Culpeper’s Complete Herbal from 1653 advises that “by many years continuance in a place without removing…will bring forth flowers, many standing together spike fashion, one above another upon the stalk, of the form of pease blossoms, but of a very pale blue colour.”
Leguminous plant fixes nitrogen. Give it lots of room and keep it weeded so it can create the roots and runners you want. Roots penetrate deeply and take complete possession of the soil. Runners sometimes travel great distances before sending up a shoot—if the soil is loose you can pull up errant runners, coiling them like rope to hang in wreaths above the woodstove, convenient for winter teas. You can interplant small vegetables like onions, lettuce and beans during the first and second years of growth as licorice fills in.
Plant 24-36" apart in sandy well-drained soil. Full sun. Mulch to prevent heaving. Roots attain harvestable size in 3 to 4 years. Z4. Maine Grown. (bare-root crowns)
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