Spindle

An easily grown plant, it thrives in almost any soil, including chalk, and is particularly suited to dry shaded areas. Prefers a well-drained loamy soil. If cultivated for its latex it is best grown in a dry open position. A very cold-hardy plant, tolerating temperatures down to about -25°c. A very ornamental plant, there are many named varieties. This species is often damaged by caterpillars during the flowering season. It is a favoured home for blackfly, so should not be grown near broad beans. In garden design, as well as the above-ground architecture of a plant, root structure considerations help in choosing plants that work together for their optimal soil requirements including nutrients and water. The root pattern is branching: a heart root, dividing from the crown into several primary roots going down and out [2-1]. References Carbon Farming Information and Carbon Sequestration Information Temperature Converter Type a value in the Celsius field to convert the value to Fahrenheit: Celsius Fahrenheit: The PFAF Bookshop Plants For A Future have a number of books available in paperback and digital form. Book titles include Edible Plants , Edible Perennials , Edible Trees , Edible Shrubs , Woodland Gardening , and Temperate Food Forest Plants . Our new book is Food Forest Plants For Hotter Conditions (Tropical and Sub-Tropical) . Shop Now

Edible Parts: Manna Oil Edible Uses: Colouring Oil An edible yellow dye is obtained from the fruit and seed[46, 61, 103, 183]. Pink from the fruit case, orange from the seed. These reports should be treated with some caution since many members of this genus are poisonous. One report suggests that the plant is a source of a manna, there are no further details. References More on Edible Uses

Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in a cold frame. Stored seed requires 8 - 12 weeks warm followed by 8 - 16 weeks cold stratification and can then be sown in a cold frame. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for at least their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts. One report says that the seed can be sown in an outdoors seedbed in early spring with good results. Grow the seedlings on for two years in the seedbed before planting them out into their permanent positions. Cuttings of half-ripe wood, 5 - 8cm long taken at a node or with a heel, July/August in a frame. Very easy. Cuttings of mature wood, November in a frame. Layering in July/August. Takes 14 months.