Valerian (_Valeriana officinalis_) is a hardy herbaceous perennial,
well known under the name "garden heliotrope" and often grown as an
ornamental plant. It has also been cultivated as a drug plant in New
York and in parts of New England. The dried roots (rhizome and roots)
form the marketable drug.
Valerian grows well in all ordinary soils, but thrives in a rich and
rather heavy loam which is well supplied with moisture. It may be
readily propagated by dividing the old roots, either in the fall or in
the spring, and setting the divisions about a foot apart in rows 2 to
3 feet apart. If the divisions are set very early in the fall in time
to become well established before frost, a good crop may usually be
harvested the following autumn. Plants may also be grown from seed,
which are preferably sown as soon as they are ripe in well-protected
seed beds in the garden. Early in the spring the seedlings may be
transplanted to the field and set at the same distances apart as the
divisions of the root. Growth will be favored by a liberal application
of farmyard manure, which should be well worked into the soil before
the plants are set out. Thorough cultivation is essential.
The roots of the plants propagated by division may be dug in the fall
of the first year's growth, although the yield will probably be small.
Those of seedling plants do not usually reach a size suitable for
harvesting before the end of the second growing season. After digging,
the roots are washed, preferably in running water, until all adhering
soil is removed. Washing and drying will be facilitated if the thick
portion of the roots is sliced lengthwise. The drying should be very
thorough, and the use of artificial heat will be found advisable.
Under good conditions a yield of 2,000 pounds or more of dried roots
per acre may reasonably be expected. The prewar price ranged from 6
to 30 cents a pound, depending upon the place where grown, that from
England usually commanding the highest price. The wholesale price in
June, 1920, was about 22 cents a pound.