Licorice root-is it possible in container?

[tenderloingardener]

I searched to see if there was already a thread for this but either I'm doing something wrong or I'm asking nutty things because I always come up with "no suitable matches."
I just love licorice root-the real deal. Anise hyssop and fennel are good, but nothing beats the licorice root for flavor and sweetness. Has anyone ever tried growing this? Is it huge or can a container gardener do it? I've never seen any seeds on offer, so I wonder how to propagate. If it is grown from the root like ginger it I need to know what to do with it because the root I get from the bulk bins at Rainbow "rude, snobby youngsters" co-op are very dry and woody-though delicious and reasonably priced.

Any advice for crazy-idea lady?

Shawna

[rainbowgardener]

Wow, thanks for the question! I grow lots of herbs, but never occurred to me to try licorice. I do grow anise hyssop and fennel. You led me to look it up and discover that there is an American or wild licorice that is native to much of the US and Canada (so must be cold hardy). It is not native to SE US or unfortunately OH, MI, KY, WV or parts of New England. https://plants.usda.gov/core/profile?sym ... e=nativity

It grows as a small shrub, so sounds like it should be manageable in a container.

I don't know how you searched. The thing that says SEARCH in the black horizontal menu doesn't work any more and really webmaster should remove it. The Google custom search box is our search and it only searches THG. If you type licorice in there you get tons of hits, almost all of which are actually about anise hyssop, fennel, licorice basil, etc. There are occasional other mentions of actual licorice, like this:

https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/vi ... php?t=1775
https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/vi ... hp?t=24260

but like you, I didn't find a single thread about actually growing licorice plant.

I hope someone comes along with actual experience growing it. I will add it to my list of want to grows, along with patchouli and ginger.

[tenderloingardener]

Well, that explains why every time I run a "search" certain that I'm bringing up something so basic that it simply must have a thread it usually comes up with nada. Thanks!

I decided that I'd do hyssop this year because the seed catalogues were of offering the standard- I forget the proper name though when I see it I know it, but I decided no way on that one. If I have ànything left for room next season I'll see about this wild variety. In SF fennel grows wild everywhere, but it's cleanliness for consumption is doubtful. I have dug up the entire plant for the delicious bulb in low traffic areas.

I put the anise hyssop seeds down on a seed flat-barely covering some and not covering others on the 14th and have been getting lucky with sunny days. In the evenings it's still been getting down to 51F or so, so I bring them in and put them in my aqaurium with the idea that if the light is useless the warmth is not. I shut it off before bed though.

Any advice? I did not get many seeds in the pack so I'm a bit nervous-I wasn't able to hold any back for an oops. I worry a bit that in the hottest part of the afternoon the soil may actually be getting too hot. I put an old cloth napkin underneath so the container is not directly on the hot cement ledge. Clear plastic cover. Damp, not soggy. Regular soil.

Even the seeds smell like licorice and I was sorely tempted to munch.

I really hope to get a plant or two because I enjoy making my own teas.

Thanks for the info!

Blue is the life giving water taken for granted-it quietly understands. (Jimi Hendrix, Bold As Love)

[tenderloingardener]

PS

Remember my "flowers in a mist" -Better known as "love in a mist" or Nigella sp(I cannot determine from the photos I've seen if it is damascena or sativa but the seeds do taste slightly oniony and quite good). Thanks to our long growing season and a mild winter I have buds on nearly every plant. I actually had to transplant them twice. With this guy, at any rate, if one is exceedingly careful to bother the roots as minimally as humanly possible it can be done, though there is a period where growth is very slow-likely the tap root moving in to it's new home.

You helped me with these so I wanted to let you know it was a success. In an area with a shorter growing period and harsher winter they wouldn't have made it. San Francisco does have a couple of advantages even during one of our utterly insane real estate bubbles.

One of them is almost 2' and there are 3 buds, the one on top getting quite large. Opening any day now and likely quite blue.

Now that is the designated pot so I won't need to fool around like I had to with these-if I decide to grow them again next season.
Thanks. You've been a super help! You'll make a proper gardener out if me yet.

[rainbowgardener]

glad to hear your nigella was a success; thanks for the update!

I started some more anise hyssop from seed this year, in my indoor seed starting operation. They are quite easy in the right conditions. Seeds need light and heat for germination. I just press them lightly into the potting mix so that they are in good contact, but don't cover them and put them under the lights on the heat mat. They like temps about 70 degrees for germination. I've seen it said they may take up to three weeks to germinate. Mine with light and heat sprouted in four days. They are now nice little plants that are starting to go out to get hardened off.