Osha (Ligusticum porteri) seeds
$4.95 – $36.10
Family: Carrot (Apiaceae)
Hardy to Zones 4 to 8
(Bear Medicine) Perennial herb native to the Rocky Mountains. Traditional usage (American Indian, TWM): upper respiratory infection, cough, altitude sickness. Plant prefers full sun to part shade and is often found in association with aspen groves. Sow in outdoor conditions in flats or in nursery bed. Sow seed about 1/4 inch deep and cover with soil, tamp well, then cover the planting with a thin layer of organic mulch such as rotted sawdust, peat or coir. Sow in cool soils in outdoor conditions. Best to sow in the fall for germination in the spring. For an in-depth discussion of seed germination and cultivation of Osha, see the Osha chapter in the book “Growing At-Risk Medicinal Herbs.” Thin seedlings to 6 inches apart and keep well-weeded and deeply mulched.
Packet contains 30 seeds
5 g contains ~1,500 seeds
10 g contains ~3,000 seeds
Open Pollinated, Untreated, NO GMO’s
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Richo Cech –
Hi Kathy, Thanks for contacting. it depends. Some species do well when direct-seeded in the fall, but really only when given sufficient control (well-marked, the right container, the right spot, the right soil, the right attention, etc.) for success. Other species may do fine when fall-planted in containers in the greenhouse, but would be lost if sown outdoors. The remedy for clay soil is compost. If you’re thinking of planting osha seeds, fall planting with germination in the spring is really the best approach. I encourage you to get ahold of “Growing Plant Medicine Vols 1 and 2” to really give you perspective on all this. Richo
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Blaine Dunham Birchby –
Hello.
The Osha upstarts I ordered from you are starting to sprout & come to life in our unheated greenhouse. They are still very small. I ordered the coconut coir mulch. My question is when should I plant them outside of the greenhouse. I am in Big Sur, Ca and live in a redwood forest riparian area with creeks. I’ve seen water hemlock growing & big Spikenard. I live Osha so I thought I’d give it a go. Any helpful hints would be appreciated. Thanks. By the way all the plants you ship are always so strong and vibrant. Thank you!
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Richo Cech –
Hi Blaine, Thanks for contacting. I would just leave them in the pots they came in and coddle along until you see roots at the bottom of the pot. Probably will take a year. Then, they can be transplanted out. There’s a whole chapter on this in “Growing At-Risk” and it sounds like you know what you’re doing. Coco coir mulch is the cat’s pajamas. richo
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Question
Michael Villarreal –
Read that fall is a good time to sow seed. I’m in Rogue valley, ok to plant seed now? Jan? I do have a unheated greenhouse.
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Richo Cech –
Hi Michael, thanks for contacting. In outdoor setting, yes, because the seed needs to be softened by cold, moist conditions before it can sprout. The seed is fresh now, too, which is quite important with osha. We’ve tested this extensively and found that often the seed takes 2 vernal cycles to germinate. Suggest reading the “osha” chapter in “Growing at-risk.” Richo
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Question
Melanie Hollenstein –
Is the San Francisco Bay Area too warm for growing Osha. My house is in zone 9.
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Richo Cech –
Hi Melanie, thanks for writing. Yes, if you click on the picture you get the monoograph that lists osha to zone 8 max. You’d do better with Yerba Mansa and white horehound. richo
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Melanie –
Thank you for the recommendation Richo! I’ll look into Lovage as well.
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Question
Jennifer Pal –
In what year of the osha plant can we start to use the root for tinctures?
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Richo Cech –
hi jennifer, thanks for asking! year 4 to 6. there’s a whole chapter on osha in “Growing At Risk” that will give you more info on what factors go into successful osha cultivation. richo
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kim baisch –
i live in the mountains of virginia. zone 7. pretty diff climate from when I lived in colorado’s mountains… would osha thrive here or should i leave it for my western fellow plant medicine lovers?
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Richo Cech –
hi kim, i do think osha is a good choice for you. my experience here in a sub-montane zone 8 is that osha is adaptable. I like to direct-seed in the early spring. you can find out more about this in the “osha” chapter of my book “growing at-risk.” r
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Question
Debra –
Will Osha Root grow in Florida?
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Richo Cech –
Hi Debra, not very well, it is after all a mountain plant. You can grow lovage. richo
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Question
Scarlet –
Hi, I would like to buy OSHA seeds to plant in zone 6b , do you have availability?
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Richo Cech –
hi scarlet, osha from the recent crop is still available. this seed has proven to be gratifyingly viable. r
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Amanda –
How dependent on altitude is this? I am in the Great Lakes region and I was wondering how well adapted this has become? I understood this to only be able to grow in the mountains! What’s the scoop on this?
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Richo Cech –
hi amanda, not particularly elevation dependent, you can grow it almost anywhere. too big a question for this venue, suggest reading the “osha” chapter in my book “growing at risk.” I can see a large osha plant out my window as we speak, here at a low elevation site in Williams, Oregon. We will have osha plants for sale next spring. richo
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Philadelfio TORRES –
I have grown OSHA in Union City, CA, it grew to 3 feet tall then my wife hired a Gardner when I was in New Mexico. The idiot sprayed it with herbicide & killed it. Upon my return he was goted.
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Question
Matthew Smith –
Will we see the Osha seed available again this year? Thanx
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Richo Cech –
Hi Matthew, Yes, Great Nature willing, in the month of August. Richo
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Kathy –
Will osha grow in south central missouri? We have oak forests – no aspen.
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Richo Cech –
Hi Kathy, Greetings, love S Missouri! I would say Lomatium would be a better choice. richo
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Joy –
Hello, I’d like to purchase some osha plants for spring 2021. How do I place the order please?
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Richo Cech –
Joy, Sorry, we aren’t going to be offering OSHA this spring–we need a good harvest on the seed and wouldn’t have any until spring 2022 at the earliest–hit waitlist. richo
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PATRICIA GAIDOSZ –
Will Osha Root grow in the North East possibly New England? Will I be able to get them this August as written above? Thank You!
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Richo Cech –
Hi Patricia, We’re waiting on the new wildharvest of osha seeds. We’ve confirmed the growability of this herb in all kinds of places–the NE will be fine, listen only to people with direct experience. Richo
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Hugh Morgan –
Can osha grow in Georgia? If so, when available, would like to purchase for my medicinal garden. Thank you.
Also, I had purchased wild lettuce, last year, and couldn’t get it to germinate. Is it hard to germinate? Thanks again.
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Richo Cech –
yes, osha seeds are in stock right now! you’re in the right place. r
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Leroy Sanders –
Very good
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Bonnie –
I was wondering if you could tell me if there is a substitute for OSHA rt, since it is so expensive to buy now . Thanks
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Richo Cech –
Hi Bonnie, In botanical terms, the herb Lovage is easy to grow and closely related. In herbal terms, the antibiotic and antitussive properties of osha might be achieved with goldenseal, tulsi, slippery elm, even mullein. But nothing is really the same as our big stinker osha.
Richo
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Bonnie Travis –
Thank you again for your help. You are always an inspiration to me. I have used it as part of my immune boosting formula. I really love the way it smells…..thanks again, sincerely
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Karin K Fellows (verified owner) –
I am hoping to grow osha in Omaha Nebraska. We are not at a mountain elevation. Do you have any guidance for success? Thank you very much. I am so excited to start my healing herb gardens. Blessings
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Richo Cech –
Hi Karin,
Sometimes these questions come right at the time I’m working with the plant–its uncanny. Just checked Osha flat planted on 12/17 and found hundreds of seedling had just popped up. I used a coir-rich mix which I think helps. The plant likes raw carbon in the growth medium, so we always deeply mulch the plants in the field with sawdust or coir. Black gold “coir only” is a great product. I think if you do these things it doesn’t matter if you have elevation or not. People are growing osha at low elevation. Read the “Osha” chapter in “Growing At-Risk Medicinal Herbs” for more info.
Richo
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