Argyreia Nervosa Cultivation (Hawaiian Baby Woodrose)

(1) http://www.erowid.org/psychoactives/cultivation/cultivation_growing-the-hallucinogens.shtml#HAWAIIANBABYWOODROSE

Argyreia nevosa Bojer.;
Morning Glory family (Convolvulaceae)

A large perennial climbing vine with heart-shaped leaves up to 1 foot across, backed with silvery hairs. The flowers are 2 to 3 inches long, rose-colored, on 6 inch stalks. Pods dry to a smooth, dark brown, filbert-sized capsule containing one to four furry brown seeds. The capsule is surrounded by a dry calyx divided into five petal-like sections. Native to Asia; naturalized and cultivated in Hawaii.

Cultivation and Propagation: It may be grown outdoors in southern California and Florida. Elsewhere it should be grown in a large pot or tub outdoors in the summer, brought indoors in winter. It may be propagated by cuttings or seeds, and in the spring by division. The seed may be sprouted by making a small nick in the seedcoat away from the germ eye. Soak the seed until it swells. Plant 0.5 inch deep in loose rich soil. Do not use bottom heat. After the cotyledons appear, water sparingly, letting the soil surface dry out to a depth of 0.5 inch. Over-watering causes stem and root rot. The plant grows slowly until it develops a half-dozen leaves; after this it grows quickly. In its first year this plant grows into a small bush 1 to 2 feet tall. During this time it may be grown in a large pot and kept indoors in winter. The next spring it will grow into a very large vine and should produce flowers and seeds. In this second year it should be planted out, or grown in a tub. In cold-winter areas the roots should be lifted and stored or the tub kept in a cool place until spring.

The methods of increasing the alkaloid content of morning glories (see "Morning Glory") may be applied to this vine.

Harvesting: The seed pods should be harvested when thoroughly dry. They should be stored in a cool, dry place. Their potency may begin to decrease after 6 to 9 months.

(2) http://www.erowid.org/plants/hbw/hbw.shtml

COMMON NAMES : Elephant Creeper, Wooly Morning Glory

IDENTIFICATION :
Large, heart-shaped leaves are green above and downy white below. The seeds are both hallucinogenic and toxic. The funnel-shaped light purple flowers have deep purple throats.

(3) http://forums.spiritplants.com/index.php?showtopic=13054

Winder (spf): I have a BHWR and three hawaiian woodrose vines that are growing out of control from their containers.

The HW vines were trained on a 3-ft cage, but that is woefully insufficient.
The BHWR is refusing to train and is snaking about with its thick and healthy vine. BTW this plant produces some really attractive foliage and seems to avoid being eaten by insects unlike the Brugmansia.

Anyway, the real question I have are related to the obivousness that these plants are certainly not going to flower and seed before the first frost here in southeast PA.

Should I start pruning them back now?
Should I let them go out of control?

I plan to bring them inside come winter time.
Should I let them go dormant inside?
Should I try to grow them under fluorescents?

[reply] Stonehenge (spf): If you are going to bring them inside, it might be better to prune them now and let them recover a little before bringing them in. They may need pruning again possibly. As for flowering, that usually happens on the second year though I guess it could happen the first year. Seeds, well, don't get your hopes up. I grew them for a few years a while back and got huge plants with hundreds of flowers. I live where they can grow year around. In spite of cross pollenating many flowers, none ever set seed. I've heard the same thing from a lot of other growers of this plant. The only people I heard of who were able to get seed lived in hawaii or some other place they grow. You've probably heard that said also.

[reply] Desperado (spf): .i don't know of anyone getting flowers from a baby woodrose in a container....i had mine for 4 years in zone 5 and didn't see anything.

Cutting them now or later won't really matter, though its probably better to cut them so they can recover like stoney said.

when you bring them in you can try to let them go dormant, but if they have a decent amount of light and they're warm they'll grow. I had to keep cutting mine back so it wouldn't grow to the ceiling and flop over on to the ground. in the summer though i just set the pot near a big tree and let it grow. Its amazing how high it will get in only a few months of summer weather.

[reply] Dendro (spf): I have only one HBWR vine, no others around, but it sets plenty seed just fine w/o cross pollination. HBWR twines, but not with tendrils, just with the stem winding around large things like banana stalks.

Large HW likes to climb up things, high sometimes.

[reply] RD2: i had a strange HBWR growing experience .. up here in zone 6a (Toronto)

three of them sprouted, and i had some nice plants happening, indoors in windowsill containers, which flowered AND seeded that autumn. I got probably ten flowers that year, and 3 pods, each containing 2-3 seeds.

But the next year i moved them to a new windowsill, and they've been THERE for 3 years, and haven't produced a single seed, albeit having produced a few flowers every year, although less than the 1st year.

So YES, they did set seed up here in an apartment container in Toronto, Canada. But it seems they blew their whole load early... (are the plants actually imitating me?)

Anyway, so i think it would be really cool to get a big-ass tub-container of some sort and plant em in there, indoors. This would simulate the outdoor soil "freedom" more..

[R] Duaut (spf): Cut back to 3 foot high before the first freeze, bring them in till after last freeze is over in spring time. Keep planted in 10gallon pot. Mine is 2+ years old now and it's how I take care of it each year. It is over 40+ feet long this year, and just is going crazy right now climbing through the trees. I spray it down with water every morning when I'm home.
If you have a threat of frost you can cut the vine back to 5'-6' foot tall and then cover it at night with a blanket or sheet to hold it's warmth in till you can move it in.
If it freezes it will burst at the base of the stalk and start leaking a black liquid and then die.

(4)http://forums.spiritplants.com/index.php?showtopic=11245&hl=argyreia

VisionaryBear (spf): one thing i have found with rockwool vs. soil is that rockwool seems to get a more uniform germination, most germinating around the same time, and soil as you said is more random.

[reply] Andy the Great Something (spf): I guess I've had good luck with spagnum moss and HBWR germination, soak and knick method. Put em under a lightbulb in the bathroom and they sprung right up, every single one.

Carefull with the rock whool, you really don't want to be handling or breathing it's particles supposedly.

(5) http://forums.spiritplants.com/index.php?showtopic=694&hl=argyreia

Azarius (spf): I germinated my seeds without nicking, simply by placing between damp tissue paper and keeping moist, germinated in about 4 days.

(6) Entheogen.ca post from "David Rueger ":

...but with R. corymbosa don't let the seeds get too wet or they will rot, much like Argyreia nervosa.

(7) http://users.lycaeum.org/~mulga/argyreia.html

Argyreia nervosa
Baby Woodrose, Hawaiian Baby Woodrose
A native of eastern India and Bangladesh, this vigorous twiner will grow 30 ft (9 m) or more into the treetops, but can be trained over a post or stump and kept trimmed to a moundlike form. A dense white down covers both young stems and leaf undersides. The leaves are heart-shaped and up to 10 in (25 cm) wide, with lateral veins conspicuous on the undersides. Tight clusters of trumpet-shaped bright pink flowers about 2 in (5 cm) across appear among the foliage in spring and summer.

Cultivation: In a tropical climate cultivation is simple, the plants making very vigorous growth in a sunny position in moist soil. In cooler climates they can be grown in a sunny conservatory, but due to their rampant growth will need frequent cutting back. Propagate from seed or cuttings.

(8) http://www.iamshaman.com/hbwr/botany.htm

The vine can reach 10 meters in height and can be propagated vegetatively (by cuttings) and by seeds. Both propagation methods are easy and effective. When the seeds are tamped in a humid soil and the temperature is kept warm (20-25°C) the seeds will germinate within three weeks. The germinating period may be shortend by filing the seed coats gently, without damaging te inner core. Cuttings should be made of a growing twig. These can be sticked into humid soil or be put in a glass of water for two to three weeks.

(9) http://www.herbal-shaman.com/database/argynerv.htm

The red flowers are 1 - 1.5 cm long, being held atop 3 cm long stems. The seeds pods produced are hard, smooth and dark brown, usually containing 4 brown, seeds with white fuzz.

Cultivation parameters: Must be kept from freezing, grows naturally only in tropical climates.
Makes an excellent container plant as long as it is brought indoors during cold weather.
Propagate by seeds or cuttings taken in the Spring. Seeds need to be nicked, but stay away from the germ eye. Soak the seeds in 120 F degrees water till they swell, or a maximum of 8 hours. Seeds should then be coated with a fungicide. Bury the seeds to a depth of about 2-3 seed diameters, in a well drained, sterile potting soil. The optimum temperature of 73-78 F degrees will allow the seeds to start germinating in 2-3 weeks. Some seeds will continue to germinate for several months, so don't give up.
Reduce the amount of water given young seedlings after they sprout or stem rot may be a problem. Young plants are slow growing but really take off when they reach a moderate size.
Blooms the second year as long as there is adequate root space.
Seed pods may be cut and gathered when fully dry.

(10) http://www.ho-tinursery.com/cultivation.html

Argyreia nervosa, Hawaiian baby woodrose:Intermediate subtropic vine, 60-90 degrees fahrenheit, full sun, hardy vine that grows well on a trellis, mist, elevation: sea level - 2000. Likes low elevations.

(11) http://www.rosemarybasil.net/html/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=13&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0

CULTIVATION /PROPAGATION: It may be grown outdoors in southern California and Florida. Elsewhere it should be grown in a large pot outdoors in the summer, brought indoors in winter. I find its growing characteristics to be similar to moonflowers.

It may be propagated by seeds, cuttings, and in the spring by division. The seed may be sprouted by making a small nick in the seedcoat away from the germ eye. Soak until it swells. Plant 0.5 inch deep in loose rich soil, no bottom heat. After they sprout, water sparingly, letting the soil surface dry out to a depth of 0.5 inch. Over-watering causes stem and root rot. The plant grows slowly until it develops several leaves, then it grows quickly. Research says in its first year this plant grows into a small bush 1 -2 feet tall but mine quickly grew to 20' in full sun one exceptionally hot summer.

This next season I am told it will grow into a very large vine and should produce flowers and seeds. In this second year it should be planted out, or grown in a tub- I will definitely pot it up. In cold-winter areas the roots should be lifted and stored or the pot kept in a cool place until spring. I brought one of mine in when temperatures hit 45, the others I left under row covers throughout a couple freezes. All seem to be doing well.I grew some of these last summer and was thrilled with the strong exotic plant with its beautiful large leaves that do look like a silver version of my elephant ear plants, a bit smaller leaves, on 20' long strong vines.

(12) http://www.ethnogarden.com/cart/index.pl/catid_88/proid_216
These plants quite like a rich soil composed of peat, compost and mulch with approximately 20% perlite for drainage. This will provide the most optimal results.

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