There seems to be a shortage of suppliers at the moment (I was offered a 3inch tall specimen for just under a fiver and told "You can only buy one - everyone wants it at the moment and it's tricky to germinate"!)

Is there truth in the germination issue? Soaking or scarification are recommended, I read, but surely a plant nursery should have the knowledge to succeed. And why is it in demand - has it been on Gardeners' World recently??!

Finally, any tips on best conditions to establish a clump, please.

In article ,
HJW wrote:

There seems to be a shortage of suppliers at the moment (I was offered a
3inch tall specimen for just under a fiver and told "You can only buy
one - everyone wants it at the moment and it's tricky to germinate"!)


Is there truth in the germination issue? Soaking or scarification are
recommended, I read, but surely a plant nursery should have the
knowledge to succeed. And why is it in demand - has it been on
Gardeners' World recently??!

Finally, any tips on best conditions to establish a clump, please.

I'm four for four on mine. After a bout of damping off earlier in the
season, I heat sterilized the soil, bleached the germination tray, and
scarified the seeds. (They are rascally little things. I ended up
holding them with needle noses and slicing at them with a small sharp
knife. This is after a half dozen went airborne, while trying to cut
into their hulls.) Then their germination tray with lid on, went on a
hot pad on low, under grow lights. Germination took about 2 weeks.

Caution: It should be used in moderation and should not be prescribed
for pregnant women or people with high blood pressure, kidney disease or
taking digoxin-based medication. Prolonged usage raises the blood
pressure and causes water retention. A gross overdose of the root can
cause oedema, high blood pressure and congestive heart failure.
--

Billy
Bush Behind Bars
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9KVTf...ef=patrick.net
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0aEo...eature=related

Billy wrote:

I'm four for four on mine. After a bout of damping off earlier in the
season, I heat sterilized the soil, bleached the germination tray, and
scarified the seeds. (They are rascally little things. I ended up
holding them with needle noses and slicing at them with a small sharp
knife. This is after a half dozen went airborne, while trying to cut
into their hulls.) Then their germination tray with lid on, went on a
hot pad on low, under grow lights. Germination took about 2 weeks.

I've tried growing licorice the same way I've tried any other seeds:
potting soil, washed-out pots, put seeds under a layer of dirt as thick
as the seeds are, wait, water occasionally.
This technique, with licorice, results in no licorice plants at all.
Other plants are easier...

My current licorice plant (bought as a plant) has survived three or
four Finnish winters. I'm hoping it'll take over the lawn; that's what
it's done at the botanical garden 200 kms southwest of me. No luck so
far, though.

Caution: It should be used in moderation and should not be prescribed
for pregnant women or people with high blood pressure, kidney disease or
taking digoxin-based medication. Prolonged usage raises the blood
pressure and causes water retention. A gross overdose of the root can
cause oedema, high blood pressure and congestive heart failure.

All of that is VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY rare, if you speak about
licorice, the root.

If you're talking about licorice, the candy: that hasn't even seen
licorice root extract; it's mostly salt, sugar, flour and fennel seed
oil (or aniseed oil).
Problem is, you won't see the difference in most medline abstracts:
to medicos, licorice candy = licorice.

Except for Finnish licorice, of course. That's the Real Stuff. Yum.

Also, of course, it's extremely easy to get high blood pressure on
licorice candy: eat a pound of candy a day, or two, and watch your
blood pressure go through the roof ... it'll come back down again if
you use your common sense and STOP eating the bloody candy already.

And licorice is a VERY nice medicinal herb. I use it to strenghten
the kidneys, strengthen the adrenals, soothe the gut, soothe the lungs,
and to give a nice taste to various tea blends. I go through kilograms
of the dried root every year, and have yet to see adverse effects.

In addition it's good for anybody who's been through a burnout, or
who's trying to get off cortisones.

Henriette

--
Henriette Kress, AHG Helsinki, Finland
Henriette's herbal homepage: http://www.henriettesherbal.com

There's a Holland -American store near me that has a huge selection of
Licorice items, in fact a whole isle is devoted to everything Licorice.

In article , Persephone
wrote:

On Mon, 02 Jun 2008 21:43:36 +0300, Henriette Kress
wrote:

[...]

Except for Finnish licorice, of course. That's the Real Stuff. Yum.

Can I get it in the States? Whatever you mean by "the real stuff"?
I tried a Web search , found US distributors, but came up with a lot
of terms I can't interpret in light of my experience. Ex: "Sweet"
and "salty" licorice.

Is the one you're on about in solid strings, and are they soft or
chewy..

Etc.

More info would be welcome

The "real stuff" is *very* potent and bears no relation to the candy
that us folks in the states call licorice.

I don't know if you can buy it over here. I know some Danish girls who
get their mom to send it to them. They love the stuff. I think you have
to be raised eating it to like it.

Jan in Alaska

In article ,
Henriette Kress wrote:

Billy wrote:

I'm four for four on mine. After a bout of damping off earlier in the
season, I heat sterilized the soil, bleached the germination tray, and
scarified the seeds. (They are rascally little things. I ended up
holding them with needle noses and slicing at them with a small sharp
knife. This is after a half dozen went airborne, while trying to cut
into their hulls.) Then their germination tray with lid on, went on a
hot pad on low, under grow lights. Germination took about 2 weeks.

I've tried growing licorice the same way I've tried any other seeds:
potting soil, washed-out pots, put seeds under a layer of dirt as thick
as the seeds are, wait, water occasionally.
This technique, with licorice, results in no licorice plants at all.
Other plants are easier...

My current licorice plant (bought as a plant) has survived three or
four Finnish winters. I'm hoping it'll take over the lawn; that's what
it's done at the botanical garden 200 kms southwest of me. No luck so
far, though.

Caution: It should be used in moderation and should not be prescribed
for pregnant women or people with high blood pressure, kidney disease or
taking digoxin-based medication. Prolonged usage raises the blood
pressure and causes water retention. A gross overdose of the root can
cause oedema, high blood pressure and congestive heart failure.

All of that is VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY rare, if you speak about
licorice, the root.

If you're talking about licorice, the candy: that hasn't even seen
licorice root extract; it's mostly salt, sugar, flour and fennel seed
oil (or aniseed oil).
Problem is, you won't see the difference in most medline abstracts:
to medicos, licorice candy = licorice.

Except for Finnish licorice, of course. That's the Real Stuff. Yum.

Also, of course, it's extremely easy to get high blood pressure on
licorice candy: eat a pound of candy a day, or two, and watch your
blood pressure go through the roof ... it'll come back down again if
you use your common sense and STOP eating the bloody candy already.

And licorice is a VERY nice medicinal herb. I use it to strenghten
the kidneys, strengthen the adrenals, soothe the gut, soothe the lungs,
and to give a nice taste to various tea blends. I go through kilograms
of the dried root every year, and have yet to see adverse effects.

In addition it's good for anybody who's been through a burnout, or
who's trying to get off cortisones.

Henriette

Vielen Dank fur die Informationen. Ich kenne nicht, echte Lakritze und
ich selten bekommen zu schreiben auf Deutsch. Danke fur alles.
--

Billy
Bush Behind Bars
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9KVTf...ef=patrick.net
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0aEo...eature=related

In article 5qX0k.938$0O1.559@trnddc07, "Mike" wrote:

There's a Holland -American store near me that has a huge selection of
Licorice items, in fact a whole isle is devoted to everything Licorice.

I think it is as Henriette said, only available in Finland. My friend
has a Finnish sister-in-law and she brings him real licorice when she
visits.
--

Billy
Bush Behind Bars
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9KVTf...ef=patrick.net
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0aEo...eature=related

In article
,
Billy wrote:

In article ,
Henriette Kress wrote:

Billy wrote:

I'm four for four on mine. After a bout of damping off earlier in the
season, I heat sterilized the soil, bleached the germination tray, and
scarified the seeds. (They are rascally little things. I ended up
holding them with needle noses and slicing at them with a small sharp
knife. This is after a half dozen went airborne, while trying to cut
into their hulls.) Then their germination tray with lid on, went on a
hot pad on low, under grow lights. Germination took about 2 weeks.

I've tried growing licorice the same way I've tried any other seeds:
potting soil, washed-out pots, put seeds under a layer of dirt as thick
as the seeds are, wait, water occasionally.
This technique, with licorice, results in no licorice plants at all.
Other plants are easier...

My current licorice plant (bought as a plant) has survived three or
four Finnish winters. I'm hoping it'll take over the lawn; that's what
it's done at the botanical garden 200 kms southwest of me. No luck so
far, though.

Caution: It should be used in moderation and should not be prescribed
for pregnant women or people with high blood pressure, kidney disease or
taking digoxin-based medication. Prolonged usage raises the blood
pressure and causes water retention. A gross overdose of the root can
cause oedema, high blood pressure and congestive heart failure.

All of that is VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY rare, if you speak about
licorice, the root.

If you're talking about licorice, the candy: that hasn't even seen
licorice root extract; it's mostly salt, sugar, flour and fennel seed
oil (or aniseed oil).
Problem is, you won't see the difference in most medline abstracts:
to medicos, licorice candy = licorice.

Except for Finnish licorice, of course. That's the Real Stuff. Yum.

Also, of course, it's extremely easy to get high blood pressure on
licorice candy: eat a pound of candy a day, or two, and watch your
blood pressure go through the roof ... it'll come back down again if
you use your common sense and STOP eating the bloody candy already.

And licorice is a VERY nice medicinal herb. I use it to strenghten
the kidneys, strengthen the adrenals, soothe the gut, soothe the lungs,
and to give a nice taste to various tea blends. I go through kilograms
of the dried root every year, and have yet to see adverse effects.

In addition it's good for anybody who's been through a burnout, or
who's trying to get off cortisones.

Henriette

Vielen Dank fur die Informationen. Ich kenne nicht, echte Lakritze und
ich selten bekommen zu schreiben auf Deutsch. Danke fur alles.

What a show-off. *laugh*

Jan

"Billy" wrote in message
...
In article 5qX0k.938$0O1.559@trnddc07, "Mike" wrote:

There's a Holland -American store near me that has a huge selection of
Licorice items, in fact a whole isle is devoted to everything Licorice.

I think it is as Henriette said, only available in Finland. My friend
has a Finnish sister-in-law and she brings him real licorice when she
visits.
--
Billy

I don't know how medicinal the quality of licorice extract present in
Finnish or Dutch licorice would compare. Though I read that nederlanders per
capita are the world's number one consumer of licorice products, and from
the variety of drops made I wouldn't doubt it.

Two brands I would recommend: Kokindjs or Cat's Paws.
http://holland-shopping.com/shop/ima...ndjes_250g.jpg
http://www.dcimports.com/katkatcatpaw.html

Check out LicoriceInternational.com.

My favorite is under Italian licorice. Amarelli makes little pellets of real
licorice, some with mint and some without, in cute little tins.

--

Visit www.insectgraphics.com for all your insect gift needs
Persephone wrote in message
...
On Mon, 02 Jun 2008 21:43:36 +0300, Henriette Kress
wrote:

[...]

Except for Finnish licorice, of course. That's the Real Stuff. Yum.

Can I get it in the States? Whatever you mean by "the real stuff"?
I tried a Web search , found US distributors, but came up with a lot
of terms I can't interpret in light of my experience. Ex: "Sweet"
and "salty" licorice.

Is the one you're on about in solid strings, and are they soft or
chewy..

Etc.

More info would be welcome

It should be acclimated in balance and should not be prescribed for abundant women or humans with top claret pressure, branch ache or taking digoxin-based medication. Prolonged acceptance raises the blood pressure and causes baptize retention.

I love liquorice I didn't even know you could grow it. Is it like a herb? Could you make tea from it? In my local shop a stick of liquorice was 10pence and is now 20p. If you can grow it its going to be like oil!