TOPIC: seven to nine years

Tnhunter i am sorry but i have to disagree. I am by no means a seng expert but i do know that seng lays dormant for a many a year and i still believe it grows in some way. What way i don't know. I have been taking care of a patch behind my house for years and this year their is a four prong that came up that i have never seen before. But anyway back to the question i know that where these big ol roots come from hunter do have ideal growing conditions but you also said look at the cultivated roots them roots are slick as a whistle too. They don't have now growth scars at all. Also hunter one more example i remember about 15 years ago seeing a two prong in a bunch of rocks in a place where i seng and this year i told Terry i am going to go and see if it was still their and guess what right their in the middle of them rocks was a big ol four prong and a three prong. Anyways to make a long story short it was a big ol root and it had only five curls on it. So i know that it was at least 15 years old. And i believe it takes some harsh growing conditions like out in the wild to get those growth scars also. Also i agree with u billygoat this year we had a tremendous amount of rain and snow, and in places i went through last year with no seng is producing seng this year.

Hey Hillbilly,

No problem to disagree with me - I sure no expert either.

I thought I remembered reading that in Scotts book and looked it up just now.

On page 115 in his latest book where he talks about Blight (Alternaria, and others) he says...

\"Usually only the foliage dies, stopping growth and eliminating the potential for seed production that season\".

Then earlier on in the book - page 11 - where he talks about the root he says...

\"During harsh conditions such as prolonged drout or if fertilization of otherwise poor soil is stopped, the roots can actually decrease in size with commensurate reduction in the size of the foliar top\".

On the root scar he had this to say...

\"When the foliage dies in the fall, the base of the stem breaks off just below ground level, leaving a scar at the top of the root. The next years bud will have developed on the opposite side of and just above that scar. This yearly scarring produces a root neck technically called a rhizome, which bears a series of alternating and ascending marks that indicate the age of the ginseng. Under harsh conditions plants will lie dormant for one or even several growing seasons and no stem and hence no scar will form\".

They also show a pic of one 132 years old in the book.

I agree with you and others and Scott that they can be dormant for a year or more. I have dug several roots up with no top (while digging another plant) so I have seen that.

But if there is no scar, there was no top sent up that year, and if anything that seems like one of those conditions where the root might be more likely to srink than to grow.

TNhunter

What we all do know is big fat hog daddy roots make us all happy and with a little prayer,straight thinking and alot of walking may we all fill our bags.

Billygoat,

You got that right buddy !

Hey - now that is a nice looking man root you have in your avitar/pic. Close to what I have seen called an Emporers root.

I hear those can sell for thousands of dollars.

Is that one you found this year, or in the past ?

Just wondering if you have sold it, what you got for it.

Thanks

TNhunter

Found it last year, it literally popped or jumped out of the ground when I dug it up. I guess I would sell it if I got enough out of it. I dried it when I probably should have preserved it in alcohol but it still looks really cool. Who would I talk to.

Dormancy also has a lot to do with damage to the plant. a major break or blight or even high strain on the stem will keep it from coming up the next year. I have found lots of plants in both fairly sunny and fairly shady places, the main difference i have noticed between heavily shaded plants and fairly exposed plants is that the 'shady roots' tend to be smaller than the 'sunny roots'.

Billygoat,

I first saw the Emperor's root mentioned on the Glacial Ginseng Co's website.

Here is a pic of one that they have and their web address, phone, email.

Best I remember (one one of the links off their main web page) they had some details about the emperor's root and said that they often sell in the 10,000.00 range.

Good Luck !

TNhunter

www.ginseng-seed.com/

1-800-430-2939

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

elijahlangford wrote:

Dormancy also has a lot to do with damage to the plant. a major break or blight or even high strain on the stem will keep it from coming up the next year. I have found lots of plants in both fairly sunny and fairly shady places, the main difference i have noticed between heavily shaded plants and fairly exposed plants is that the 'shady roots' tend to be smaller than the 'sunny roots'.

Elija

I think you could be right on the dormancy if the damage takes place early in the growing season before the root has time to develope its new growth bud for the next year. Here's what Scott Persons Ginseng book has to say about blight or damage.

\"Blight: pg 115 \"Usually only the foliage dies stopping growth and eliminating the potential for seed production for seed production that season, but the ginseng root survives to sprout a new top the next spring. ....Only if Alternaria(or any other disease or damage)destroys a young plant early in the summer, before the bud has formed for next year's top, is there a risk of root loss. Older, larger roots will usually be able to draw upon their energy reserves to produce a new bud for the following season without the aid of any foiage.\"

I believe that if damage, disease or stress happens before the root can develope the new bud for the next season then it could go dormant until it can develope a new bud. Then again I think that ginseng has a mind of it's own and will go dormant when it darn well pleases.

TNhunter wrote:

Billygoat,

I first saw the Emperor's root mentioned on the Glacial Ginseng Co's website.

Here is a pic of one that they have and their web address, phone, email.

Best I remember (one one of the links off their main web page) they had some details about the emperor's root and said that they often sell in the 10,000.00 range.

Good Luck !

TNhunter

www.ginseng-seed.com/

1-800-430-2939

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

You got to be kidding me TN! Did I blow it selling this root with my normal roots?

Maya,

I think what you have there is a nice man root.

The difference in the Man Root and the Emperor's root is the Emperor's root not only looks like a Man, but also has the \"male appendage\" and the more pronounced the better.

Billygoat's root appears to have a head, body, 2 arms, 2 legs and a nice big \"male appendage\" between the two legs.

TNhunter