Description

The Patchouli plant is an exotically fragrant member of the mint family is easy to grow and rewarding. Perhaps best known for the popularity of its essential oil in the 1960s, Patchouli’s aroma is a complex, woodsy, spicy, earthy musk. It has been used in perfumes, soaps, incense, and even boasts medicinal, antibacterial and antifungal properties.

The plants grow to 24 inches tall and wide and produce jade green leaves and whorls of small white flowers. It’s fast growing and responds well to pinching or shearing. A tender perennial, it happily overwinters in a bright window when the temperature drops below 50°F. Hardy in zones 9-11.

The Patchouli plant is thought to have originated n the Phillippines and is now cultivated in many tropical areas. It was introduced into Europe about 1844 when shawls were wrapped with Patchouli. The strength and unique odor quality of Patchouli lends itself to oriental types of perfumes. It gives a long-lasting fragrant allure to any perfume. The plant is a bushy perennial herb, up to three feet tall with hairy leaves that are 4 inches long. The herb itself is used to fragrance and perfume carpets and textiles, and to repel insects. Wrapping fabrics in Patchouli herb has been a practice for a thousand years.

• Patchouli oils come from a plant called Patchouli (Pogostemon cablin)
• Proper name: Pogostemon cablin
• It grows 12-15″ tall in a season and if kept from year to year can reach a height of 4 feet