I have been planting seed for about ten years now and it grows great everywhere but one woods. I had a bed and it sprouted but when I went back later to check on it all of the plants were gone. I have never had plants grow there since. The timber was cattle pasture till about 20 years ago. It's good mushroom hunting and there are companion plants. I have also transferred a few adult plants only to have them get smaller and smaller then never come up again. Think I should forget this woods and move on?

i would move on you could take a soil sample and see whats going on prolly lacking something or to much of something maybe ... i know my old book says they used old well rotted stable manure years ago growing seng ...and i have found old seng in cattle run timber before .. im sure Don and a few other guys will pop in and maybe help you out and answer your question better than i can ..

If the woods is an upland woods and has good drainage, I think I would give up on the woods. Some woods will not grow seng. The ph in the woods should be around 5 or 6 if I remember right.

Thanks guys. It is upland woods. The PH is 5. I heard slugs and snails can be a problem and I have seen both. Do you think they could eat all of a patch? It was about 15' x 75'.

I doubt they could eat the whole patch. You would need to keep an eye on the patch and see when it starts disappearing. Could be a blight that is causing the trouble. There is a few different blights that can and do attack ginseng. Couple of them kill the roots off. Usually start with a spot on the leaf that looks like hot water has been dropped on the leaf. It slowly spreads and consumes the top of the plant. This process sooner or later effects the root and it starts to rot in the ground. This blight usually starts with the humidity level getting higher as late june and early july comes around. I think the blight is called alternaria, to the best of my recolection.

Ok, I should have kept a closer eye on them. Maybe so many close together is a bad idea. Thanks for the tips.

Alternaria blight does not normally affect the roots of ginseng. It kills the top off for the year thus causing loss of root growth and loss of seed production.

Phytopthera root rot is possibly the cause of your problems. It does attack the root and usually destroys it. Ridomil can be top dressed on the ground in the powder form. Do it just before or during a rain so that it gets taken down into the ground so it can be absorped by the roots.

So if the second disease kills the root, then does it show on the leaves at all. That is other than the leaves wilting down. Does it still show the classic scalded look and then the leaves get a bit of mildew on them. I have dug into several plants that look like they alternaria, and see root rot on the roots. Maybe the alternaria weakens the plant and then the other disease takes over.

Yes it shows on the leaves. Usually large yellow spots. The main indicator to me is the stem or stalk turns purple. That along with the yellow and wilting top are clear indicators of root rot. It would be possible for the plants to get alternaria and root rot at the same time.

Root rot can decimate a patch of seng in a short amount of time especially if conditions are right or wrong depending on how you look at it. Poorly drained clay soil, hot and humid weather, poor air circulation, etc. all contribute to root rot.

I had dang near a 1/2 acre of woods grown that got the rot. We liked to never stopped the dang stuff. It happened the last week of june. Been dang near 20 years ago. seng can be a real pain in the rear to grow, especially if you don't use seed that is pretty close to your area. Some of the worst seed I ever saw came from wisconsin. Some of the better from Ohio, Ky, and Virginia.

you ever have any luck treating the seed before planting Don ? i think the seed that can be bought is tame and i think all the tame seed carry disease before you plant it i don't know that to be a fact im just guessing whats your opinion ? i have a couple woods left that i have dug in since i was a kid and most of the seng there is what i put back in the berry and it seems to do fine

All the seed you buy is tame seed. There would be very little if any real wild seed to buy. Some places put a coating on the seeds.