That’s a pretty catchy title, huh?! My Solomon’s Seal, aka King’s Solomon, is dying from this crazy heat. This was the very first medicinal herb that I became aware of on this property, about 15 years ago, so it’s a special one for me. It’s in a beautiful garden area and acts as a nice border, right on the edge of the trees’ shadows. There’s some nice big, landscaping rocks in front of the patch, and I leave it naturally mulched with the oak leaves that fall there.
Look at how lush and green and healthy they were a few months ago. I took this pic of one area in the patch on April 22nd. I was so excited to watch them grow, go thru their yearly phases, and then harvest some of the rhizomes in the fall. I rarely do any maintenance to the area, like watering or weeding. Solomon’s Seal likes partial shade, ideally with the morning light and then dappled areas during the day. I have a couple of oak trees near this garden area that do exactly that.
These are 15+ years, established plants. So, I’ve been doing the same thing as all the previous years: mowing around it, removing any tall weeds (that’s an aesthetic thing for me), and leave it be. Honestly, I’ve been so scatterbrained lately, I really haven’t even looked at them, even when I mowed around them several days ago week. I saw them today!!
My poor Solomon’s Seal is burning up and dying. This stupid heat dome causing this stupid heat wave, along with a lack of rain…it’s killing off everything! I know most of these will come back next year, but I won’t harvest any of their rhizomes like this. I need to set a sprinkler there to gently water the area in the mornings and hope some of them recoup to at least finish off their summer/fall cycle.
Well, that’s a bummer! Unless there’s major improvement in the next week or two, I will have a very limited amount, if any, Solomon’s Seal products available this season. Stay tuned for an update in a few days after some watering.
Oh yeah, surgery went good. I was able to take the bandages off this afternoon, and I can shower this evening. Pain in minimal, and I’m regaining some range of motion. Yayyy! Stay cool out there. 🥵
~ Ang ✌️♥️
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