Kratom

On Jul 12, 2012, kbschmida from Tallahassee, FL wrote:

I bought 2 rooted cuttings to add the plant to my medicinal plant collection. They love the long, hot humid summers here, but have to be taken inside when temps dip below 50F or the huge leaves will start to fall off. The trees rapidly grow too big to be moved! Fortunately, they grow well from green cuttings, potted in sterile medium inside ziplocs under lights with or without rooting hormone, so you can start fresh every year.

Do not let the soil dry out on hot sunny days or they will wilt and scorch! They are heavy drinkers and feeders. Outdoors, few pests. Indoors, spider mites are a major problem, whiteflies and aphids less so.

From a distance, they look like avocado trees, but on close inspection, you notice the unique spearhead-shaped bud sheaths, which ... read moresplit open as the shiny, reddish new growth emerges. The bud sheaths are persistent on the stem, but eventually brown and drop.

Flowers do not appear on small plants, but they are terminal bright-yellow globular clusters. I'm unable to verify if they are fragrant, but the related Indian species M. parvifolia (Kaim) is very fragrant, as plants in this family often are (coffee, gardenia, seven-year apple). The flower color and architecture would probably have great appeal for butterflies and bees.

My friend has one in the ground at Key West, FL (zone 11) and it's doing well year-round.

On Jun 12, 2008, Dracoaureus from Oneonta, NY (Zone 5b) wrote:

I think I may have waited too long on the planting, I guess seeds are not viable for any length of time. Will put in my own pictures if they do!