Bigdaryn Posted January 18, 2014 Hi all. I have a few quick questions about sida cordifolia that hopefully some of you might be able to answer. Since ephedrine based weight loss/ muscle building supplements have been taken off the market I've been looking for another source. I've been growing a few ephedra plants for a while now but it'll be quite a some time before they could be harvested and even then it won't be much. I bought some sida cordifolia seeds as well but so far haven't been able to get them to germinate. I thought considering their weedy reputation that as long as they had soil and moisture, they'd at least sprout. Any idea what I've done wrong? Also, does anyone know for sure how much ephedrine is in sida? Some websites say 0.8-1.2% and others say 0.085%. That's a big difference. Most of the suppliments sold overseas are advertised as Bala root extract. Does the root have 0.8-1.2% and the airial parts of the plants has the lower amount? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
planthelper Posted January 19, 2014 I never tried to germinate sidas, but as many common weeds, they might be hard to germinate. repeated cycles of dry and wet, might facilitate sprouting..., be patient, they might germ slowly. sidas grow in the wild everywhere on the east coast, so it would be better, to pick them from the wild, than to grow them at home. I don't agree with the statement that a mature ephedra does not produce a lot of herb (they produce heaps of foliage, far more than sidas given the same space), but one would have to be patient, and wait around 5 years... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
quarterflesh Posted January 19, 2014 There is mutliple posts about this species if you search the forum. plenty of feedback on use also. from experience they come up when they are ready. but i wouldnt bother with them personally. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bigdaryn Posted January 23, 2014 There is mutliple posts about this species if you search the forum. plenty of feedback on use also. from experience they come up when they are ready. but i wouldnt bother with them personally.I had read as many articles on the topic as I could find but there's a lot of contradicting information. I think I'll take your advice and leave them for now though. I tried most forms of germinating them that I could come up with but no success. Perhaps they were just a bad batch. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LokStok Posted January 23, 2014 they can take a long while. don't give up on them yet. abrasion & GA3 can speed up the process. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nothinghead Posted January 23, 2014 Yeah, from memory they do seem to pop up unpredictably. If you want lots of plants quickly maybe you'd have better luck spending a day in a likely area, potting up/taking home your finds. It's weedy enough that it'll be easy enough to find and you'd not need to worry about over-harvesting issues. Once you've got them going it'll probably more of an issue to keep them isolated than to keep them propagating. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Koda Posted February 5, 2014 Not sure on concentration but the seeds are the strongest part in my experience. 4 grams is easily enough for me. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
katu Posted April 18, 2014 G'day Bigdaryn, Sida.sp are not something I personally have any interest in, it's actually a nasty weed that finds it's way into agricultural crops etc. Round up doesn't kill the crap it's gotta be weeded by hand and even a small plant is nearly impossible to pull out. It pretty well grows anywhere sunny, disturbed land, etc. Plenty down the east coast. If you can ID it, there's quite a few species growing in Aust just go and wild harvest it. You'll save yourself the hassle trying to germinate it and be doing your local environment a favour. Like P.H. said being a weed it probably has one or more germination inhibitors. GA3 should help, waste of GA3 if ask me though. Hope this helps Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
indigo264nm Posted April 24, 2014 Howdy. As far as I know about the plant from stoned hazy memories of my weeds subject in hort many moons ago the Sidas stay dormant until the weather conditions start warming up and moistening up again so PH and Katu are spot on... Eventually the soil and temp conditions allow microbes to break down the outer coating and allow water in. Because of this I would definitely consider giving mechanical scarification ago and\or a boiling water treatment as LokStock said. Also following that use a fine layer of vermiculite over the seed in germ tray to help keep moisture consistent until they germinate (water by misting). Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
quarterflesh Posted April 24, 2014 Even ephedra is a bit unreliable. The long wait for it to mature. Then the possibility of it having next to no medicinal effect. Apparently only sida from india is worth a crack. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
katu Posted April 24, 2014 I've heard that too quarterflesh with regards to the Indian strains being the only ones worth while medicinally. They use it in everything from energy drinks to Ayurveda medicine so I guess it's safe to say there's been a bit of selective breeding going on.. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Slocombe Posted April 24, 2014 Interestingly enough I just put a few seeds in a huge-arse pot today. I wasn't expecting to see them until September(ish) when things warm-up but now I'm not sure if they will germinate at all. I will hold onto the pot and update if there is any progress. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
