Soap Wort

Common names	Soap Wort, Bouncing Bet
Latin name	Saponaria officinalis
Life cycle	Perennial
Height	1-2 ft
Space	18" apart
Bloom	July to September
Light	Sun to light shade
Soil	Average to poor, well-drained
Zone	Zone 4
Feature	Deer resistant

Use:
This plant contains saponins and if you boil the leaves and roots you'll get a soapy solution that can be used as a mild shampoo or to wash old and delicate fabrics. Some herbalists recommend dringking soapwort tea to treat coughs, but it tastes like soap and probably whouldn't be ingested anyway.

Ornamental:
Soapwort is a wildflower and is quite nice naturalized along a wood's edge or hedgerow. It blooms throughout much of the summer and early fall.

Culture:
Soapwort needs little care once established. It self-sows readily and can be invasive. Cutting back the plants after flowering will prevent it from self-sowing throughout the garden.

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