Ginseng seed is unique in it's storage and handling and a lot of those guys usually don't have good knowledge of what they are selling and how to handle it. I have read de_script_ions on the listings before and it is easy to tell that it might as well be fescue seed to them. By the time it gets to their hands, it has travelled through too many for me to have confidence in it. You want to buy as close to the source as possible with someone owning responsibility and surviving by reputation of their product. As some here has experienced, that doesn't give you assurance all the time. Ginseng is far more perishable than many other seeds. If it is disrupted from what that seed is programmed to expect, it may decide to take a nap for a few years before germinating.
Hill,
I sure can attest to this statement. I don't think that I would attribute it to just one thing, but I think that a combination of things like green seed, dry weather, placing seed in a cold refrigerator, and maybe some improper handling showed itself this year and it was very evident when I could see 4 rows , side by side, that came up at the same time that had been planted each Fall, but had not come up. We had so much rain this year that the seeds decided to do what they would do in a normal season. It amazed me that the seed had survived that long in the ground and I spent a lot of time after digging season removing many rootlets to other areas so they could have some room and not be bothered by disease problems. I hope that others, a few years down the road, read about these problems that we had and understand more about how to deal with them in the future.
Hugh
