Seeds – Solomon’s Seal

Description

Planting/Growing Discussion:

This is another plant that is often a look alike when you buy seeds and not the actual medicinal Solomon’s Seal. Solomon’s Seal is a biennial, which is a perennial that takes two full years to grow. If planted in the fall, it will come up two spring seasons later. Therefore, it takes three full years for it to fully mature and produce flowers and seeds. Therefore, it may be best to start with live, transplantable roots. Even with purchasing roots, take two years to produce flowers but that’s not always the case.

Otherwise, you can stratify your seeds, but it takes two rounds of stratification. To do this, you would put the seeds in sand, in a Ziploc bag, placing it in the fridge for 12 weeks. Afterwards, you take it out and allow it to sit at 70 degrees for another 12 weeks. That is the first round, you must repeat those steps for your seeds to germinate. However, you can purchase live, transplantable roots, which may be the easiest way to grow Solomon’s seal.

If you’re starting Solomon’s seal from rhizome, bury the rhizomes horizontally about 2″ deep in soil, then cover the soil with a 1-2″ layer of mulch. If you are growing from seed, place the seeds 1/4″ inch deep.

Solomon’s seal prefers a mostly shaded area but some sun, under 4 hours a day, can be tolerated. The woods edge is a perfect place to plant them or a few feet in. As I stated, it prefers well-drained soil once it is established. Mixing your potting mix with lots of sand should do the trick.

Solomon’s Seal grows from a rhizome, which forms a notch each year it has grown. You can get a good idea as to the age of your plant by counting these nodules. The immature plant is in the form of young shoots, which many enjoy eating.

Some say that they do not have to water their plants, as long as there is a weekly rain, they should go without irrigation just fine. It can grow up to 6 feet wide and 3 feet tall. It produces many flowers, which eventually mature into a bluish black berry that holds 12 seeds. To collect the seeds, mash them and soak them in water overnight, stirring every now and again to loosen the seeds. Strain off the water and collect the seeds that have sunk to the bottom. 

Solomon’s Seal are known to live more than 100 years! Once you get your plants established, there should never be a wait again!

We carry Solomon’s seal tinctures, colloidal tinctures, glycerites, herbal tea, loose powder, and capsules, elsewhere on this site. To purchase one, or to read about the possible benefits of Solomon’s Seal, Click Here.