• Good for wet areas
• Provides nectar and pollen for bees
• Easy to grow
• Good for a wildlife garden

The deep rich purple red flowers of these tall handsome plants provide value able food for long tongued insects like bumblebees, elephant hawk moths and brimstone butterflies.

Plant care

• Height: 100-150cm
• Type: Hardy
• Aspect: Sun
• Soil: Any/alkaline
• Flower colour: Purple
• Flowering period: June – August

Loosestrife loves to grow in damp places near ponds, ditches and watercourses. It is a robust spreading perennial which can become invasive in its preferred locations and may be better contained in pots if this is a problem. It dies right down in winter and can look like a weed in spring when it emerges.

Usage

Loosestrife is a little used her in modern herbal medicine. It has an astringent and moistening action on body tissue and has been used for the treatment of diarrhoea, haemorrhoids, varicose veins and bleeding gums. It has a history as a dye plant used in the leather tanning industry and as a food and hair dye.
gums.