How to grow Calea Zacatechichi

Calea zacatechichi

Will tolerate almost any kind of soil, but prefers well drained. Will grow in full sun or full shade. Be careful not to overwater. Seedlings will not tolerate topsoil or potting soil very well.

Handles living in a container well.

Growing Calea zacatechichi from seed

Soak seed pod in a bowl of distilled room temperature water for about 12-24 hours. This loosens the pod and allows the needle seeds to fluff out a feathery plume at the end. This makes planting seeds easier. Use tweezers. Make sure the needle end is in the soil, just barely poked into surface of soil. Do not allow two seeds on top of each other. Cover with plastic wrap and put in partly sunny window sill. Use medium size margarine tubs (country crock) with no holes in bottom to start the seedlings. They like plastic containers. Do not use clear plastic. Use only distilled water, not filtered. Do not use clay pots. It is wise to plant only one to three seeds in the container. Use organic seed starting soil and vermiculite- 50-50 mix. Do not use topsoil and do not use potting soil. Topsoil is harsh and dries too easily and is tough to germinate in with all the little wood chips in it. Needs the consistency of the 50-50 mix for transplanting purposes, You will be grateful you spent the money ($15 total for the two bags).

2nd opinion: grew just fine on filtered well water, no humidity domes, used a custom soilless seeding mix, no seed soaking beforehand.

The internet agrees to generally expect low germination from seeds though, so do what you must.

Transplanting Calea zacatechichi

Transplanting, as with all plants, is based on the root development, but generally speaking around 4" tall they should be able to tolerate transplanting.

Ensure that temperatures are mild and all chance of frost has passed before planting out, as Calea zacatechichi is a half hardy plant.

Harvesting Calea zacatechichi

FYI there’s a bitter form of this plant, and a not bitter form. There’s some debate if you can tell based on the foliage or not, or if it makes any difference in how effective it is.

If you have the bitter form, you can use the flowers of Osmanthus fragrans to make it tastier – just make a tea with both thrown in.

Seed Saving Calea zacatechichi

Many times this plant does not set seed.

How long does Calea zacatechichi take to grow?

These estimates for how long Calea zacatechichi takes to sprout, grow and harvest are from real observations from real gardeners, right around the world.

Days to Germination How long does it take Calea zacatechichi to germinate?
14 days

Average 14 days | Min days | Max days (0)

Days to Transplant How long until I can plant out Calea zacatechichi?
+ 14 days

Average 14 days | Min days | Max days (0)

Days to Maturity How long until Calea zacatechichi is ready for harvest / bloom?
+ days

Average days | Min days | Max days (0)

Total Growing Days How long does it take to grow Calea zacatechichi?
= days

Other names for Calea zacatechichi

Dream Herb

Calea ternifolia

Footnotes

http://worldseedsupplydotnet.blogspot.com/2011/12/how-to-grow-calea-zacatechichi-from.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calea_ternifolia


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