Wasabi Anyone?

[NEWisc]

While looking through a Territorial seed catalog a couple of weeks ago I came to a page selling wasabi plants. I knew that wasabi was considered a Japanese delicacy somewhat similar to horseradish. But I had always dismissed the idea of growing it because it reportedly required a cool mountain stream to grow it in. Now I've learned that that is not so!

The latest information says that it can be grown successfully is a pot, even in northern climates.:
https://www.thewasabistore.com/thewasabistore/r6z2brm2hzzmyh45c5swst6wy955c8

So I'm going to try it this year.

If you're interested and would like to dig a little deeper, here's a link with a lot of additional information. (It's not just for the Pacific Northwest}:
Read it here:
Growing Wasabi in the Pacific Northwest | WSU Extension | Washington State University
Or download it here:
https://pubs.extension.wsu.edu/growing-wasabi-in-the-pacific-northwest

[havalotta]

Does that need to be housed inside in the Winter in a zone 4?

[NEWisc]

Yes, it needs to be inside during the winter in our area. But it's not the usual 'stick it in a warm place to store it until the next spring'. This plant is perennial and it grows all year long; no dormancy period.

It will tolerate a short period down to 27 degrees (the Daruma variety AKA “Wasabia Japonica Daruma”).

The plants can be grown indoors or outdoor and do well in pots. They require full shade and moist, well-drained soil." https://www.thewasabistore.com/shop/wasabi-plantlet

So unlike plants that just need to be stored for the winter, wasabi plants can be a nice green addition to any room all winter. Instead of fighting for those few well lit places, the wasabi plants can be placed in almost any area not receiving a lot of light.

Here's a few videos that show the wasabi plant and provide some basic info:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMGoM86ajfs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ffm0uPt_syk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FqAcg7fv2qc

And here's the YouTube link that those videos came from:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCl37JKhslo1Oef2eD3vg-eA/videos
.

[havalotta]

Thank you

[NEWisc]

My wasabi plant starts are on the way! Should be here Monday.

I didn't know that they would ship during winter. I had assumed that they would send an email about a shipping season, but they ship year round.

Hopefully the plant starts will survive the cold trip, I am looking forward to getting started growing wasabi.

[NEWisc]

The Wasabi plant starts arrived yesterday!





The plant starts seem to be strong healthy offshoots.




Here they are planted into their pot.






Hopefully in a few days there will be some new leaves growing from the main stem.