TOPIC: My ginseng plants are wilting

Hi, today i received some ginseng i bought from a fellow in North Carolina and had it shipped to me here in Pennsylvania, not much damage was done to the plant but i did notice that it had some wilting which was to be expected do to not being in the ground with water, but i planted it in my raised bed which has a bottom layer of clay soil which was rota tilled twice with composted leaves, twigs and also composted wood chips and then put a heavy layer of spent mushroom soil on top with composted leaves again, and then i planted the two ginseng plants i got today and just for reference there both 10+ years old already, since there wilting and they've been put in the ground and i watered them, do you think they'll perk back up or will they lose there top for the season and then come back next year? And just to add the bed i planted them in i was able to construct two slopes in the bed to allow ginseng more natural growing area, not the soil per say but the fact that it typically grows on a slope or hill. If anyone has any thought on whether the plants will perk back up or not please let me know. Thank You.

Welcome to the forum AND145.

Are your plants in enough shade?

to be expected that there will be some transport/transplant shock. your soil, while it sounds great, is not likely to be all that similar to the soil here in NC. I'd wonder if they would do better with good true woodland soil.

I think what you are seeing is transplant shock. you may lose the upper growth due to it.

I've seen them come back, but they normally do not. This is why we plant perennials in the fall when they are dying down for the winter.

Thank You im enjoying the forum! And the plants currently receive a little bit of morning sun and a tiny bit of afternoon sun coming through some trees, i was thinking transplant shock myself might be the most likely cause for the wilting and okay i know most people plant there ginseng in the fall but since i got it now, all just expect that the top will die off and it'll come back next year, all keep you guys posted on how there doing, thank you guys for the tips.

Yeah... if these were 10 year old plants, then the roots should be pretty good size. remember to NOT overwater them, and if you do lose the tops, perhaps they'll come back. you can put those little orange flag markers in the ground nearby, so you arn't scratching your head next spring about where they might be... LOL

Yes that's a good idea, and yea the roots are quite big already being 10 years old, both of them are 4 prong plants already and one plant has two plants growing on the one root, and yes over watering definetly isn't something you wanna do, thanks for the help!

And145: I'm thinking that if it is going to lose it's top so early in the season that it may not even come up next year as the next year's growth bud may not be formed. I hope that is not the case but if they don't come up next year than I wouldn't lose hope yet. In the future you def want to have plants dug in season and dormant for transplanting. I think being dormant is best for any perinneal or tree to transplant.

Jim

I think if you have good sized healthy roots, even if the tops die early this year, the root will still develop a bud spur this summer and fall and will very likely send up a top next spring.

That is as long as the root is healthy and planted in good location.

The strength required to produce the bud spur will come from the root... even though there is no top helping it out this year.

I have read that ginseng root will reproduce vegetatively... in other words you could take a nice long root and cut it in half. One part would have a bud spur, and would sprout the next year. The other half that does not have a bud spur would develop one and sprout in another year or two.. that is as long as the root is healthy and stout enough.

As others have mentioned it is definitely best to plant ginseng in the fall.

Best of Luck

TNhunter

And145- how do your plants look now?

They unfortunately have lost there tops for the season.