Well, most people who claim to like wasabi, have never eaten it.

I wonder where your husband has had wasabi?

In the US, most wasabi is horseradish with food coloring.

There is wasabi grown in Oregon and Washington. I doubt you could obtain any seeds. You will probably get horseradish seeds.

Wasabi is sold most often as bare root starts. You might find more info on by looking under the botanical name, Eutrema japonicum. They are expensive to buy as the plant has a reputation for being tricky (read extremely difficult) to grow and does not freely produce seeds.

I dunno where Jim lives but real wasabi is very much present where I am. While it still has the same sinus clearing pungency of horseradish, the taste is quite different.

I am in the SF Bay Area. Real wasabi is rare and expensive.

Horseradish is usually served as wasabi.

ETA: I googled growing wasabi and my results did not agree with gardengal’s post.

Maybe the OPs DH has had wasabi, thus the interest.

I am interested in learning more.

Territorial Seed sells wasabi plants. They have some detailed information on their web site:

https://territorialseed.com/products/wasabi-wasabi?variant=12786193170531

based on their information, I would expect that you would have to grow it in a container. It doesn’t appear that wasabi would survive a winter in the ground in Michigan, Zone 5.

In their print catalog they say: “Not the easiest crop to grow, but very rewarding for the gardener who loves a challenge or anyone who wants to experience this authentic flavor sensation”

floral_uk, Fascinating info and photos. I'm learning a lot about a plant I never considered growing. Maybe I'll rethink that.

DH is from the old country (that being Japan) - so trust me he knows his wasabi :0) The link says it's only hardy to -5C, so wouldn't survive winters here. I could grow it in a pot and bring it indoors but not sure I want to through all that trouble. DH would get a kick out of it, though -- I'll think about it. Giving it full shade and keeping moist is no problem.

it likes same condition as watercress

I wonder if you could grow it similar to potatoes. Plant it in the spring, harvest in the fall and save some of the roots for planting again next spring? That way you're not restricted to growing it in a pot and you're not bothering with trying to overwinter an actively growing plant.

I have no idea if this would work, but if they sell the plant as a bare root to grow I don't see why not. You would essentially be doing the same thing, only skipping the "buying" part (after the initial investment of course).

It is far less cold tolerant than watercress.

Interesting idea, Zack -- that might work.

From reading the link I gave above it seems they send out plants, not bare roots. The 'roots' are actually swollen stems rather than tubers like potatoes. As such they would not survive drying out and storing. If you're going to grow it in a container I don't seeing a reason to save the 'roots' in any other way than in their pot. If it's not in a pot I would imagine it would need to be potted up for overwintering, or stored in damp soil in a box or something.

This site has some interesting info. https://www.producebusinessuk.com/purchasing/stories/2016/12/28/uk-grown-wasabi-making-waves-across-europe

^^ Good point.

They probably couldn't be stored like potatoes, but since the stem is apparently a rhizome that will grow roots, if you stored it in a moist medium in a cool, dark place (like storing root crops in moist sand), it might be worth a try?

With over 300 days of sun (combined with thin atmosphere at our elevation), barely any trees to give shade, and annual precipitation of about 15", I am certainly not growing any wasabi here so I'm faaar from an expert. But I personally don't like trying to overwinter plants in the house. I tried it with some peppers once. They made it to February before I gave up. It was 3-4 months of stressing about how much to water dormant plants, aphids galore and it was just a big mess and hassle.

It is just about the most lucrative crop you can grow, which is why someone in the UK has gone all in with greenhouses and pumped water. I just was reading about it the other day when the same subject came up in my house. How can we grow it? We concluded it was just about impossible without a running stream and a very moderate climate - not too hot and not too cold.

I vaguely considered it...and if I lived near some gorgeous chalk stream, I might have considered it a bit harder. Seems plants are incredibly sensitive and require huge amounts of clean water...such as is found in our watercress beds in Hampshire. Also, it seems like wasabi might like a more mountainous locale. Anyway, I live in the flattest, driest county in the UK so I consigned wasabi to the same place as numerous other fancies - the bin. I am replying to this before reading your info, Floral, so apols if I am (again) completely off target. I do recall sourcing either roots or plants was also a huge barrier to eventual success.

As far as I heard you usually get sent small plants that have been divided from a mother plant, but it will usually take 1-4 years to get a decent sized stem (what they call a “rhizome” which is not an actual rhizome). Like floral hints, though, you really need a running water system.

I'm getting the sense this might be more trouble than it's worth...

Ya think??? Installing the stream alone would be a nightmare, and I'm not sure about the whiskey barrels in the basement under lights? Do you really need the hastle? haha

Way too much trouble for what you get out of it. And I even live in a semi-conducive climate!

FWIW, wasabi roots are often available in better area grocery stores and at the Pike Place Market. But at around $50- 65/pound, they are not something I indulge in often.

These people seem to suggest that it's much easier than most people believe. They have a big commercial set up I think, with flowing water etc... But they also say you can grow it in containers as long as you keep it well watered. Your yield may not be as high as the big, complicated, set up, but you could likely get enough to have some every once in a while for personal use.

They also sell wasabi plants BARE ROOT! And if the photos on the website are any indication, the rhizome, stem, whatever you want to call it does indeed sprout roots (it appears similar to an iris rhizome).

https://www.thewasabistore.com/thewasabistore/r6z2brm2hzzmyh45c5swst6wy955c8

They aren't exactly cheap, $16 a piece, but for a couple-three plants might not be prohibitively expensive to give it a shot.

You can grow Wasabi in containers, in green house or under black poly tunnel in shed spot. It takes 15 to 24 months to get decent tuber but you can get leaves which area very tasty as well as stems. Good luck. I bought three plants for £19/-

https://www.etsy.com/search?q=Wasabi%20plant

Much quicker and easier to grow, what about so called Wasabi Arugula, Diplotaxis erucoides?

belonging to the Brassicaceae or mustard family. not real wasabi

Just wondered if anyone thought "Wasabi Arugula" was wasabi flavoured enough to be a replacement. It is neither actual wasabi, nor actual arugula either.

yes it is next best thing. Can fool who have not tested real Wasabi and also better than concoction with radish and colouring served at some outlets charging a bomb for cheap imitation .