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Poison Drink


Registered: 11/15/10
Posts: 841
Loc: W-Europe
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Ephedra Growers Unite 3
#26059455 - 06/18/19 11:28 AM (4 years, 7 months ago) |
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This thread is to document my endeavours in cultivating Ephedra spp. and to find out if other shroomerites are growing these plants. Also, there still was no dedicated thread for this genus on the shroomery.
Quote:
MeanGreen said: As far as growing information, I highly recommend the Ephedra thread on SAB, started by my Greek friend Sagi, he has a great wealth of knowledge on the genus.
Ten months ago, I bought two plants from a well-known auction site, namely E. nevandensis and E. viridis. These were two sturdy plants in a tiny pot, so I gave them a repot straight away. The growing mixture consists of fertilized potting soil for acid-loving plants, with quite a bit of perlite and lava rocks to ensure good drainage. I added a handful of white sand to this mixture and also a small amount of cow and chicken manure. They arrived in the middle of the summer, so they could be placed outdoors immediately.
At the end of summer I took them indoors and placed them by the side of a grow light. Throughout the colder months they slowly kept on growing.

I gave them another repot a month or two ago and placed them outdoors again. It was however still fairly cold during the night at that time, with lots of rain and wind. Alternated by a couple of days of full sun and scorching heat. Due to this, the extremities of both plants suffered a bit and turned yellow. But both of them survived and are now pushing out a lot of growth. This was one month ago at the beginning of new growth development:

And here they are today, adapted to full sun. On the left is E. viridis and on the right E. nevadensis

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Last year at the beginning of summer, I ordered seeds of five different Ephedra species. I nicked the seed coat and soaked them for about a day before sowing. They also recieved a cold stratification beforehand, since I read they might benefit from it. Germination rate was extremely disappointing, as only one E. sinica and one E. major seed germinated. They have been growing in a windowsill all the time, which receives just a couple of hours of direct sun a day. I believe their growth nearly came to a halt after the summer.

These two plants are rather pathetic up until now. A month ago they consisted out of one single stem, but with summer around the corner they both have pushed out one or two new side shoots which grow quite rapidly. I gave them a repot a week ago and they're now placed under a grow light, since they're still too fragile to grow outdoors in my opinion considering the fierce weather lately.

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I discovered a botanical garden with lots of Ephedra spp. plants in the ground. It's quite interesting to see all of these plants survive outdoors in our colder climate.

And a couple of seeds of the last two Ephedra spp., the red ones are E. minima seeds and the other specie is unidentified.

I will be trying to grow these. Today I took some seeds out of their cones, and sowed them on top of a hydrated mixture of sowing and cutting soil with added perlite. I didn't give them any other special treatment as I read fresh seeds will readily germinate. Not sure if the seeds in the greenish cones were already mature though, but I will soon find out.
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LifeUnderAwno

Registered: 07/04/16
Posts: 977
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Re: Ephedra Growers Unite *DELETED* [Re: Poison Drink]
#26059482 - 06/18/19 11:54 AM (4 years, 7 months ago) |
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Mateo
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Registered: 06/24/11
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Im very interested in this genus too. I have tried to sow countless of different variety's but the seeds from auctionsites as well as seed companys will not grow. I tried cold stratification, warm water soak, GA3 activation solution, everything. I have got a very few to germinate out of probably over 100 seeds and it were E.Viridis and E.Nevadensis. I have just one small plant that are just little bigger than your seed grown plant PD. And unfortunately it is P.Nevadensis, one of those that contain almost zero ephedrine.
I would like to get me a E.Intermedia plant, preferably E.Intermedia var. Tibetica. This variety is high in ephedrine and also have bigger, thicker stems. But any of the varietys with higher ephedrine or pseudoephedrine would do fine. I would like to try grow and multiply them with tissue culture and i have a PDF giving media and growth regulator levels.
-------------------- A wise rat has many holes
Edited by Mateo (07/08/19 02:23 PM)
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Mateo
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Re: Ephedra Growers Unite [Re: Mateo]
#26059545 - 06/18/19 12:48 PM (4 years, 7 months ago) |
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Here is another PDF about Ephedra.
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cosmofish



Registered: 03/01/09
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Loc: British Columbia
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Re: Ephedra Growers Unite [Re: Mateo]
#26059555 - 06/18/19 12:54 PM (4 years, 7 months ago) |
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Here's my ephedra sinica, one plant made it from a packet of seeds I planted maybe 5/6 years ago. It's been kind of neglected so it's not as big as it could be; I used to have it in a shady spot but it's doing much better in full sun. Never tried using the stuff but it's an interesting plant
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Mateo
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Re: Ephedra Growers Unite [Re: cosmofish]
#26059581 - 06/18/19 01:11 PM (4 years, 7 months ago) |
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Ephedrine isn´t enjoyable, at least i dont think so. Many use Ephedra extracts for loosing weight but it probably do more harm than good. OK, they loose weight but become mentally sick and depressed.
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Poison Drink


Registered: 11/15/10
Posts: 841
Loc: W-Europe
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Re: Ephedra Growers Unite [Re: Mateo]
#26059634 - 06/18/19 01:43 PM (4 years, 7 months ago) |
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Well it's often used in cold medicines, as it's a bronchodilator. It also helps with a stuffy nose due to allergies. I munched on some fresh and dried stems a couple of times with noticeable effects. Not sure if both the E. nevadensis and E. viridis gave me the same effect, will try it out some time.
I also took a couple of sucker cuttings of a Ephedra aphylla Forssk. plant, which is said to grow in the region of Arabia. No idea if the cuttings will survive as they only had a very small portion of root attached. This one still looks promising:
Edited by Poison Drink (06/18/19 01:48 PM)
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Mateo
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In your link they said that layering works for cuttings but not all the time. Just bury a section of the stem in a nearby pot of soil and roots will come if you wait. I dont know what % it has to succeed but it works they wrote.
I only have tried pure ephedrine crystals and it was similar to speed, but not a pleasurable experience that i would try again. Maybe some Ephedra tea would be better.
-------------------- A wise rat has many holes
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Poison Drink


Registered: 11/15/10
Posts: 841
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Re: Ephedra Growers Unite [Re: Mateo]
#26059673 - 06/18/19 02:11 PM (4 years, 7 months ago) |
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From that thread on SAB:
Quote:
Torsten said: Layering works though. Just push down some low branches and bury them well for 1 or 2 years, then look for roots. Sometimes there will be roots, sometimes not.
It's sadly not a very viable method of taking cuttings if you have to wait that long.
Oh and what a lovely E. sinica plant, cosmofish!
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Mostly_Harmless
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My lone E. sinica putting on lots of new growth. Sown from the big seed giveaway here in the garden some years back.
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Poison Drink


Registered: 11/15/10
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I presume you're talking about the 'Ephedra Revolution'. Good to see some of those plants are still lasting! Has your E. sinica plant ever flowered?
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JayWise

Registered: 11/05/17
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Re: Ephedra Growers Unite *DELETED* [Re: Poison Drink]
#26061908 - 06/19/19 02:59 PM (4 years, 7 months ago) |
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Post deleted by JayWise
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Mateo
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Re: Ephedra Growers Unite [Re: JayWise]
#26063493 - 06/20/19 11:07 AM (4 years, 7 months ago) |
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I doubt the layering method takes 2 years as he wrote. Several months maybe but if it hasn´t grown roots after half a year i doubt it ever will do it. But maybe he´s right, i just find it very long time. Since tissue culture works maybe that´s a good way to get many plants/clones.
Oh, i just checked on my Ephedra seeds i sown and one E.Viridis seed has germinated  Now i hope i can keep it alive till it´s bigger and stronger. No luck with the other Ephedrea seeds though. They are really are hard to get growing from seeds. I guess it´s old seeds.
-------------------- A wise rat has many holes
Edited by Mateo (06/20/19 11:16 AM)
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LifeUnderAwno

Registered: 07/04/16
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Re: Ephedra Growers Unite *DELETED* [Re: Mateo]
#26064179 - 06/20/19 05:09 PM (4 years, 7 months ago) |
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Post deleted by LifeUnderAwno
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Poison Drink


Registered: 11/15/10
Posts: 841
Loc: W-Europe
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So today I was giving a Ephedra aphylla Forssk. sucker cutting a little tug and noticed some resistance. Only afterwards did I notice the plant had started to grow a new basal shoot, and other nodes are starting to swell as well. The sucker cuttings had only a tiny root of about 1-2cm still attached and were taken exactly three weeks ago.
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Mateo
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Thats nice. A sign it´s doing well
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BattyKoda
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Re: Ephedra Growers Unite [Re: Mateo]
#26065089 - 06/21/19 06:21 AM (4 years, 7 months ago) |
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I've got some seeds I need to sow asap!
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aceprophet.47
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Re: Ephedra Growers Unite [Re: BattyKoda] 1
#26067726 - 06/22/19 02:11 PM (4 years, 7 months ago) |
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Has any one came out with a viable way to sow these as seeds?
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Crispy224
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Basically just sow in individual pots and keep moist until they sprout. The best time to sow is during spring/summer. They won't sprout all that well in cold weather. Fresh Ephedra seeds will germinate quite easily. I think most that have trouble getting their seeds to sprout is due to old seed.
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Feroxx
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Re: Ephedra Growers Unite [Re: Crispy224]
#26067921 - 06/22/19 04:54 PM (4 years, 7 months ago) |
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i did read a few days back about it, fresh is good but after a year or year and a half germ rate is reduced to 5%
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