The kratom tree, also known as mitragyna speciosa, is a tree that’s native to Southeast Asia. It can grow up to 20 feet tall, and its popularity has grown in The United States recently.
Growing a kratom tree is a labor of love and it takes some time, but you can sprout a mitragyna speciosa that stands up around 20 feet tall if you have the right kratom seeds, some dedication, and the right conditions for growth.
We’re going to talk about growing kratom in this article, giving you some insight into how to cultivate the plant throughout the entire process, from seed to full-grown tree.
Let’s get started:
How to Grow Kratom Seeds
The first thing to note is that the growth of kratom seeds must be carried out in an environment that mimics that of Southeast Asia. So, that means a good deal of humidity, quality soil, and similar sunlight.
If you don’t live in that kind of area, it’s possible to create those conditions in a greenhouse or indoor growing space where you can control the climate.
Choosing and Planting Seeds
It’s important that the kratom seeds you acquire are relatively fresh and that you can plant them as soon as you get them. Make sure that you buy the seeds from a reputable source and that they’re shipped within a few weeks of being harvested.
The key here is that the seeds aren’t left out long enough to dry out and lose their fertility. On the same note, it’s important to make sure that the seeds don’t ever dry out while you’re trying to germinate them.
Upon planting, keep the soil wet but don’t ever drench the seed. You’ll also want to ensure that the lighting is relatively low and that the humidity falls somewhere around 75% during this stage. Don’t worry too much about this, though, because you only have to keep these conditions so long as the plant is still a seedling.
When the kratom sprouts, you can loosen up a little bit. Once you get the seedling to sprout, you can transfer the plant to a pot outside or in an indoor environment that mimics Southeast Asian conditions.
A pot can make it easier for you to control the soil conditions as opposed to a communal soil with other plants where things are at the whim of other factors.
Caring for The Sprouted Tree
Once you’ve got the seed to sprout, it’s simply a matter of caring for it properly as it grows.
It’s no small achievement to get this far, either, because the viability of the kratom seed decreases immediately once it leaves the base of the tree from which it falls.
In fact, the viability of kratom seeds tends to be somewhere between 5 and 10 percent. For this reason, it’s wise to plant 5 or 6 seeds in any pot or area that you’d like to sprout the seed.
When the seed emerges from the soil, try to keep it in an area that allows a decent amount of breeze. If you’re growing it outside, there’s not going to be an issue.
If you’re growing the kratom tree inside, try to allow it some time next to a window every day or keep it near a lightly-blowing fan. This airflow will help with the alkaloid production.
Watering and Aging
After the point that your sprout has clearly blossomed into a young tree, you simply need to maintain a watering schedule and ensure that the soil is nutrient-rich.
Make sure to water it daily and keep it in conditions that are similar to its natural origins in Southeast Asia. As your tree develops and matures, it will be less fragile than it is as a sprout or an adolescent.
If your plan is to harvest the leaves of the kratom tree for any purpose, you’ll need to wait for roughly 2 years before the leaves are mature enough to be used for any discernable reason. While we don’t condone the use of kratom leaves for any medicinal purpose, there are some who claim that there are benefits to using the leaves in different ways.
It’s also worth noting that the conditions that the average person growing kratom at home in The United States won’t do so in conditions that are capable of leading the tree to grow to its full height.
In some cases, the kratom tree can grow up to 100 feet tall, but that’s an outlier even in its natural environment. When you’re growing the tree in a greenhouse or a small confined area, it’s not likely to get the nutrients needed to get it to grow to that height.
With that in mind, you don’t have to worry about the tree growing to a towering height and taking up all the space in your home or garden! That said, it could get pretty big, so prepare for that after a few years when the time comes.
Be Persistent, Plant Multiple Seeds
Something to keep in mind is that kratom growing in The United States won’t always take. Even if your seeds take and start to grow, there’s always a chance that the climate will hit that particular plant in an adverse way and prevent it from growing any more.
With that in mind, try to plant as many kratom trees as you can reasonably take care of because you’ll have a better chance of them surviving. If you get extremely lucky and a number of them take, you can always gift them to a friend or try and take care of them.
This is especially true during the seeding phase, because, again, there’s only a 5-10 percent chance of the seeds taking.
Want to Learn More about Kratom?
Whether you’re looking to explore ways to grow kratom seeds or just want to learn more about kratom and what it is, we’re here to help. There’s a lot to learn about this wonderful plant and we’ve got the information for you.
Explore our site for more insight into kratom, how to grow it, and the different varieties of kratom that exist.