‘ Growing Kratom Plants ’ Category

Growing Kratom Log: week 8

12 responses, Oct 24, 2008

Kratom Plant Growing how to In less than 2 months, the small Kratom plant that I purchased in July has grown at an amazing rate.  It is easily 3 times larger than it was since my previous post, even taking into consideration my fervent pruning.  I have harvested at least 30 leaves thus far, dispelling the claims that a Kratom plant must be grown for several years before it can be successfully clipped.
I have my plant hanging in a northwestern facing window, not for any other reason besides it is the only window in which my cat cannot reach and devour it.  Nevertheless, it has grown very quickly, even though it only gets heavy sunlight in the afternoon hours.  Being able to grow a Kratom plant this quickly in the Northeast leads me to believe that anyone with a window and water can can do the same with relative ease.

If you are contemplating the purchase of a plant I highly recommend it, although, maybe not from one of the more popular and expensive vendors.  While my plant is from a popular vendor, I have posthumously read very many positive reviews of people buying their plants off of Ebay.  I would also recommend buying a smaller plant, as they grow so quickly, a larger plant is not worth the extra $20 to $50.

In my next post about this plant, I plan to post a quick guide on pruning and harvesting Kratom.  As you can see from the photo, it can grow horizontally faster than it does vertically, which can be controlled with pruning.  Had I known more about pruning this plant from the beginning, it would easily be a foot taller now.  While it is so easy to do, very little information exists online.

Growing Kratom Log: week 1

11 responses, Jul 27, 2008

Kratom Plant Houseplant It’s not much to look at, but my excitement was not diminished by the small size of my new Kratom plant.  Supposedly, a plant this age (my guess is it’s a several month old cutting) should double in size in roughly 2 months; and so begins my weekly grow log.  My plant, pictured to the left, is a clone of the popular Rifat strain, which is the only one, to my knowledge, that has been tested in various research studies and found to be especially strong.  I almost purchased the less popular Bumblebee strain; however, the Bumble clone is generally described as a bit weaker than the Thai Rifat.  To begin, I have already learned 3 interesting facts about this plant:

  • It requires constant and high humidity: with my air conditioner unintentionally working to dry the surrounding air, some leaves have cracked, forming very small tears. Since I have raised the humidity, no further cracking has occurred, and the leaves look much glossier, almost similar to oily appearance of poison ivy. To raise the humidity, I placed peat moss over the soil, and have been continually misting the plant; as long as this is done in moderation it will ensure a humid environment without threatening root rot; although, I might setup a humidifier sometime in the future.
  • Cats like Kratom plants, so do not leave plants where they are freely accessible to feline friends. My cat almost immediately began chewing the leaves upon unpacking the plant.
  • Kratom is not as difficult to grow as suggested by some of the older reports circulating on the web. It has only been 4 days since the arrival of my plant and it has already sprouted a new set of leaves; which is remarkable considering the plant was preoccupied with acclimating to a new environment. As precursory as it may seem, I am confident that maintaining the proper humidity is the only prerequisite above and beyond caring for an easy-to-grow common houseplant.

In summation, I am astonished how fast this plant is growing, especially considering the relatively low humidity.  To better demonstrate this, I will be sure to add new pics and posts every 1-2 weeks.

Also, if anyone has any advice to better my chances of growing this plant successfully, please, please, please, let me know, it would be much appreciated!