Not the plant you're looking for? Search over 300,000 plants
Herbaceous Perennial

Galium verum
  • RHS Plants for pollinators

lady's bedstraw

A low, scrambling, carpeting perennial with stems to 1.2m long, often rooting where they touch the ground, and bearing whorled linear green leaves, and terminal panicles of tiny 4-lobed yellow flowers in mid and late summer, scented of hay when dried

Other common names
bed flower
cheese rennet
see morefenwort
hundredfold
maiden's hair
maid's hair
Our Lady's bedstraw
petty mugget
rennet weed
yellow bedstraw

Join the RHS

Become an RHS Member today and save 30% on your first year

Join now
Buy this plant
Size
Ultimate height
0.1–0.5 metres
Time to ultimate height
2–5 years
Ultimate spread
0.1–0.5 metres
Growing conditions
Chalk
Clay
Loam
Sand
Moisture
Moist but well–drained, Well–drained
pH
Alkaline, Neutral
Colour & scent
StemFlowerFoliageFruit
Spring Green
Summer Yellow Green
Autumn Green
Winter
Position
  • Full sun
  • Partial shade
Aspect

South–facing or North–facing or East–facing or West–facing

Exposure
Exposed or Sheltered
Hardiness
H7
Botanical details
Family
Rubiaceae
Native to the UK
Yes
Foliage
Deciduous
Habit
Matforming
Genus

Galium can be annuals or perennials, with weak, sometimes scrambling stems bearing whorls of narrow leaves and usually terminal panicles of small, white or yellow flowers

Name status

Correct

Plant range
Europe, SW Asia

How to grow

Cultivation

Grow in any moist but well-drained soil in sun or partial shade; it spreads freely with the potential to become a nuisance in gardens, but ideal for meadow planting, where the flowers provide nectar for pollinating insects such as bumblebees and butterflies and food for caterpillars of several moths

Propagation

Propagate by seed, sowing when ripe, or propagate by division

Suggested planting locations and garden types
  • Wildflower meadow
  • Wildlife gardens
Pruning

No pruning required

Pests

Generally pest-free

Diseases

Generally disease-free

Get involved

The Royal Horticultural Society is the UK’s leading gardening charity. We aim to enrich everyone’s life through plants, and make the UK a greener and more beautiful place.