TOPIC: Seedlings/Rootlets From Different Regions Early Results

Hi all. Spent a couple hours looking over all the areas of my woods that I planted last fall and saw a lot of variance. Some from different regions of North America and some of same seed showing nearly all of them up and other areas having few if any up from same seed.

As for the different sources, well, still hard to tell as seed from this site is coming up at crazy high percentages (thousands looking at me) at higher elevations in the same woods and only one or two seedlings showing at a mere one or two hundred feet lower elevation. Didn't realize there was such a micro climate getting down into the valley a little. The woods are actually a little thinner so more light should enter into this lower elevation. Same is for rootlets aquired from this site. Only one showing at lower elevation and close to 100 at a hundred feet higher. I hope that is the only reason and not poor soil or some critters.

So, at same elevations here is what I am seeing.

Lower elevation (1000 ft. ASL):
the wild is coming up in places where I planted seeds (which I didn't even know grew there)but my seeds not sprouting yet from this site, Canada, Missouri, or rootlets (except one) from this site.

Middle elevation (1100 ft.):
no wild exists as far as I know or saw this year or in past, 25% of seeds sprouted from this site, 95% of one year old rootlets from Minnesota up (even one three prong), 5-10% of rootlets from this site up. Hugh, I will keep updating as to the survival rate of the Minnesota one-year rootlets. They seem to be the early birds.

Higher elevation (1200 ft.):
looks like they are all sprouting. No wild exists at this level either. Only planted seeds from this site at that level and they are really coming on heavy. Leaves are still together and pointing upward but it's like they really all coerced to form a sea of green.

On another note, was just looking at ODNR site at the wildflower status and they were talking like the whole state (even up north) is way ahead of the season vs. my woods. This must be one cold area I live in. Makes no sense as they said things were finishing blooming that I saw not even starting to bloom here. My jack in the pulpit for example, just yesterday, is just popping out of the ground with bud in hand (at my lower level), and they were talking like this past weekend was the last chance to see it. Well, with seng liking it cooler, I may be one blessed individual with great survival rates or just some fool stuck in the cold!

So for the questions:

1. Do the rootlets stay dwarfed on the first year since they have no hair roots yet and no time out of dormancy to take in nutrients from the ground?

2. Do a lot of the rootlets not even come up the first year due to stress (out of 950, only about 5 had no bud present when planted)?

3. Being I saw seedlings sprouting (thick) where turkeys recently were scratching, do turkeys not eat seng seeds/seedlings, or do they just go for the berries?

4. Will the extended cooler weather of my lower elevation cause a higher percentage of the seeds to wait an extra year or not come up at all or am I just a bit to anxious. I have nearly $200 in fencing off an area, with even overhead chicken wire cover, housing 300 of Wildgrown's three year old rootlets that I wanted to be a seed harvest bed. Is the one that came up going to be the only survivor because of the cooler climate?

By the way I have a slew of pics but not really into spending so long uploading them as this site only allows small data pics and my phone cam takes very high res and I'd have to downsize each one and these old eyes get tired of spending so much time looking at a 5\" screen.

Help on my questions would be greatly appreciated.

Ok, here's an attempt to upload a pic of the three prong from one year rootlets from Minnesota. Next is another 1 y.o. from same source and last is where turkeys scratched but didnt damage seedlings.

Ok. Them were all the turkey scratched area. One pic per post I suppose. Heres three prong 1 year old.

Heres a one prong 1 year old from same lot.

Wow. They werent off a bit in saying less than 800x800 AND less than 5mb. Tried less than 5mb but larger than 800x800 and nope. Well here goes low res.

Wild volunteers in my Missouri planted seed row.

A nice three with parental potential.

A curled 4 prong also wanting to have offspring.

And the lovely rattlesnake fern. These grow individually and are what we call seng pointer around here.

Jim,
It is quite hard to answer all those questions as you have asked them. We'll need some help.
I don't think you will have any problems with the Minnesota rootlets if you got them in the early part of the season. I did not have. If you got them later on in the season, you might. That was my experience. It's hard to explain the weather
microcosm. It should all work out okay if the roots and seeds were in good shape. Some ginseng varieties may germinate later than others, but you'll know in a few days if that is the case. If something doesn't come up at all, you may not ever see it in the future. The bud less roots for example. The times that they are emerging this year may be a patterns that you will see throughout the lifetime of the plants.
Good luck with all of them.
Hugh