Cultivation

Suitability of St. John's wort for cutting

Hypericum L.

The suitability of St. John's wort for cutting is determined by the quality of its decorative fruits used as floral fillers. Harvesting is carried out at the berry ripening stage, with specialized hybrids featuring a wide range of fruit colors being the most valuable.

In the reference 26 varieties crop St. John's wort, where this is mentioned in the description.

In commercial floriculture, the product is not the inflorescence, but the decorative fruits of St. John's wort, which are valued for their smoothness and textural contrast in bouquets. Unlike medicinal varieties, hybrids—such as those based on Hypericum androsaemum—are cultivated for cutting, as they are capable of producing berries in various colors.

Harvesting technology requires strict control of developmental phases: cutting is performed when approximately 80% of the berries on a branch have reached maturity and the flowers have dropped. Agronomic practices include pinching to stimulate branching and specific pruning of stems to 10–15 cm after the growth cycle ends to prepare for the next season.

A key requirement of post-harvest processing is the removal of foliage from the bottom third of the stem and the prompt placement of shoots into an aqueous solution. The production process is based on managing photoperiodism: switching the plant from the vegetative phase to the generative phase to initiate flowering and subsequent fruit set.

General information about the subject — on the page Suitability for cutting.

Sources8

Varieties of St. John's wort mentioned in the description

Selection based on the description text, not on official evaluation: these data are absent from registers. For specific variety details, please refer to its profile.