Latest Prices for Gastrodia Seeds and a Detailed Guide to Planting Methods

Gastrodia is one of the precious traditional Chinese medicinal herbs, also known as Chijian, Mupu, Limu, etc. It is a perennial herbaceous plant of the genus Gastrodia in the orchid family (Orchidaceae), and has been used medicinally for more than a thousand years. In China's ancient medical books, the "Shennong Bencao Jing" and the "Compendium of Materia Medica," there are records of Gastrodia “curing all diseases and prolonging life.” Now let's take a look together at the price of Gastrodia seeds and the planting methods!

How much is a jin of Gastrodia seeds?

The price of Gastrodia seeds is about 40 to 50 yuan per jin. The market value of Gastrodia seeds is mainly determined by the quality of the seeds, chiefly whether they are wild, purebred, or black-red hybrid Gastrodia seeds; usually wild Gastrodia seeds are more expensive than both purebred and hybrid ones. At the same time, it also depends on whether they are generation 0 or generation 1 seeds. Generally, the price difference between generation 0 and generation 1 seeds is double. One jin of generation 0 Gastrodia seeds can generally plant about 1.5 square meters, while generation 1 Gastrodia seeds can plant about 1 square meter.

What varieties of Gastrodia are there?

1. Red Gastrodia: Red Gastrodia is an excellent variety. The plant is relatively tall, the stem is orange-red, the rhizome is relatively large, and the flowers are yellow with a slight orange-red tinge. The flowering period is April to May. It grows quickly and has strong adaptability. It is produced in the provinces of the Yellow River basin and the Yangtze River basin, with a per-square-meter yield of more than 10 kilograms.

2. Green Gastrodia: The Green Gastrodia plant is relatively tall. The rhizome is long-elliptical or obconical, with relatively dense nodes and many scale-like sheaths on the nodes. The stem is pale blue-green, and the flowers are pale blue-green to white. The flowering period is June to July. It is produced in the provinces and autonomous regions from Northeast to Southwest China, and is not often seen in the wild, only occasionally cultivated.

3. Black Gastrodia: Black Gastrodia is an excellent variety. The plant is tall, the rhizome is elliptical to ovate-elliptical, the stem is gray-brown with white longitudinal stripes, and the flowers are blue-green. The flowering period is June to July. It is produced in western Guizhou and from northeastern to northwestern Yunnan. Most of the Gastrodia cultivated in Yunnan is this type.

4. Pine Gastrodia: The Pine Gastrodia plant is about 1 meter tall. The rhizome is usually spindle-shaped or cylindrical, the stem is yellow-white, and the flowers are white or pale yellow. The flowering period is April to May. It is produced in northwestern Yunnan, often growing under pine-oak forests, and has not been introduced for cultivation because of its low drying rate.

5. Yellow Gastrodia: The Yellow Gastrodia plant is more than 1 meter tall. The rhizome is ovate-long-elliptical, the stem is pale yellow and pale yellow-green when young, and the flowers are pale yellow. The flowering period is April to May. It is produced in Henan, Hubei, Guizhou and northeastern Yunnan, often growing at the edges of open forests, and is occasionally cultivated in the southwestern region.

Propagation methods for Gastrodia

1. Tuber propagation: Gastrodia tubers can be planted in winter or spring. Winter planting is in November, and spring planting is in March to April. Select tubers with no disease spots, no frost damage and no rot, and plant them separately by size. When planting, place the seed tubers parallel in the furrows between the fungus logs, close against the fungus logs, fill the gaps with humus soil, then cover with 3 cm, so that the underlying fungus material is not visible. Plant the second layer in the same way, finally cover with 10 to 15 cm, and then cover with a layer of leaves and weeds.

2. Seed propagation: Gastrodia seeds have a short lifespan, so the harvested capsules should be sown promptly. When sowing, take out the upper layer of fungus material from the fungus bed, scrape away the soil on the lower layer of fungus material, scatter moist fallen leaves over the lower layer of fungus material, press flat slightly, evenly scatter the seeds on the leaves, cover with a thin layer of moist fallen leaves, then sow the second layer of seeds, cover with 3 cm of soil, then cover with another layer of moist leaves, put in the soil-layer fungus material, and finally cover with 10 to 15 cm of soil.

Planting methods for Gastrodia

1. Cultivation time: Gastrodia cultivation is generally from late October of the current year to April of the following year. Sowing from late October to early December, before the soil freezes, is winter planting; sowing after the soil thaws in spring, in March to April, is spring planting. In high-altitude mountainous areas, the sowing time can be extended to May.

2. Cultivation site: For Gastrodia cultivation, any land plot can be chosen, such as in front of or behind a house, wild sloping land, orchard land, etc. Sandy loam with strong air and water permeability is especially best, with a soil pH of 5 to 6.

3. Land preparation and bed building: For flat land, Gastrodia beds can be made on the spot with a width of 80 cm, a depth of 10 cm, and unlimited length. For wild sloping land, build terraced horizontal beds according to the slope and terrain, with a spacing of about 1 meter between beds. Trees and weeds at the edges of the beds should be kept as much as possible to provide shade and prevent the bed edges or ridges from collapsing.

4. Temperature management: The suitable temperature for Gastrodia production is 13 to 25 degrees; within this temperature range, the higher the better. In winter, prevent freezing, and in summer and autumn, prevent high temperatures and drought. In addition to using shade material to prevent high temperatures, water supplementation can also be used to lower the soil temperature.

5. Water management: For Gastrodia, from winter to the following spring, the soil moisture should be controlled at 10 to 20%, raised to about 60% from April to June, and from June to August it is suitable to retain water and lower temperature, preserve moisture and drain waterlogging. In September, the soil moisture of the bed should be controlled below 40%. In late October, when Gastrodia enters dormancy, it can be harvested.

6. Pest and disease control: The main pests of Gastrodia include mole crickets, white grubs, and termites. For control, first, when cultivating Gastrodia, spread 5% chlordane powder and “Termite King” pesticide around the bed; second, use termite control traps to trap and kill termites.