American Ginseng |
| General |
| Common Name | American Ginseng |
| Latin Name | Panax quinquelfolius |
| Category | Medicinals |
| Family | Araliaceae |
| Variety | |
| Visual Traits |
| Flower | many in a terminal umbel |
| No Citation Available |
| Foliage/Fall leaf color | bright golden-yellow fall color |
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| Fruit | fleshy red berry, usually 2 seeded but occasionally one or three white colored seeds |
| No Citation Available |
| Height | 3 inches (seedlings) to 24 inches, rarely taller mature plants |
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| Other valued traits | medicinal use by many cultures, considered an adaptogen, attractive ornamental |
| No Citation Available |
| Spread | 3 inches (seedlings) to 24 inches, rarely wider mature plants |
| No Citation Available |
| Cultivation |
| Cultivation and Mulching | mulch with two inch layer of shredded sugar maple leaves |
| No Citation Available |
| Field preparation and planting | hand till or shallow rottotill soil to 2 inch depth |
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| Field spacing / planting depth | thin to one plant per square foot |
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| Harvest | usually harvested at 7 to 10 years or older |
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| Pollination | primarily self pollinated but some cross pollination by small bees |
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| Propagation method | seeds only |
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| Retail Source | several |
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| Seed harvest | fall, when berries turn red, August to October |
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| Seed treatment and storage | requires complex stratification, berries are usually depulped, mixed with coarse sand and buried for one year |
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| Seedling treatment | protect from slugs |
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| Sowing seed | fall planted in North, (September to November) up to February in south |
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| Transplant | 2 year old and older roots easily transplanted after August |
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| Watering guidelines | not usually watered in forest |
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| Critters |
| Insect and invertebrate pests | slugs, gray aphids, cutworms, stinkbugs, |
| No Citation Available |
| Pathogens | Phytophthora cactorum, Alternaria panax, Rhizoctonia,Cylindrocarpon, (rust complexes) |
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| Toxicity | None |
| No Citation Available |
| Wildlife Pests | deer are serious pests, as are voles |
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| Soils |
| Compaction (tolerance) | some |
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| Fertility / quality | low to moderate fertility |
| No Citation Available |
| Minerals | high calcium requirement |
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| Moisture and drainage | prefers moist but well drained |
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| pH | wide range from 3.6 to 7.6 |
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| Salt tolerance | none |
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| Soils and topography | prefers mild to moderate slope, found midslope most often |
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| Texture | wide range from sand to clay loams |
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| Growth Pattern |
| Fruit bearing age / full crop load | varies with site from age 5 to age 10, full crop usually by age 10 |
| No Citation Available |
| Good seed crop interval (fruit load) | annual if not eaten by critters |
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| Growth rate | slow, somewhat site dependent |
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| Longevity | potentially very long lived, up to 150 years or more |
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| Root habit | perennial |
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| Habitat and Climate |
| Exposure | north, northeast preferred |
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| Fire tolerance | none |
| No Citation Available |
| Frost-free days (FFD) | as few as 60 |
| No Citation Available |
| Growing degree days (GDD) | wide range |
| No Citation Available |
| Hardiness Zone | USDA Zones 3,4,5,6, |
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| Native Range | northern Georgia to Southern Quebec, west to Wisconsin, northern Arkansas and Alabama |
| No Citation Available |
| Rainfall / humidity | moderate 35 to 55 |
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| Wind / ice / frost susceptibility | somewhat frost tolerant in fall, less so in early spring |
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| Light |
| Light recommendation | requires 65 to 85% shade, optimal shade is in a mature sugar maple forest, 80% basal area |
| No Citation Available |
| Shade tolerance | high, up to 90% shade tolerated |
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| Vegetation Associations |
| Competitive ability | competes well with native plants poorly with exotics i.e garlic mustard |
| No Citation Available |
| Indicator species | Maidenhair fern, rattlesnake fern, baneberry, blue cohosh (north). Goldenseal, black cohosh, bloodroot,spicebush (south). Competes well with most native plants, poorly with exotics ie.garlic mustard |
| No Citation Available |