March
Licorice Plant - This plant is grown for its silvery green to chartreuse foliage. Its flowers are not very decorative. It is used a lot in containers because of its vining habit. It will grow to be about 20 inches high (or low hanging over the edge in a container) and it will spread to three to four feet. Licorice Plant is a tender perennial grown in most places as an annual, being replaced every spring.
April
Licorice Plant - This viney plant wants full sun in poor to average soil, although it will tolerate part shade. It prefers a pH of neutral to alkaline. Planted in the ground after the threat of frost has past, Licorice Plant becomes a ground cover, sometimes spreading six feet across. In the ground space Licorice Plant 18 inches to 24 inches apart. In areas where licorice plant lives outside all winter, it can become invasive if not kept in check.
If you keep your plant through the winter it will bloom in the early spring. Most people prune off the flowers because it is the foliage that is important here.
May
Licorice Plant - If you have used Licorice Plant in a container and it is taking over the space, simply prune it back to the size you want and it will not get upset with you. Wherever it is planted it can become a bit straggly. When that happens just pinch it back to where you want it and it will never hold that pruning against you.
Special Note – This plant is sometimes used by certain butterflies (American Ladies?) as the nursery plant for their larvae stage. Keep an eye out for any caterpillars on your plant this month and next month. If they are numerous they can make the licorice plant look pretty shabby.
June
Licorice Plant –This plant is resistant to deer if you happen to have those critters in the area.
July
Licorice Plant – This plant will wilt when it needs watering, but it will revive quickly once it has been given a good drink of water. This trait makes it a good indicator plant in a container. When your Licorice Plant wilts, the whole container needs watering.
August
September
Licorice Plant - Optional - Serious gardeners sometimes root some cuttings of Licorice Plant before the frost has killed it and keep them going through the winter in a cool, bright room, ready for planting again next spring.
