Poke, Domestic (Phytolacca americana) seeds, organic
$3.95 – $80.00
Family: Pokeweed (Phytolaccaceae)
Hardy to Zones 4 to 9
(Pokeweed) Herbaceous perennial with thick, reddish stems, large, drooping leaves and plump purple berries. Native to the US, especially the southern states. A handsome weed much appreciated by birds, as the berries occur in large pendant clusters, very fruity. Therefore, one finds a lot of poke growing along fence lines where birds perch. Young shoots are considered to be an edible delicacy. Traditional usage (TWM): lymphatic. Low dose botanical. Plant prefers to grow in full sun and is not particular about soil or water–freely volunteers in old gardens, fields, fencerows. Slow germ is typical. Sow seeds in fall or early spring. 60 days cold/moist conditioning may speed germination. I’ve planted rows of this stuff in the field and given up after some time, re-tilled and planted a different crop, only to have the poke come up among the new plants, weeks later.
packet contains 100 seeds
10 g contains ~900 seeds
100 g contains ~9,000 seeds
Certified Organically Grown
Question
Kalili (verified owner) –
Hi Richo, I can’t believe I will have to start new Poke from seed. I’ve just received seed from Strictly Medicinal. It used to so freely volunteer new plants but haven’t seen them growing for years, now. It used to be so fun to hunt for the plants in spring often growing at the edge of lilacs. Sigh! My question, is it best to scatter the seed directly out as would be in the wild or to start in a cold greenhouse in a flat or pots? Is it even possible to start in a flat or pots? Thank you.
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Richo Cech –
Hi Kalili,
Thanks for writing. It is such a pleasure to disseminate and plant seeds. As you note, poke is a wild one and apt to volunteer, germinating usually around midspring and developing rapidly. Really, one can start these either way–pots, deep flats, direct-seeded. They are deeply taprooted so deep containers work best. I don’t usually expect fast germination–rather germination in season–so it can take some patience. richo
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Nicole Moore –
Poke is also extremely useful in an organic garden setting. Not only do the birds feast on the seeds (leaving vegetables alone while being drawn in to devour insects) many parasitic insects are drawn to the poke and will leave other plants alone. I haven’t noticed it causing a proliferation of pests, it simply acts as a trap plant. They can eat poke to the ground and the next rain with warmth and the poke will grow back like crazy! VERY impressive roots so be careful when planting it near foundations or near anything you could potentially lose to root penetration. Some people have a sensitivity to the leaves, or the sap, but I have found it to be a quite pleasant addition to my garden provided by nature.
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Alys –
I found poke to be a useful ingredient in a balm i’m using to combat problems caused from my taking Anastrozole (only 2 weeks) in my cancer journey. I can’t explain the relief I felt and my surprise to see it listed. I’ve since researched it (I have all of your books) and have been babying a few we have growing in our yard….an after blessing from the Camp fire of 11/08/2018 I’m sure! Thank you for all you do….for all the info you have made available to us with an urge to know more…just thank you.
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