It's amazing how many folk have emailed about starting their own wasabi plots (see http://www.ruralgoods.com/content/wasabia-japonica-seen-iron-chef)

Wasabi Flowering

As I was telling Lan from California they are *really* easy to grow, but finding a source for seeds or stock in the USA is getting to be a giant pain in the ass.  The other day Lan emailed me about getting some plants or seeds after he had googled like a mofo and came up blank and eventually saw my wasabi post.  Here is what I wrote back:

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Hi Lan

yeah I really don't understand why Wasabi is so hard to find since they are so easy to grow.

These guys grow it to the north of me in Florence
http://www.freshwasabi.com/

They used to sell plants and some of my stock came from them back 5-6 years ago.  I had 4 roots from japan and then got a few from those guys.  The thing is it takes about 2 years for the plant to grow to maturity .. so you get a 4-6 inch root so it's been kind of slow building up my plants.  But they are really easy to grow .. and the little nodules on the root (or rhysome) shoot out and make new plants. And when you harvest you can pull those off and replant and get 5-10 new plants from each mature one. I probably have 30-50  or so going at the moment.  

If I really thought about it I'd get going and try to do a bigger operation. You are one of many who's asked about them -- and they sold well at the lions club plant sale.

Any japanese markets near you?  If you can find one root that's not dried out you can probably grow several plants from one.  A friend bought several roots from freshwasabi.com back in 2002 or so for one of our sushi parties and we grated them down to the thick top (like the top of a carot) and then just put the top in wet soil and in a week or so they started and kept growing.  So if you can get a root there is a good chance you can start some plants from it... they are very forgiving and hardy plants!

 The only thing is they really hate heat and direct sun, so I"m not sure about how well they'd do in  California.  Southern Oregon Coast seems to be a very good climate (the coastal hills here are very similar to the area where it grows in Japan).  But they are hardy -- last year we had 2 weeks of 8 degree weather and they all froze solid.. when it warmed up they dropped a few leaves and then kept on going no problemo.  But in direct summer sun they turn brown fast -- it kills them.  Also they need a lot of water.  I know some people have used cheese cloth over the plot if they don't have natural shade.

Keep bugging me this fall and I'll see what I can do.  I'm seriously tempted to try to get a little commercial operation going  but I don't have a clue what the laws are with shipping plants and if there are certifications involved or whatnot.  Maybe keep it underground :)

thanks & good luck on your quest for fresh wasabi

-zachary

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So the point is if you can manage to get a fresh root you can probably get some plants going from it .. the whole Wasabi mystique is strange.  I seriously think the Japanese keep the mystery going when in fact once you get a few plants going they are nearly impossible to kill..

If anyone has a source for wasabi seeds or starts please let me know -- i'll post the link or whatnot.  More wasabi is better - spread the spicy love!