Description
Rue is a perennial plant with a woody base, mostly used in the gardens for its aromatic, bluish-green, ferny foliage. The flowers are yellow, small in size, but attractive for pollinators in early summer.
The leathery bluish foliage remains in good looks into late fall and it will turn brown only after a serious cold snap. It is a perfectly cold hardy species which as it ages resembles a small shrub, it just requires pruning back in the spring.
A great addition for hot and dry situations in the garden, scree gardens, rock gardens (good drainage required!).
Rue is a species of high symbolism in many countries; also cultivated as a medicinal and culinary herb in former times; I don’t think it is not used much nowadays but I may be wrong.
I never had any problems, but is good to know that, like other members of Fam. Rutaceae (Dictamnus), it can cause dermatitis on sensitive persons (usually if you handle or brush against the plant on a sunny day). On the other hand, it provides food for caterpillars of various butterflies. There are not many perennial species from this family that we can grow in a cold climate (Ruta, Dictamnus and the small tree Ptelea).
Germination: warm germinator; pretty easy to grow, to be added on the ‘Easy plants to grow from seeds’ list.
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