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He-shou-wu (Polygonum multiflorum) potted plant, organic
$8.50 – $57.00
Family: Buckwheat (Polygonaceae)
Hardy to zone 7 to 12
(Ho-shou-wu, He shou wu) (Fo-ti is a misnomer) Vining herbaceous perennial from China. The plant is almost unstoppable and is a good choice for summer shade, for living houses, shade porches, fences, etc. Plant prefers full sun and rich, well-drained soil. Traditional usage: In TCM, the processed, brown-orange underground tubers used to nourish the jing–it is considered to be a sexual tonic. Space plants 4 to 5 feet apart.
Potted Vine, Certified Organically Grown
Question
Stephanie hendricks –
When should it be planted during the year? Can it survive the freezing weather in the winter in Ohio?
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Richo Cech –
Hi Stephanie, thanks for writing. The best overwintering potential comes from a plant that is spring planted and well-established before frost. richo
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Annette –
Hello Richo
I’m excited about growing an arbor of He Shou Wu in my zone 7 area. Is it best to plant in fall or spring?
Please recommend how to control the growth
Thanks!
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Richo Cech –
Hello Annette, Thanks for writing. Growth can be controlled by planting in pots or half-barrels. These should be spring planted in a Z 7. Richo
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Question
Mari –
Hi, Can the leaves be eaten ?
If so how do they taste ?
Are the leaves also medicinal ?
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Richo Cech –
Hi Mari,
Thanks for writing. The leaves are edible, neutral, not spectacularly tasty, astringent, with a hint of mucilage. not too different from eating a plantain leaf. I would stick with the Chinese method–cured or uncured tuber or the stems without the leaves. You can get the full Writeup including growing and curing methods on pages 261 to 262 of “Growing Plant Medicine Vol 1”
Richo
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Amanda –
can this be grown as an annual in colder climates? (5b) Would the roots even be worth harvesting with that short growning season?
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Richo Cech –
hi amanda, it would be better to put your annual growing efforts into something like tulsi, which would yield better and be more useful. if you want more info on he-shou-wu, check “Growing Plant Medicine Vol 1” which has a complete monograph. richo
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Question
Brian –
So would you consider Ho sho wu semi deciduous in NorCal ie let some light through in the winter months? Thinking “ seasonal shade”
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Richo Cech –
hi brian, leaves should fall off in the winter. vines themselves may stay budded or may dry up and go down to the crown. but the crown will ont die in ncal. r
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Richo Cech –
hi brian, leaves should fall off in the winter. vines themselves may stay budded or may dry up and go down to the crown. but the crown will not die in ncal. r
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Richo Cech –
hi! in Ncal, he shou wu should lose its leaves in the winter but the crown will remain live.
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Beatrice –
I live in a plant zone 6 will He Shou Wu survive if I can keep it protected outside from the weather elements out here? I know it says the plant hardiness.
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Richo Cech –
hi beatrice! these are listed for zones 7 to 12 so 6 is a bit cold for it. the plant does great in a 3-gallon pot, brought indoors or into a protected spot for the winter. r
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Richard –
Regarding the “rich soil” – I have several plants on my property near Gainesville, Florida growing in incredibly poor soil, only slightly better then beach sand. They just keep spreading, getting bigger every season. Some day I need to go root-hunting.
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Question
JD –
Does this root contain resveratrol? Would it be made available by making a tea from the root?
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Richo Cech –
Hi JD,
It is true that processed he-shou-wu can be made into tea or decoction. I suggest reading “making plant medicine” for more on this. As for resveratrol content, some studies seem to indicate this. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4471648/
Richo
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Margaret –
Is this plant grow in Solomon Islands as well.
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Richo Cech –
hi margarent, i think it grows there, yes, but not native. native distribution China North-Central, China South-Central, China Southeast, Hainan, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam r
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Question
Kevin (verified owner) –
Dear Strictly Seeds Medicinals ,
Do you have a tutorial on how to process the roots so that we may make a tea out of them ? So young just dig them up and boil them ? I tried to look this up on YouTube but there aren’t any videos that I found that had a step by step process . Thank you
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Richo Cech –
Hi Kevin, I’ll put this on the list for upcoming videos. I think the reason for cooking them is to convert the oxalic acid. There’s a much more detailed description in my upcoming book. Maybe let them mature another year before digging. richo
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Rhonda –
Will this survive in Central Texas?
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Richo Cech –
yes
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Kelly Schoen (verified owner) –
We lived in the FT Worth TX area. Richo’s He-sho-wu was planted running up a discarded weathervane stand. It took off and loved it, and comes back year after year. (Just mulched the roots in the fall). Very healthy and vibrant! I wanted to take it with me when we sold but the buyers saw it and wanted it to stay.
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Question
Michael –
I’d love to let it vine up the orchard fence. Is it deer-proof?
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Richo Cech –
Hi Michael, Relatively deerproof by my recollection. Its been years since we let the deer in the he-shou-wu area but I remember they don’t like it much. richo
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Marcia –
Is this herb the same as Fo-ti? When will you get more roots to sell?
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Richo Cech –
Hello MArcia,
Yes, He-shou-wu is the correct Chinese name but it went under the marketing name of “fo-ti” at one point. These are available, you can order them.
Richo
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Richo Cech –
these are in stock. fo-ti is a misnomer but I know what you mean–he-shou-wu is correct.
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Question
Adrias Meisenheimer (verified owner) –
What stage of growth/ What age are the plants that will be shipped in March?
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Richo Cech –
Hi Adrias, Our he-shou-wu is always pretty well grown-out and reliably rooted. They could easily have a foot of aerials on them. Everyone assumes that because we start shipping plants in March that they will receive their plants in March, but this is not necessarily the case–we start shipping to warm weather zones first and may defer shipping to cold weather areas for several weeks until things warm up. If you need the plants shipped at a certain time, my advice is to order immediately and put your desired ship date in the “order comments” field at checkout. Richo
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Daniel (verified owner) –
I bought one of the small He Shou Wu plants and it arrived very well packaged. When I planted it in a pot it took right off, very vigorous growth. Thank you.
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Ernesto Carbajal –
Hi i just saw your message. Outs November 25th. Cam i still get a plant to me now? Please let me know. I’m very interested.
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Richo Cech –
Hi Ernesto, Right, we have shut down plant shipping for the season. Feel free to contact us in the spring, we normally do not run out of he-shou-wu. richo
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Jerry (verified owner) –
My plant is well-established here in El Paso but hasn’t grown upwards so much as sideways (ground cover). I think the low humidity has something to do with it. Prefers some shade.
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Alice –
Will this grow in 10a (SW Florida)? Should I grow it in well drained, or in damper/wetter soil?
I need a good list of greens to grow for eating in salads and juicing. Would this be one of them?
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Richo Cech –
Hi Alice, Yes, He-shou-wu is hardy to zones 7 to 12 and will be evergreen in a z 10. The plant will grow in any soil including clay or gravel, but deep, well-drained soils will encourage formation of larger tubers. Wet soils are probably OK. richo
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Richo Cech –
this isn’t a salad green. here’s a link to the leafy greens section: https://strictlymedicinalseeds.com/product-category/seeds/vegetable-seeds/leafy-greens/
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Melvin Woodard –
Hello, I live in Chicago Il., but I am purchasing land in Hudspeth County Texas. I plan to move there in a few years and I’m happy to know that this plant can grow easily in that area of the country. Thank you for your excellent insight and I look forward to speaking with you in the future. In the meantime would it be feasible to grow a plant indoors here in the Chicago area?
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Richo Cech –
hi melvin, thanks for staying in touch. he-shou-wu makes an easy potted plant and will really grow anywhere as long as it doesn’t get too cold. one thing that always perplexes, why don’t more people move to texas? r
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Tamar Dachoach –
Hi Richo,
Any chance you’re selling seeds of this special plant? My guess is the germination rate is low and that’s why you’re not (maybe?) but I’m willing to pay to try and to fail ! because I’m not able to get a live plant. ps thanks for everything y’all do
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Richo Cech –
hello tamar, i’ll e-mail you if our plants make seeds. it is indeed a rare occurrence. richo
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Tamar Dachoach –
Thank you so much! I would be absolutely thrilled ! I’ve been known to baby my seeds and plants, and these will receive the royal pampering.
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Ian (verified owner) –
Hi I read this can cause liver toxicity. Is this true? Thanks!
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Richo Cech –
Hello Ian, See page 261 of “Growing Plant Medicine Vol 1” for harvest and preparation. The prepared he-shou-wu is stewed in black beans which debitters, disarms oxalic acid and improves tonic effect. Beware of negative press on the internet–the anti-plant people will have you thinking that gourd seeds will burn a hole in your pocket and bamboo will eat your stove. richo
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Ian (verified owner) –
Yes the anti plant people are ridiculous. I prepared it with black beans accordingly. I noticed that this encouraged mold. Any way to prevent this? Can they be made into a tincture once the black bean simmering is done or do they need to thoroughly dry? Thanks
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Richo Cech –
hello ian, i’ve always found it works well to rinse after stewing and dry in a dehydrator. richo
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Dawn B (verified owner) –
Hello Richo, I have been growing my He Sho Woo in a very deep pot with a trellis and it seems to be doing well. I plan to harvest some root and wonder if this type of plant is known for pulling out lead/heavy metals from the pot like Horsetail does. Can you tell me if I should be concerned with the pot since I plan to use the root medicinally? Thank you!
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Richo Cech –
Hi Dawn, Thanks for contacting and good for you that you’ve got this going! He-shou-wu grown in a pot is not a heavy metal accruer. You can read more about growing and processing it in “Growing Plant Medicine Vol 1.” All the best, richo
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Dawn B (verified owner) –
Hello and thank you for your reply. I own your first Vol Growing Plant Medicine, with plans to ge Vol 2, and looking forward to trying the processed method that you have described. Is there any suggested use/medicinally for the dried stems? Also, I’ve read that Chinese medicine will sometimes rinse water and boil the herbs a couple times during the processing, is there benefit (i.e. reducing the oxilate content you mentioned) to rinsing and reboiling these roots? (I don’t want to creat too much extra work 😉 Side note: It was really neat to read the story about the DC trip. Thanks for sharing.
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Richo Cech –
Hello Dawn,
Thanks for writing! My job is getting easier as more and more of you get ahold of “Growing Plant Medicine Vols 1 and 2.” The info you seek is on page 262 of Vol 1, which you have. This gives the uses and processing of the dried stems (chinese Ye-jiao-teng). As for the processing of the fresh roots, you proceed exactly according to directions, which I learned from a professor in China, for maximum results: One boiling and rinsing. All the best, Richo
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