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Hi all.  :D

Does anybody grow arnica? Can you give me any tips on growing it etc?

"Arnica Montana - to give it its proper name - is also known as Leopard's Bane, mountain tobacco and sneezewort."

to appy to bruises etc.

Col

Not an easy one to grow, but what ever you do DO NOT get Arnica lessingeri instead, it is a thug of the first water, as pretty as A.montan, but mile a minute stuff.

Sorry Col, never grown it, but I do use it a lot.  Is excellent for bruising of any kind.  How do you use it from a plant?  I have bought cream or tablets from the herb shop before but never heard of using it fresh.

Hi all,

I use the cream and swear by it (I have students who bite) I thought that if I grew it I might be able to use it as a compress. From internet searches it seems that  A. montana is the variety to use.
I know nothing about the plant itself.

Col

The leaves form a flat rosette, from the centre of which rises a flower stalk, 1 to 2 feet high, bearing orange-yellow flowers. The rhizome is dark brown, cylindrical, usually curved, and bears brittle wiry rootlets on the under surface.
---Cultivation---Arnica thrives in a mixture of loam, peat, and sand. It may be propagated by root division or from seed. Divide in spring. Sow in early spring in a cold frame, and plant out in May.

The flowers are collected entire and dried, but the receptacles are sometimes removed as they are liable to be attacked by insects.

The root is collected in autumn after the leaves have died down.

Cannot find much evidence of anyone selling the plants though!

Hi all,
Thanks for your answers.
Now I just have to find a seed supplier. I understand that the EU have some controls on it as its been over-harvested in its native habitat.

Col

Edit....It turns out I can get the seed in cambridgeshire for £1.49 and in southend for £1.00 without any difficulty so I`ll give it a try.