FlatPines
If your planting area has only White Pines with no other types of trees, I think you will find it difficult to grow nice healthy ginseng.
I think the biggest problems will be: Pine trees have many fine surface roots which will cause the seng to compete for moiture and nutrients. And second, It's hard for seng to recieve the proper amount of sunlight under pines unless you plant the seng along the edges where sunlight comes through between the trees. Also the soil may not be right in nutrients and PH. A soil test would help.
Here is someting I posted earlier:
\"Pine and conifer needles are very acidic. But as long as they are scattered through out your woods, you should be ok to plant. But I would not plant directly under pines or conifers except under white pines.
Years ago I read about seng growing well under White Pines. So 4 years ago I planted a bunch under the edge of a Large White pine. And I mulched them with the dead needles from under that tree. I might add that the bed is positioned so it gets the right amount of light. Those roots are doing very well.
In Scott Persons Ginseng book on pg. 98. \"Visual site assesment and grading crieria\"
It gives points for different types of woods. It grades on a scale of 0-10.
#1 sugar maples scores 10 points
#3 mixed hardwoods, beech, black cherry, red maple, white ash, red oak, basswood, scores 5 points.
#4 mixed hardwoods as above plus some hemlock and/or white pine scores 5 points
#7 all softwoods, pine hemlock, spruce fir scores 0
I skipped some of the catagories, but the point is that a Hardwood forest mixed with some Hemlock and/or White Pine is acceptable for planting
My woods are scattered with pines, conifers and hemlocks. I do not plant where there is alot of these. I concentrate my plantings where there is 75% maple and other hardwoods and just a few hemlock or pine trees. I have over 50,000(1-5 yr olds) planted in these woods. They have all done well.\" classicfur
May I add, that the White Pine I planted under was a lone tree surrounded by other types of woodland trees and I planted on the outside edges of the branches.
Here is something from the web:
\"Growing anything under white pines and spruces is tough and it is not the acid issue. The conifers produce such a fine mass of roots close to the soil surface that anything else trying to grow in that area has to compete for water and nutrients. Thus other plants often tend not to do very well in this environment. You will need to provide good moisture and fertilize during the establishment period to get them off to a good start. Root pruning of the white pine can help but don't cut out an area larger than 5% of the root zone at a time.\"
I would suggest that if you have the seeds in hand, to go ahead and plant them as soon as the ground thaws. Plant your seeds on the northeast corner of your tree lot, so that it will get the early morning sun but wont be scorched by the sun later in the day. Or check out other areas between the trees where it will get about 70-80% shade. Cover the seeds with only 1 inch of mulch.
You have a difficult situation in wich to grow seng. But don't waste the seeds. Give it a try and hope for the best.
Good luck!
classicfur
