An emerging market exists in specialty flower shops and health food stores for ginseng sold as a houseplant. Ginseng, whether wild or cultivated, is an attractive plant with several hues throughout the year - bearing deep green leaves in the growing season, red berries in late summer, and bright gold leaves at the end of the growing season. The houseplant market may be valuable as supplemental income for the ginseng grower. Since some cultivated varieties have much the same appearance as the wild, it would be possible to substitute non-organic cultivated varieties as houseplants.



When you are transferring plants from the forest floor to the pot, be sure to take extra care in the digging operation. The procedure is as follows: Use a sharp needle-nosed spade, the same tool as that used for digging ginseng roots, mentioned above.

First determine how the root is positioned. Some roots grown over shallow soil and underlying stones may be positioned almost horizontally. Others may grow in the crevices between two stones and may need special care when they are being extracted. Be sure to dig the whole plant along with over one-half a square foot of the dirt surrounding it. Try not to let roots become at all exposed during the digging process. Place the plant in a pot before allowing the root to dry out.

Seeds are some of your most important assets. When the bright red seeds appear in the summer they can be gobbled up by the native birds, small rodents, squirrels and other animals that flock to the forests. This is nature's way of propagating seeds. The seeds pass through the animals' bodies and are deposited elsewhere, allowing the ginseng plant to reproduce and thrive. The ginseng roots themselves are also vulnerable to animal depredation. Ginseng roots are a preferred food for voles and other digging mammals during times of drought and food shortage.