I have never used the leaf myself but after reading this, they will be coming home with the roots during harvest season.In my state there is a harvest season for ginseng and it is illegal to harvest out of season.

Here is a link that might be useful: Ginseng leaf

From what I have read cultivated is not as potent as when grown in the wild.

My suggestion, let it go to seed and plant new plants!!

FataMorgana

Why is it illegal to harvest out of season? and I am in zone 7 would this do well here? My wife loves ginsing

Good question. This plant - a poster child for over harvesting of wild herbs, is not a common sight at all in much of its original native range. I personally have NEVER seen it in the wild. Harvesting **AFTER** it has matured seed will help to ensure that the species has a chance to survive.

This brings up a very good point - do your homework on wild herbs before you harvest even your first leaf. If the herb plant is rare or becoming increasingly so, you can 1.) choose a different less threatened herb, 2.) cultivate your own instead of wild crafting, 3.) use good herbalist stewardship practices and help the plant to thrive even while harvesting what you need for your own purposes.

The Earth and future generations will thank you.

FataMorgana

I have read that American ginseng grows wild in the mountains of Tennessee, it establishes colonies that can grow quite large. It is also harvested by local families that claim stewardship to these colonies; THEY GUARD IT JALEOUSLY (meaning, they will shoot anyone caught poaching.) The reason for this being that wild American ginseng is the most highly prized ginseng in the world, selling in Asian countries for prohibitive prices. My suggestion is indeed to grow your own, because there are not many patches that have gone unclaimed.

I am very lucky to live on land that is classified as a "Climax Forest". We literally have hundreds of ginseng plants, many of which are four prong giants. We harvest very lightly, replant the seeds when the appear, plant stratified seed and rootlets to keep the ginseng prolific. Needless to say, we are always watching for poaching of these plants as they are worth a lot of money. We only harvest for personal use and a limited run of ginseng tinctures and such every year.

Here is one patch

Beautiful! Thanks for sharing!

FataMorgana