Hi all
anyone know how to use Valerian for tea? I read its the roots you use but i don't want to pull my plants. I have a rare Himalayan variety and the usual. Seems a waste, not to drug ourselves to sleep with it. Ideas? the white flowers are lovely. What about seeds? I dunno whatta do!
A.
It's the roots of "regular" Valerian - Valeriana officinalis - that is used for teas and tinctures. Let your valerian go to seed and either save the seed or let it self-sow, then you can dig the roots in the fall. Usually, it's roots from a plant that is three years old or more used for the sedative effect. Interesting that the flowers smell so sweet and the roots smell of sweaty feet!
You have to be pretty determined & desperate to gag down valerian root tea. It's nasty.
I agree with poppysue, valerian tea is nasty! The plant, however, is nice in the garden.
gee guys..i bet you use round up and bayer plant stuff!!! (jk)
I dont ming the valerian tea i buy at the health food store...thats why i planted it ..but
to me even the pretty white flowers smell like dirty feet!
Excuse Me! I never use round up or any sprays at all other than baking soda, soap and water. Shame on you, Annie! l.o.l. I have valerian in two spots in my garden. I just like it for the plant.
You can distinguish my valerian in there between the monarda and the blushing KO rose; this was taken a couple of weeks ago, and I think the heat and humidity are really beginning to get to it now. I don't know enough about the medicinal properties to dare to use it -- I'll get it at Basic Foods if I need it! But I do think it's pretty.
(Cringing) Roundup? Never!
But for sedative effects, I like linden/passionflower/chamomile/skullcap or crampbark/cinnamon or black haw/cinnamon teas...(cinnamon would be a flavoring agent in the tea). They work for me, and don't taste badly. If I absolutely insisted on using valerian as a sedative, I'd grind the root into a powder, and use it in capsules:)
I grow lots of valerian! I think the flowers are very "cherry pie" smelling. That's why another nickname for the flowers is "Garden Heliotrope". Very nice. Just the root stinks! I don't drink it as a tea, but make a tincture - for others. Valerian has the opposite effect on me - it wires me up.
Hi guys
Valerian tea works like a charm on me,even for a light cough.
I grow heliotrope and it smells like baby powder pie...but Valerian flowers smell like B.O. ;-)
Cyra, now yer talk'n,grind it into capsules.. and at that point,I loose interest and would rather buy them. So i guess,after she flowers,she will be pulled.To make room for linden?skullcap? Anyway I only planted it to be cool and say,'yeah I grow Himalayan Valerian! " :-)
I really need to learn to make essential oil or hydrosl. seems the next step from tea and tinctures. I have chamomile and hoped to thrown in a few Valerian leaves..alas....I am also growing cardamom and lemongrass...what have you guys got ?
Cardamom sounds great! I have lavender, blooming now. More lemon balm than I use. Tarragon, fennel, thyme, southernwood, lemon verbena in a pot, mints...This year I'm not harvesting much because last year I worked like a dog picking, drying, and making lavender stuff for pomades, sachets, etc. I made almost all my winter holiday gifts that way. Frankly, only a few people really enjoyed the lavender stuff. One person even bluntly told me not to give them anything herbal again! So, I'm giving most of it to the bees this year! (And some for myself and maybe a couple of friends.)
One person even bluntly told me not to give them anything herbal again
LMAO
Actually, it was funny!
The folks here at work are delighted with the culinary herbs (oregano, basil, etc.) but won't take a chance on much else. MAYBE a little mint, but lemon balm? That's one o' them foreign herbs!
STUFFIN' NONSENSE! how can you not like lavender even if you're not a herbie? perhaps potted up weeds for their presents this year? you can make me a herbie present any time your hear desires roybird ^_^ I LUV herbie presents.
I wanna herbie prezzie too!
I congratulate you on your good taste! I should make you sachets or something. One year I made lavender liquor. I'm not sure it would be legal to send through the mail! I may still have a jar around somewhere. I put it in cute little blue bottles with tags that said, "Drink Me". My wild, country- livin', friends in Colorado mixed it with coca cola! To each his own.
Roybird, wish you were MY neighbor; I love lavender (everything!). And we could've traded herbs; southernwood, (it's an artemisia, isn't it?) is one that I don't have, and I hear it's a bug/moth repellent....sigh. I just planted eight or so Grosso and Provence lavender hybrids, and am now looking for a variety that is fragrant, long-stemmed, and true to seed...unlike my hybrids.
How could anyone refuse an herbal gift? (Silly peoplz!)
Thanks. Back to valerian! Do any of you all make anything with it?
My valerian finally bloomed this year (one of the plants is taller than I am --- not terribly hard after all since I'm only 5'). I was originally interested in it as a medicinal herb since I often have trouble getting to sleep. I can easily believe that it tastes nasty though, as the long-awaited blossoms that I was told smelled like vanilla smell more like vanilla sprinkled carrion to me! I'm going to let it re-seed but may very well regret that decision in years to come.
I agree..those flowers STINK ! I made an bouquet today of delphinium,dahlia,and red roses,and i ruined the whole thing by adding the darn Valerian flower.pee yooo. I like to make a tisane (French for herb tea..)
in a glass pot at night after dinner or before bed with whatever is looking good... chamomile,lemon verbena,lemon balm,lemongrass,any of the mints,scented geraniums,coriander leaf,even lemon basil or a fresh yard picked strawberry or raspberry thrown in. In the heat,I might even ice it. I wanted to throw in a chunk of valarian root,or toss in a few leaves,but my sacred Himalayan Valerian,is looking more like its headed for the sacred compost heap. It is after all,dirt first,plants second!
A.
