Guide to growing garden plants - Cimicifuga (Bugbane)
Plants of the Cimicifuga genus are hardy perennials that flower from the middle until late on in the summer.
They have brush like blooms with tiny white flowers.
Other names for Cimicifuga include Bugbane, Black cohosh and black snakeroot. Latin names include Cimicifuga racemosa, Cimicifuga foetida and Cimicifuga ramosa.
How to grow Bugbane - Cimicifuga
If planning to grow Cimicifuga from seeds outdoors, then fresh seed should be sown in the autumn into a partly or fully shaded area of the garden that has humus rich soil and a pH of 5 to 6. If you plan to grow Bugbane as seedlings indoors from seed, then you should first store the fresh seed for two months at 13 to 15 degrees centigrade. the seeds should then be put into a bag in the fridge for a further two months. Seeds can then be sown at 15 degrees. Germination of Cimicifuga can take anything from one month to one year.
Seedlings should be planted out in mid spring or autumn with a spacing of 60cm to 1 metre dependent upon the size of the species.
Caring for Cimicifuga species in the garden
Cimicifuga should be fertilized in the spring and requires watering during prolonged dry spells. if you require more Bugbane plants then they can be divided in the autumn.