Greetings,

I like to grow unusual plants ("plant oddities") and would like to try to grow Kalahari Devil's Claw (Harpagophytum procumbens). This would be a challenge in my temperate and summer humid U.S. climate, but it may be even more of a challenge to find a source for seed. Does anyone have supplier recommendations? Assuming I can get some seed, how might I go about germinating it? What kind of soil mixture would you recommend (besides "sandy")?

"Medicinal Plants of South Afrika" (by Ben-Erik Van Wyk et al.) describes Devil's Claw as a "weedy perennial", and I'd like to know if it gets very large or rangy. By the way, I thought it interesting that the picture of the flower in this book looks a lot like a tropical gloxinia.

Thanks,

cranebill