An old Italian manuscript from the 14th century already shows a picture of the maiden in the green. In the 16th century, the exotic-looking plant – at that time with full, blue flowers – was widespread in German gardens. Unfortunately, the wild beauty went out of fashion with the introduction of the large-flowered and colorful summer flowers. Today, the Nigella damascena is again a welcome resident, especially in cottage gardens and wild gardens. Not least because it is considered to be very uncomplicated and frugal.
Table of Contents
Characteristics
- botanischer Name: Nigella damascena
- Genus: Black Seed (Nigella)
- Family: buttercup family (Ranunculaceae)
- Trivial names: Jungfer im Grünen, Gretchen in the bush, Damask black cumin, Venus hair
- annual herbaceous plant
- Origin: Mediterranean
- Growth height: 20 to 70 cm
- Leaves: heavily pinnate
- Flowers with a wreath of hair-like bracts
- Flowering period: June to August
- Flower color: Blue (originally), white and pink (rarely purple and reddish)
location
The fast-growing spinster in the countryside is easy to cultivate. It fits wonderfully into romantic or dreamily arranged gardens, but is also an enrichment for beds with a Mediterranean touch. The filigree plant is best planted in a bed with other annual summer flowers or perennials. She is able to quickly fill any gaps. The Nigella damascena is also suitable for bowls, tubs or window boxes, provided it gets a sunny location.
- Light requirements: sunny to light semi-shade
- protected as much as possible from strong winds
- for beds, borders or front gardens
- also suitable for pot culture
- smaller variants also grow in balcony boxes
floor
The Venus hairy, as the Nigella damascena is also called, does not make high demands on the garden soil or the substrate. It thrives in almost any spot in the garden that offers it many hours of sunshine – even on lean and dry soil. But then it doesn’t grow that much there. Optimal soils are loose, not very rich in nutrients and moderately moist.
- gets along with almost all soils
- preferably humus and moderately nutritious
- good water permeability
- also grows on poor soils
substrate in the bucket
In the tub or in the balcony box, the Jungfer im Grünen offers a breathtaking flowering spectacle for the terrace, the balcony or the house entrance. Dwarf varieties such as Nigella damascena ‘Blue Midget’ (only 20 cm high) can also be cultivated in balcony boxes. If you use high-quality potted plant substrate, you create the best conditions for healthy and flowering growth. Alternatively, you can use a self-mixed substrate. It consists of:
- flowering plant soil
- humus or mature compost
- some sand or grit
sowing
Various seeds are available in specialist shops. Most of these varieties have blue flowers, but there are also variants with white or pink flowers. Well established, the damsel in the open usually reproduces all by itself by scattering its seeds. In some gardens even more intense than desired. Despite this, the plant does not tend to become invasive and crowd out other plants.
Sowing in spring
Nigella damascena is an annual herbaceous plant. That’s why it dies before winter. Ready-made plants are only available in stores in exceptional cases. The Jungfrau im Grünen is usually grown from seed every year. Overseeding at certain intervals makes sense so that you can see their extraordinary flowers until autumn. However, this is only necessary if the Jungfer im Grünen is cultivated in the garden for the first time. Once the plant has established itself in the bed, it will sow itself. A pre-cultivation in the house is not necessary, since late frosts cannot harm the robust venus hairs.
- Timing of first sowing: end of March/beginning of April directly outdoors
- Loosen the soil in advance and rake into fine crumbs
- Throw seeds across the bed
- Sowing depth: press down lightly and cover with a fine layer of sand
- Germination time: 7 to 16 days
- Germination temperature: at least 12 degrees
- later separate to 15 to 20 cm
- Relay sowing recommended for continuous flowering
- second sowing in early May
- possibly third sowing: early June
Sowing is also possible from March in tubs or other containers. The Nigella tolerates full sun at any stage without any problems and can therefore be placed in its final location or sown from the very beginning – i.e. before germination.
Sowing in autumn
In addition to the usual sowing in spring, the seeds can also be scattered on the garden soil as early as September. In this case, in contrast to spring sowing, flowering is particularly early. A disadvantage of autumn sowing, however, is that the flower buds can freeze to death during late spring frosts. In this case, the Jungfer im Grünen will probably not bloom again this year. However, the herbaceous plant is not overly sensitive to cool temperatures.
pour
Gretchen im Busch is one of the undemanding garden dwellers and gets by with relatively little water – except for the germination phase, in which the soil should always be moist. During longer periods of drought, it should be watered regularly. However, it easily survives one or the other day when it is not watered. Avoid persistent wetness or even waterlogging, because the filigree plant does not tolerate wet roots.
Fertilize
A spinster in the green usually does not need any additional nutrients during the growing season. It does well without regular fertilizer application. Only a little compost or humus, which is worked into the soil in spring or autumn, provides the undemanding plant with the necessary nutrients all year round. If you want to do something good for your Gretchen im Busch, mulch the garden soil and remove weeds from it regularly.
To cut
With annual summer plants like the Nigella damascena, a classic pruning is of course superfluous. However, if you want to limit the plant’s urge to reproduce, regularly cut out faded flowers or the seed pods so that the seeds do not ripen and sow themselves. In autumn or spring, the maiden in the green can either be cut off close to the ground or, alternatively, completely removed from the garden soil to make room for new plants.
hibernate
For a whole summer, the Jungfer im Grünen blooms with all its might until well into autumn. When the warm days are coming to an end and the first frosts are covering the home garden, the growing season of the Venus-haired ones is also over. However, as an annual plant, when it dies in October, it has already ensured its survival with its numerous seed pods. The plants therefore do not need winter protection. If you want the Nigella damascena to sow itself, only remove wilted plants in spring, otherwise immediately after they have died. In very mild regions, young seedlings survive the winter completely unscathed. In cooler areas, the seeds do not germinate in the fall, but after a rest period in the spring, so there is nothing to worry about here either.
propagation
Around August, the seeds of the Damascene black cumin, as the maiden in the green is also called, begin to ripen. The eye-catching, decorative seed pod turns brown as it ripens. The seeds are ripe when the capsule finally dries up. When the weather is dry and sunny, the seed pods open all by themselves and eject the ripe seeds. In good locations, the Nigella damascena spreads all by itself – if you let it. If independent seeding is not desired, either the faded flowers or at the latest the immature seed pods should be removed.
Samenernte
If you want to harvest the seeds and sow them yourself next spring, you should let them mature on the plant for as long as possible. Ripeness can be recognized by the rustling sound when the capsules are shaken. In this case, the seeds are already dry in the shell. Shaking out the seeds is easy when the seeds are already dry. If the seeds are still slightly damp, open the capsule and let it dry on newspaper in a dry and warm place for a few days. A single infructescence yields between 30 and 100 fine seeds. These can be sown in autumn or stored dry over the winter to be sown in spring.
Special Varieties
The plant owes its name to the eye-catching flowers. Around the petals are strongly incised bracts that enclose the flower. The distinctive petals are naturally bluish, but they also come in varieties with white or pink flowers.
‚African Bridge‘
- snow-white flower with a black centre
- dunkelrote Samenhülsen
- Growth height 50 to 90 cm
‚Alba‘
- bright white flower
- Growth height: 50 to 60 cm
‚Blue Midget‘
- Zwergsorte
- Growth height 20 cm
- Flower color: blue, violet
- also suitable for bowls or balcony boxes
‘Miss Jekill’
- mostly blue flowers
- sometimes also shades of pink and white
- Growth height 50 to 60 cm
‚Moody Blues‘
- blooms in different shades of blue on one plant
- Growth height: 80 cm
‚Mulberry Rose‘
- flowers light pink and fades to pink
- semi-double flower
- Growth height: 40 to 60 cm
Persian Rose’ (Persisch Rosa)
- blüht in Altrosa
- Growth height: up to 40 cm
‚Delft Blue‘
- special variety with blue veins on a white background
- Growth height: 60 to 90 cm
diseases and pests
The spinster in the green is a very uncomplicated plant that is hardly affected by pests or diseases. However, it is considered snail resistant. If the plant does become ill or is infested with aphids, it is not worth using a pesticide. Simply get the Nigella out of the ground and dispose of it with household waste. A new sowing quickly closes the resulting gaps in the bed.
Conclusion
The Jungfer im Grünen has many names. But it doesn’t matter whether it’s Gretchen im Busch, Damaskener Kümmel or Venushaare – it’s always the annual summer flower that can be cultivated by anyone in the garden or on the balcony without any problems and requires almost no work, but is robust and floriferous.
