Lab tests prove kratom can be potent at under one year of age, dispelling myths that only older trees possess beneficial alkaloids.
Potent at 1 year of age
One year ago today, master cultivator and grow systems expert David Winkler germinated the seeds that would prove excellent kratom can be young. This week, these Borneo Rainforest sourced trees, now approaching nine feet high, have been proven by Wonderland Labs to be potent at just about one year of age.
This dispels the myth that kratom takes years to develop beneficial alkaloids.
"There's been a longstanding myth among American growers that only old trees are good," says Winkler. "It's led to widespread over-cloning of cultivars that are more or less unremarkable."
It is well known among Indonesian export farmers that quality trees can be ready for harvest at less than a year of age, although some continue to claim otherwise, perhaps to discourage competitors from seeking out genetics from winning trees and growing what has become a lucrative product in a competitive market.
"We've known for a good while that exceptional trees can be potent even when relatively young," says Winkler's colleague Cornelia Llama, who works with Winkler to develop genetic lines of kratom trees adaptable to the North American climate. "But it's nice to have proof, so we can start moving forward with new varieties more suited to North America."
This new evidence opens the door to new genetic lines, and means there is no longer a need to keep over-cloning the oft-disappointing Bumblebee line, among others.
"We are working very hard to adapt and evolve this species here in North America using massive quantities of genetic material and simple natural selection," says Winkler, who together with Llama has germinated tens of thousands of kratom seeds to identify trees most likely to succeed in the Western world.
"Good seeds are hard to come by," says Winkler. "And good seeds with good genetics are even rarer. We've grown pretty large numbers to handpick the cream of the crop, but we still end up throwing out a lot of plants because they don't represent the quality and vigor necessary for American horticulture applications."
"When we first started, we were growing any seeds we could get our hands on," says Llama. "We were thankful just to have some to grow. Only later did we realize not all kratom is created equal. It took men on the ground in Indonesia and botany-minded associates who could speak Thai and Indonesian to help us hunt down what we're now using to develop lines for American agriculture."
From this labor of love the Magick Powers Potions Borneo Rainforest line has emerged. This genetically diverse line is sourced from the rainforests of Borneo island spanning areas of both Indonesia and Malaysia. Live plants from this line can be purchased with personal use and agricultural licenses exclusively through Magick Powers Potions.
American kratom in theory and practice
The Borneo Rainforest line is thriving not only in theory, but in practice, in the outdoor greenhouse of American master gardener Richard Atchley. Atchley has been successfully growing and harvesting usable quantities of high quality kratom for the last year from his property in Gold Beach, Oregon.
Atchley's success proves kratom can be cultivated in non-tropical regions, and establishes a model for a family-size home grow. The alkaloid test results are an aggregate reading made from samples of six 11 month old trees from the Borneo Rainforest line.
Stay tuned for an in-depth exclusive on Atchley's thriving kratom grow.
Ready to grow your own kratom? Learn more at magickpowerspotions.com. All our plants come with ongoing support and education from initial transplant all the way to harvest and curing.