Horopito Plant (forum)

Haze starts with ...
Does anyone know where i can buy a Horopito plant (pseudowintera colorata) or seedling. I have tried planting the seeds but they didn't sprout. I have looked for it in Australian websites and they don't have it. I have asked every nursery in New Zeland and they don't want to send the plant over to Australia. They gave no reason why. I tried to look for it overseas and i found it in England, but they only sell it in Europe. I am not sure why is this plant so scarce and why so regulated. This plant is not rare, protected or ilegal to have. ... If anybody has it or wants to sell or trade or i will be more than happy to hear from you. Thank you ! Haze :)
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Time: 11th October 2019 11:54pm

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phil@tyalgum says...
Why not try it from seed. nzseeds.co.nz have it listed, you should get something out of them as they are generous with their serves. It's also on the BICON permitted species list which allows importation

Time: 12th October 2019 4:57pm

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About the Author TyalgumPhil
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Homebuddha says...
Kia Ora from Brizzy, Haze, I too have experienced reluctance from buying a horopito plant from NZ. Like you, I’ve found no one has the horopito plant for sale in Australia either. Apologies I can’t offer help there but you did mention your seeds did not sprout? I aim to attempt to grow it from seeds myself so I did some research that might interest you in your attempts should you wish to have another go.
This link might give you some encouragement.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8709005/

It refers specifically to studies of samples taken from 10 specific locations across New Zealand where horopito grows prolific, so as better to understand how and what helps them grow successfully, eventually leading to focus on soil samples and microbial presence. Their studies found the presence of endophytic fungi being a major element at every grow site. From my understanding the fungi contributed enormously in helping provide host plants with resistance to fight off pathogens, which I suspect is why it’s polygodial properties (which characterises its healing abilities)are off the charts.

There’s a lot more of can mention but it’s best if you read it. Most interesting is the case study on glass house grown seedlings which I thought might spur your interest to try seedlings. If I can successfully duplicate the fungal network in my growing medium (purely experimental by trial and error perhaps it might provide a window of success. I’m not scientific by any nature but I do desire to try growing from seed using mushroom compost, fine biochar inoculated with LAB (inspired by my following Dave from The Weedy garden in YouTube). I’ve learned a lot from him, you might want to look him up.. He explains what LAB is and how to make it.

To increase my chances of success, I will try his compost recipe as a second grow medium too. After reading in Masters.co.nz Horopito’s propagation guide recommending a 4 week cold stratification period I’m inclined to also try a seedling mix. I live in hilly country area, deep in a flood prone gully, so I might have a similar topography to semi alpine environment, who knows.

I could be way off in my hunch but nothing to gain without trying. With a bit of time I hope to update how it went. Fingers crossed! Hope this helps inspire you to try again. Sorry this response comes almost 5 years later. I have seen your thread in google during every search derivative I performed for horopito, then found the study and that gave me the idea, so thought I’d join up and let you in on it. Good luck Haze.
Paul in 4207 QLD.


Edit: it appears a 4wk seed stratification period is necessary, I’ve purchased 10grams of seeds, $80 plus shipping. I’m going to risk a portion of 100 seeds stored in my fridge for 3-4weeks before sewing them in grow mediums. Could be a complete botch up. I know very little about propagating plants until today so I’m by far no expert, nor do I have any string of success growing things. I just chuck them in soil and hoped for the best. I feel a bit more confident.




Time: 24th June 2024 8:35am

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Original Post was last edited: 24th June 2024 9:25am
About the Author Homebuddha
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Homebuddha says...
Thank you Phil for the recommendation

Time: 24th June 2024 8:42am

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Original Post was last edited: 24th June 2024 8:47am
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Linton says...
Horopito plants are already grown here by a number of people, including the cultivars Red Leopard and Red Glow. Plants should be readily available in Spring but I’m wondering what you would use them for because I find that the leaves are far too hot to be eaten and can burn the mouth. So I think it’s best potential is for medicinal uses.
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Time: 27th June 2024 9:24am

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