Grow Your Own Goldenseal & Ginseng

…Support Wild Populations While You’re At It

Goldenseal (Hydrastis canadensis) and American ginseng (Panax quinquefolius) are two of the most sought-after, and most vulnerable, medicinal plants in North America. Decades of wild harvesting, combined with habitat loss, have pushed both native woodland herbs onto United Plant Savers’ At-Risk list. Goldenseal has also earned a spot on CITES Appendix II, the international treaty that monitors trade in threatened species.

The good news? Both plants are well suited to home and woodland cultivation, and every root or seed you plant is one less pulled from a wild population.

That’s why we’re offering our Goldenseal Root Sale and Ginseng Seed Sale. This is your chance to bring these two iconic Appalachian plants into your own land while directly supporting UpS’s conservation work.

Why Grow Your Own?

Goldenseal and ginseng share the same rich, shaded woodland conditions, making them natural companions for anyone already forest farming. Left undisturbed, goldenseal can spread into dense colonies, while ginseng, a slower growing but long-lived plant, rewards patient stewards for years to come.

By cultivating your own supply, you take pressure off wild populations and become part of a growing community of stewards helping these at-risk species recover.

Goldenseal Roots

  • Live goldenseal rhizomes, available in bundles so you can plant a little or a lot
  • Clear planting instructions included with your order, since rhizomes ship as live plant material and are ready to go in the ground shortly after arrival
  • Shipping included in the price
  • All proceeds directly support United Plant Savers’ conservation and education programs

Please note: due to goldenseal’s CITES listing, we’re only able to ship rhizomes within the U.S.

American Ginseng Seeds

  • Stratified ginseng seed, available in 1 oz., 2 oz., 4 oz., and 8 oz. quantities (approximately 400 seeds per ounce) — the more you buy, the more you save
  • Because this seed is already stratified, it needs only one more cold cycle before germinating — get it in the ground before the first freeze
  • Planting instructions included, shipping included in the price
  • As with the goldenseal roots, all proceeds support UpS, and because these are live seeds, we’re only able to ship within the U.S.

Supplies of both are limited each season, so don’t wait too long once the sale opens.

Why This Year Matters for Ginseng

American ginseng cultivation has been under real strain. Ongoing tariff disputes between the U.S. and China — ginseng’s largest export market — have made it harder for domestic growers to stay in business, and the number of cultivated ginseng farms has fallen sharply over the past several years. Canadian growers, often looked to as an alternative source, are navigating their own version of this same trade uncertainty, so the supply pressure isn’t isolated to the U.S. side of the border.

Fewer working ginseng farms means fewer mature, seed-producing plants each season — and a shrinking, more uncertain supply of seed for home growers and conservation-minded forest farmers alike. It also raises the stakes for wild populations: when commercial cultivation becomes less viable, the pressure to wild-harvest tends to climb right along with it.

All of which is to say — if you’ve been thinking about starting or expanding a ginseng patch, this is a good year to act. With so much uncertainty ahead for growers on both sides of the border, seed availability may only get tighter from here.

More Than a Root or a Seed

Every purchase through this sale helps fund the work UpS does at the Goldenseal Botanical Sanctuary and beyond — protecting native habitat, maintaining the At-Risk list, and keeping traditional plant knowledge alive for the next generation of growers and herbalists.

SHOP THE SALE

Goldenseal and American ginseng are both UpS At-Risk species. Learn more about the plants and their conservation status [here].

Sources on ginseng grower decline and trade impacts: