Rubiaceae FAMILY

Asperula cynanchica

Edibility

0/5

Medicinal

1/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitPerennial

Growth—

Succeeds in almost any soil, including dry ones^[1]. Prefers a well-drained moisture retentive soil in sun or semi-shade^[2]. The flowers are vanilla scented^[3].

Propagation

Seed - sow spring to early summer in a light position in a cold frame^[4]. 2 weeks pre-chilling improves the germination rate^[4]. The seed usually germinates in 1 month at 10°c^[4]. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and plant them out in the summer. Division in spring or early summer^[2]. Basal cuttings of soft young shoots in early summer^[2]. Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Asperula+cynanchica>

Pollinators

Insects

References

[1]RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 — F. Chittendon. · Oxford University Press · 1951 · ISBN - ↩︎Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaced in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [ 200 ]).
[2]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · MacMillan Press · 1992 · ISBN 0-333-47494-5 ↩︎Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
[3]Flora of the British Isles. — Clapham, Tutin and Warburg. · Cambridge University Press · 1962 · ISBN - ↩︎A very comprehensive flora, the standard reference book but it has no pictures.
[4]Growing from Seed. Volume 2. — Rice. G. (Editor) · Thompson and Morgan. · 1988 · ISBN - ↩︎Very readable magazine with lots of information on propagation. An interesting article on Ensete ventricosum.
[5]A Modern Herbal. — Grieve. · Penguin · 1984 · ISBN 0-14-046-440-9 ↩︎Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants.