ledge. They need a temperature of 20 degrees C and the germination takes between two to three weeks.They can be sown outside once the ground has warmed up in late Spring. In Summer I must remember to pinch out the growing tip to get bushy plants. Apparently the plants need a long growing season. French marigolds germinate really well a light sprinkling of seed in a pot or modules will produce hundreds of sturdy plantlets I do not know yet if sweet mace is as easy to grow.
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The aniseed scented leaves of Sweet Mace are used as a Tarragon substitute for seasoning soups, sauces and herbal butters. The dried leaves and small yellow-orange flowers can also be used to make an aniseed tea. The strong root secretion repels wire worms and supresses weeds such as ground elder and couch grass. This herb is also reputed to deter many common insect pests so it will makes an ideal companion plant for my tomato, squash and potato crops.
I will be growing this plant for the first time next Spring. It is a tender herbaceous perennial but I may treat it as a half hardy annual so I will pot the plants up in winter and put them in a frost free cold frame.
The seeds are sown in early spring in a greenhouse or on a window ledge. They need a temperature of 20 degrees C and the germination takes between two to three weeks.They can be sown outside once the ground has warmed up in late Spring. In Summer I must remember to pinch out the growing tip to get bushy plants. Apparently the plants need a long growing season. French marigolds germinate really well a light sprinkling of seed in a pot or modules will produce hundreds of sturdy plantlets I do not know yet if sweet mace is as easy to grow.
.
The aniseed scented leaves of Sweet Mace are used as a Tarragon substitute for seasoning soups, sauces and herbal butters. The dried leaves and small yellow-orange flowers can also be used to make an aniseed tea. The strong root secretion repels wire worms and supresses weeds such as ground elder and couch grass. This herb is also reputed to deter many common insect pests so it will makes an ideal companion plant for my tomato, squash and potato crops.
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