Okinawa spinach – Guynura bicolor

Okinawa spinach plant, established plant, 6″ pot size.

black thumb friendly.
while not as aggressive as its cousin longevity spinach, Okinawa spinach has a good black-thumb rating and is very easy to grow. lots of sun and regular watering will keep it happy. when growing indoors, the priority will be finding a spot with ample light and decent airflow.

like longevity spinach, Okinawa spinach contains vitamins A and C and is high in antioxidants and other beneficial compounds such as flavinoids. it has a good amount of potasium and a little protein.
some people find Okinawa spinach to be milder than longevity spinach. this depends on the individual’s palate – other people find Okinawa spinach to have a distinct taste that can register as fishy in certain flavor combinations.

Okinawa spinach can be consumed cooked or raw. add to stir fries or to salads. when cooking, add it at the very end of the process or get slimed! since the leaves are somewhat semi-succulent, they get mucilaginous and mushy when exposed to too much heat. leaves can also be used as smoothie greens.

Okinawa spinach has really pretty foliage. dark green on top, rich purple below. if this wasn’t edible, it would be an ornamental. growing it in partial shade will make watering less urgent, but you will notive the underside of the leaves will lose its purple. if you love the two-tone coloration, plant it in the sun.

nontoxic to animals
the flowers look like our native fringe flowers, but are yellow/orange.
Guynura bicolor is in the Aster family.
native to India, Nepal, Southern China and Japan
perennial in zones 9-11
can be grown indoors (but needs lots of light)

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.