katuk is awesome for a Florida permaculture garden! this half-gallon sized plant, grown from cuttings of established healthy plants, will get you started.
a good understory plant in zone 10 Florida
hardy in zones 8-11 (will die back in a freeze)
native to Southeast Asia, not considered invasive in US
grows into an attractive shrub-sized plant
leaves edible, cooked or raw, very high in protein, tastes like green peas
flowers and fruits are also edible – the berries are great added to a salad!
cuttings root easily, small plants can take a while to acclimate
seeds are sometimes long to germinate, but will be sprouting everywhere before you know it
it’s pretty. the flowers and fruits look very fae. the leaves get a lovely dappled pattern as they mature.
use the freshest new growth in a salad. toss more mature leaves into a soup, pasta dish or stirfry.
berries can be munched whole and raw (seeds included) right off the plant. they taste kind of like cucumber. younger berries are better. they get crunchy as the seeds ripen up.
FUN FACT:
a fad diet in the 90s in which people consumed massive amounts of katuk led to permanent repiratory damage and occasional death among participants. the leaves contain a compound called papaverine, which can cause blood vessels to expand. you will encounter this information, if you search online.
if you are concerned about impacts to your health, ask your doctor.
consuming this plant as you would any other green leafy vegetable is not dangerous. folks who traditionally eat katuk once or twice a week suffer no ill effects. (myself included.) the problem was that people were replacing the bulk of their calories with katuk smoothies.
shipping
plants ship on Mondays and Tuesdays, priority mail, packaged as gently as possible.
live plants are affected by the shipping process, but you can expect them to rebound quickly when given adequate care.
please do your part to help your new plant friend survive by promptly unpackaging and repotting, and maybe a gentle re-introduction to direct sunlight even for sun loving plants.
i am a permaculture nerd and do not spray any pesticides or use any chemical fertilizers. i grow almost everything in the ground or in my pond/bog in Florida zone 10. stock is moved to nursery pots for root development prior to sale.
it’s not shop policy to accept returns on plants/seeds/cuttings. plants depart healthy and well-packed, and the weather and the postal service are variables beyond ones control. however, if a customer is unhappy with a purchase, i will work with them to resolve the issue.
plants ship only to addresses in the continental US, excluding California and Arizona.
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