Aconite, Monkshood (Aconitum napellus), packet of 10 seeds
$3.95
TOXIC–wear gloves when handling fresh plant or roots–do not ingest the plant.
Family: Crowfoot (Ranunculaceae)
Hardy to Zones 3 to 9
(Wolfsbane) Herbaceous perennial native to central Europe. An antique herb. bright purple, with hood-shaped flowers protecting profusely productive nectaries. Plant prefers part to full shade and evenly moist soils. I have mine growing within a few feet of Munger’s Creek, and the display is stunning in season. Sow the seeds in the fall for germination in the spring. Sow in outdoor conditions in the shade, in deep flats, well-screened against birds and mice. In one of our trials, seed sown in August gave partial germination in October, with the remaining seeds germinating in May. We do recognize the requirement for fresh seed and therefore replace with the new harvest yearly.
10 Seeds/pkt. Open Pollinated, Untreated, NO GMO’s
Out of stock
Question
Alla –
Have you known of anyone successfully planting in Australia, specifically Perth?
I have some seeds that are a year old from a local seller (it’s near impossible to get seeds here) and am hoping to mimic the wintering they need by cold stratifying them in the fridge/freezer – is that something you’ve known people to have success with?
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Richo Cech –
Hello Alla,
Thanks for contacting. Anything is possible. My experience with aconite is that the germination really tapers off after a year in storage. This is a typical Ranunculacea in that it does require the warm/cold/warm stratification schedule for best results. But sometimes you get rapid germination with a few seeds. This is a good subject for the shade garden. There’s quite a lot on it in my book “Growing Plant Medicine Vol 1.” You can paste this in a browser if you want the book–we can actually send books successfully to AUS https://herbalreads.com/shop/growing-plant-medicine-25zad
I have several aconite going into flower right now in southern oregon. Wish I could get you some good seeds–we’ve given up trying to send seeds to Australia–AQIS destroys them every time.
Richo
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Question
Jael Simonson Tunick –
Can this plant be grown indoors? I live in a tropical climate, but grow certain plants indoors where it’s cooler.
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Richo Cech –
hello jael, thanks for writing. Given how long it takes Aconite to mature its seed, in a way, i wish I was growing it in the tropics–might get better yield that way. one disadvantage might be that its really what we call a frost germinator, where snow load actually breaks down the seedcoat, and… you don’t have that in the tropics. richo
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Jael Simonson Tunick –
Would cold stratifying the seeds help the germination, or does the plant require wintering during its growth cycle also?
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Richo Cech –
i believe it to require winter conditions although refrigerator treatment might work. nothing is impossible in the world of seed germination, i’ve seen way too many miracles to dissuade anyone from trying. r
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Question
Amethyst Trotter –
I’ve been wanting to plant some Monkshood and possibly Belladonna in my garden but I have been hesitant since I’ve been considering getting into beekeeping as gardens and apiaries are mutualistic in thier interaction as well as expanding homemade food possibilities to include both plants and Honey. My main fear is that pollen or nectar from internally toxic plants would poison the honey or beeswax. I tried researching this online but was unable to find much beyond personal anecdotes which are infamously unreliable. Do you or any of your assocates have any experience with poisonous plants near apiaries?
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Richo Cech –
Hi Amethyst,
It’s ok, you can plant these things. We did and experiment once where we had a beekeeper put a whole trailer load of hives in and around our mixed medicinal herb gardens that included henbane, belladonna, foxglove, aconite, etc. Best honey ever, healthiest bees ever, it was all good. richo
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LD –
My plants are not thriving. I don’t know if it is because the soil is too compact or whether it is not wet enough. I just put it in regular garden soil, but the rains make the soil so hard. Are these water plants?
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Richo Cech –
hello LD, if the soil is hard, probably best to mulch it over with some organic compost. That will help. Aconite is slow-growing and can fool you–looks like nothing’s happening but the root is expanding. Give it some compost and some time. Richo
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Question
jackalvic (verified owner) –
Do these need to stay in a moist area? Or will shade and watering once a week work? TN 7b.
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Richo Cech –
Hi there! Most plants need frequent watering to get established and then once they get their roots down watering frequency maty be reduced. I have a patch of these plants and it is in the shade and it does get watered once a week!
Richo
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Richo Cech –
after harvest, late summer
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Question
Erica Reyes –
Will these be available this season? Did I miss out on the potted plant and seeds for the year? I hope not! You’re the only source I’d buy from 🙂 you come highly recommended by Harold Roth, a favorite author.
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Mayche Cech –
Erica,
I do think its worthwhile to hit “waitlist” on aconite plants, because we often reassess after the first wave of shipping and may have more to send out. Please feel free to check our website in January to get the best selection–that is when we enter our main inventory for spring sales.
Richo
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RK –
What is the shelf life of the seeds? What happens after their shelf life is completed?
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Richo Cech –
Hello RK,
Thanks for getting in touch. Aconite seeds remain viable for about 2 years. Since they are frost germinators a lot of gardeners and seed-testers have trouble demonstrating their viability. I had an Indiana State Chemist test 2-year-old material and tell me that the seed was zero germ, then planted the same seed in outdoor conditions and ended up with a nice flat of Aconite plants. When crop allows, we replace our Aconite seed yearly with new crop material.
Richo
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julie_carlson (verified owner) –
The seeds arrived before I even expected them, I have them all planted in peat pots indoors so they have a good start before going outside. I am not expecting germination due to my own error. I used the wrong notes for prepping and planting them. So I’ll probably reorder these closer to fall. Again the seeds are perfect, the human (me) planting them goofed up.
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john Hayden –
Will I have any luck if I planted indoors in march. I’m in Kentucky
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Richo Cech –
Hello John,
Thanks for your interest in Aconitum. They are known as frost germinators and usually indoor planting gives no results–if you’ve still got frosty outdoor conditions in KY you can plant outdoors. I did see that the shippers are sending out some very reputable potted plants of aconite right now so you may want to check into that option. Richo
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