Elettaria cardamomum - True cardamom, anyone grow it here?

[raimeiken]

What's your experience like and where is a good source to get the real one? I keep reading that most of what's being sold out there arent the real ones.

[aussiearoids]

YES been trying for years to get the true species. 99.9% offered is another dwarf sp.

Real deal is a bit tropical. Seeds are so cheap I have given up . Some things are not worth the bother growing .

Cinnamon is nearly a weed and a pain to process . My Clove tree died recently .

Most useless thing I grow would have to be Cola nitida

[Jungle Yard]

I might have true Elettaria cardamomum. At least it looks like one, however only blooming will set it straight. It’s about 5 feet tall and at least not Alpinia mutica, which most often is sold as true cardamom. 

E. cardamomum is more tropical and can’t handle near freezing temps even for a couple of hours. 

I bought mine from Wellspring100 on eBay, propagated through tissue culture, I suspect by Agristarts.

Can’t wait to see it bloom to finally identify it. 

I also grow Amorim subulatum, which is called black cardamom and is more cold hardy. 

Edited June 13, 2019 by Jungle Yard

[Silas_Sancona]

  On 6/13/2019 at 2:56 AM, Jungle Yard said:

I might have true Elettaria cardamomum. At least it looks like one, however only blooming will set it straight. It’s about 5 feet tall and at least not Alpinia mutica, which most often is sold as true cardamom. 

E. cardamomum is more tropical and can’t handle near freezing temps even for a couple of hours. 

I bought mine from Wellspring100 on eBay, propagated through tissue culture, I suspect by Agristarts.

Can’t wait to see it bloom to finally identify it. 

I also grow Amorim subulatum, which is called black cardamom and is more cold hardy. 

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You ever try  Aframomum melegueta, Aka Grains of Paradise? Been hunting for plants for years.. No doubt its likely too cold sensitive to be grown outside a greenhouse, except maybe there in Florida.. Use the seeds in Mexican / Italian Dishes as a Black pepper substitute. Thought about trying to germinate some seed but i'd bet they have a short shelf life post harvest.

[raimeiken]

  On 6/13/2019 at 3:16 AM, Silas_Sancona said:

You ever try  Aframomum melegueta, Aka Grains of Paradise? Been hunting for plants for years.. No doubt its likely too cold sensitive to be grown outside a greenhouse, except maybe there in Florida.. Use the seeds in Mexican / Italian Dishes as a Black pepper substitute. Thought about trying to germinate some seed but i'd bet they have a short shelf life post harvest.

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yeah I'm trying Aframomum right now in different parts of my yard. Hoping it'll establish and start growing this summer. 

[raimeiken]

  On 6/13/2019 at 2:56 AM, Jungle Yard said:

I might have true Elettaria cardamomum. At least it looks like one, however only blooming will set it straight. It’s about 5 feet tall and at least not Alpinia mutica, which most often is sold as true cardamom. 

E. cardamomum is more tropical and can’t handle near freezing temps even for a couple of hours. 

I bought mine from Wellspring100 on eBay, propagated through tissue culture, I suspect by Agristarts.

Can’t wait to see it bloom to finally identify it. 

I also grow Amorim subulatum, which is called black cardamom and is more cold hardy. 

Expand  

I read that if the leaves are shiny and have a scent to them, then it isn't the real one. The real one have fuzzy leaves and no scent. 

 

Logees.com is offering E. Cardamomum but not sure if it is the real deal or not.

Edited June 13, 2019 by raimeiken

[Silas_Sancona]

  On 6/13/2019 at 2:31 PM, raimeiken said:

yeah I'm trying Aframomum right now in different parts of my yard. Hoping it'll establish and start growing this summer. 

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Nice.. Hopefully they'll do well here. Somewhat skeptical on something i'd read regarding cold hardiness of A. melegueta but, at least according to that info,  it can survive temps in the high 20s. Not sure i'd risk it unless i had plenty of plants to spare..

Also read a research paper stating that, as long as you have relatively fresh seed, say 1-5 months old post harvest, you can either soak the seed in boiling hot water for 5 minutes, or soak them in Sulfuric acid, diluted to 50%  and get fairly good germination.  Was the results of what experiments were conducted on seed in the research.

[Jungle Yard]

  On 6/13/2019 at 2:32 PM, raimeiken said:

I read that if the leaves are shiny and have a scent to them, then it isn't the real one. The real one have fuzzy leaves and no scent. 

 

Logees.com is offering E. Cardamomum but not sure if it is the real deal or not.

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Not sure if Elettaria cardamomum has fuzzy leaves and the plant is described as having a pungent smell. It is worth getting them from different sources, hoping you might get lucky. 

I hope to bring mine to bloom, in which case it will be very easy to tell. It blooms on leafless stocks growing horizontally or under various angles.  

Edited June 14, 2019 by Jungle Yard

[Jungle Yard]

  On 6/13/2019 at 3:16 AM, Silas_Sancona said:

You ever try  Aframomum melegueta, Aka Grains of Paradise? Been hunting for plants for years.. No doubt its likely too cold sensitive to be grown outside a greenhouse, except maybe there in Florida.. Use the seeds in Mexican / Italian Dishes as a Black pepper substitute. Thought about trying to germinate some seed but i'd bet they have a short shelf life post harvest.

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I thought of it, but I hear it can spread quite quickly with runners if growing conditions are tight. 

[raimeiken]

  On 6/14/2019 at 11:08 AM, Jungle Yard said:

I thought of it, but I hear it can spread quite quickly with runners if growing conditions are tight. 

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yeah a friend that I got mine from said his grow runners all over the place.