Plants ordered today will begin shipping in May of 2024

Schisandra, Official (Schisandra chinensis) potted vine, organic

$21.00

Family: Magnolia (Magnoliaceae)

Hardy to Zones 4 to 8

(Wu-wei-zi, Matrimony Vine, Magnolia Vine) Perennial woody vine. Native to Manchuria, northeastern China and Japan. The odoriferous pink or white flowers give way to bright red fruit which droops down in clusters from the vine. This is known as the many-flavored berry. The taste is sour. Traditional usage (TCM): appetite stimulant, immune-enhancement.  Vine prefers moist soils and dappled shade, and really prefers to sprangle on the ground instead of climbing a trellis.   Space 3 feet apart.

Potted plant, Certified Organically Grown

 

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  1. Question

    Fang

    Which breed is the Schisandra vine? Is the Schisandra vine self fertile? Thanks!

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    • 2 out of 2 people found this helpful
      Richo Cech

      Richo Cech

      Hello Fang,
      Please read down through the comments on a ton of comment and controversy about the pollination biology of Schisandra. There is also an excellent monograph on this in “Growing Plant Medicine Vol 2,” which will soon be available to you and a number of others who have pre-purchased the book. In short, you’re going to want to grow several of these for best pollination and fruit set. As for the breed of our schisandra, they are grown by us from seed of the standard wild-form variety. Specialty cultivars will not come true from seed, anyway, and we tend not to give too much attention to specialty cultivars. Richo

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  2. Question

    Pam

    Hi Richo! Are these plants dioecious? I’m wondering how many I’d need for good pollination.

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    • Richo Cech

      Richo Cech

      Hi Pam, That is the thousand dollar question and there is great debate about it. My feeling is that any given plant will tend toward one sex or the other, but if not located near a plant of the opposite sex, will become at least partially hermaphroditic to compensate. There is science on both sides of the track on this one. I encourage growers to jump for 3, not only to help assure both sexes, but for to stoke diversity and provide insurance against the inevitable slings and arrows of plantdom. Richo

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    • One person found this helpful

      Ted B

      Saunders clarifies in his excellent treatise (2000) on Schisandra that members of the genus are not dioecious although they may appear as such. They produce male flowers until they accumulate sufficient energy for reproduction, which is when female flowers appear. I have observed both male and female flowers on the same plant for this and other Schisandra spp. Because they tend to be only sparingly self-fertile however, several genetically different plants (i.e. all grown from seed) should be cultivated in close proximity if fruit is desired. In China, commercially cultivated S. chinensis plants are grown tightly together like a row crop for their fruit.

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  3. Question

    michanne

    Hi! I’m in NM in zone 7b, at an elevation of just under 6000’. Could I grow schisandra here if I provide it the conditions noted in its entry?

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    • One person found this helpful
      Richo Cech

      Richo Cech

      hi michanne, thanks for writing. you remind me to check soon on how my vines are doing, they are in their third year in a shade garden that i visit not too often. i find schisandra pretty challenging to grow and it may be an environmental thing–it is very dry here. new mexico is dry, too, although i do not think the elevation you mention is excessive. in fact it could be helpful, as it will mean a good deal of cold, which schisandra loves. probably a deep mulch around the vines would help keep them from drying out. richo

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  4. Question

    Andy

    Hi Richo,

    I am in Zone 5, 8000 ft, Northern NM in pinon Juniper woodlands. What do you think of Schisandra in partial shade there?
    Thanks,
    Andy

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    • One person found this helpful
      Richo Cech

      Richo Cech

      hi andy, i think its too high for schisandra–i would go for goji instead. richo

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    • One person found this helpful

      Joy

      Hi there. How do I order a male and a female plant?
      Thank you.

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    • Richo Cech

      Richo Cech

      hello joy, i wish we had these for you. they sold out and we don’t have new crop at this point. you might try from seeds, which are in stock, and which will make both males and females, or you might be able to find plants at “one green world.” richo

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  5. One person found this helpful

    Question

    Sv

    Hi 😉

    I see the zone is 4 to 8, do you know if with some special accommodations this plant will survive in 9b? If yes what would be these accommodations? Many thanks!

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    • 3 out of 3 people found this helpful
      Richo Cech

      Richo Cech

      Hello SV, Unfortunately I’m out of schisandra seed and hoping my vines will fruit so I can again offer it up. I am not one to fear zones (no zonophobia here,) if a Z9b gardener wants to grow schisandra, then a cool, moist and shaded location should suffice. Richo

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  6. One person found this helpful

    Question

    Anna Hackman

    I have tried for 2 years to grow this plant from seed. It takes forever to germinate, which I am okay with it. It looks tiny but very cute (4 leaves) all through the summer. First year, I brought them inside and they lost their leaves. Then they died. I tried again the second year and it look very cute again and planted it in a raised garden bed over the winter in September. It lost its leave again in October. I am not worried that it won’t live through the winter and fingers are crossed that it will come back again in the spring. Planted more seeds this year since I never quit until I get it right. What am I doing wrong? Don’t take in again indoors? Leave it in the raised bed from September on? I am zone 6.

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    • Richo Cech

      Richo Cech

      Hi Anna,
      Schisandra is challenging at every stage of growth. I would rather focus on what you’re doing right. Once they are past the seedling stage, the plants are much more comfortable planted in acidic soil in the semi-shade with a good mulch of peat, coir or rotted leaves. Sounds like your young plants are dropping leaves after first frost which is normal. As long as the reddish-brown vine remains pliable and well budded, then it will overwinter and throw leaves again in the spring. Some people trellis, others swear its better to let them run. I trellis, and have seen a gradual increase in girth, run and vigor from year to year. One thing that I notice is that the plants teach me, and so I follow their advice, what they like and what they abhor, and then with patience, rewards eventually follow.
      Richo

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    • One person found this helpful

      Kathy Andrews (verified owner)

      i purchased 3 potted and you advise to keep under Halide light…thou they came with beginning nodules and a few startings of notiusable 1/16″ or less green buds none have opened.. How long normally would that take …could i put them out in a poly covered sun only greenhouse? i live in zone 5-6b depending on which site you look at…want to also know if i can plant outdoors in a semi shade (mulched) for winter when the time comes. Thankyou 🙂

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    • 2 out of 2 people found this helpful
      Richo Cech

      Richo Cech

      Hi Kathy, Honestly I’ve never told anybody to put a plant under a halide light, you must have gotten that somewhere else. Especially not schisandra–they are going to need a cool, moist shade situation outdoors and then they will unfurl their leaves.
      Richo

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    • One person found this helpful

      Elizabeth

      Will Schisandra thrive and produce fruits in a tropical country? If yes, where can I get Schisandra seeds to buy? Thank you

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    • 2 out of 2 people found this helpful
      Richo Cech

      Richo Cech

      Hi Elizabeth,
      No, Schisandra chinensis is a plant of northern climes, it is not worth trying to grow in the tropics. r

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  7. One person found this helpful

    Question

    Emily

    I’m interested in your schisandra berry vine, but need a male and female to produce fruit. Is this something I can purchase from you? Thanks!

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    • 4 out of 4 people found this helpful
      Richo Cech

      Admin Richo Cech

      Hi Emily,
      Contrary to popular misconception, Schisandra is self-fertile.
      Richo

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  8. Question

    Michelle

    Hi! I’ve run across info that says in order to get fruit from a schisandra plant one must have a male and female plant. Is this the case? What is the minimum number I should plant to get berries, in your experience? Thanks!

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    • 2 out of 2 people found this helpful
      Richo Cech

      Admin Richo Cech

      Horticulturalists used to think schisandra was dioecious but now have confirmed that they are self-fertile. I plant mine 3 to a trellis and am looking forward to picking my first berries this year. It took 3 years for the plants to achieve sufficient size.

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  9. Question

    Sandra Fonda

    Is this plant available yet?

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  10. Question

    Sandra

    when will this plant be available

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    • Richo Cech

      Admin Richo Cech

      I am working up some nice ones and will endeavor to e-mail you when they go on sale.

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    • Sandra Fonda

      are these plants available yet?

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    • Richo Cech

      Admin Richo Cech

      As of 2/13/2019, no plants are available for shipment–we do not start shipping until March 15 and the available slots for early shipping have been filled. We’ll enable Schisandra when the plants come out of dormancy and look good–we’ll endeavor to give you an e-mail at that time.

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    • Debbie L

      I would love to order, please email me when they are available, I’d like to order 2!

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    • Richo Cech

      Admin Richo Cech

      OK, I will try to scroll through here and send e-mails when the schisandra plants go online.

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  11. Question

    Mandy Katz

    Hi! Will you be offering this again?

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    • Richo Cech

      Admin Richo Cech

      We have plants in process and will be releasing them for sale when they size up, hopefully in 2019

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    • Rachel

      can you please let me know when these beautiful plants are ready for purchasing. Thank you.

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    • Richo Cech

      Admin Richo Cech

      Yes!

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    • One person found this helpful

      tabreaux

      From Alabama, USA, Zone 7/8, Elev. 600′: This species is clearly oriented toward a more temperate environment than our native S. glabra and four subtropical Asian Schisandra sp. also here. Earlier to break dormancy in the spring than the others, this species thrives during our brief, but cool, moist springtimes with considerable direct sunlight. When the dog days of summer arrive here, growth slows, and both sunlight and watering need to be decreased accordingly. Regions with longer, cooler springtimes will observe faster growth and maturity than observed here, which explains why this species is cultivated primarily in the more temperate regions of China. As Richo noted, Schisandra sp. are not dioecious (males and females) or self-infertile as widely (and erroneously) believed, but female flowers are produced only when the plant has sufficient energy to sustain the development of fruit and seeds that follow.

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    • natali

      Hi from which country are you shipping schisandra to new york?

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    • Richo Cech

      Richo Cech

      Hello Natali, We are a tilth certified organic and state certified nursery located in Williams, Oregon, USA. Richo

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