How Long Does It Take for Kratom Leaves to Ripe and Ready for Harvest?

[Jordan Borneohale]

Have you ever wondered how long it takes for kratom leaves to ripen before they are ready to be picked and processed into semi-finished or finished products such as kratom tea bag, capsules, crushed leaves, or powder?

[onespeedstop]

Not really, but I'm sure kratom trees have a gestational period or whatever, despite me not knowing or caring. Seems like I read a while back that it takes a few years for 'mature' leaves, that is - ones that have all the good chemical parts we want in them. Since it's from a tree and not a bush or shrub or weed, that alone means it'll be a while longer than for some things, like say dandelions or basil, those grow super fast compared to just about any tree ha-ha.

[BallzDeep9]

Seems like I read a while back that it takes a few years for 'mature' leaves, that is - all the good chemical parts we want in them.

That's my understanding, too. I remember back in 2017, seeing videos on Facebook of young "Plantation" trees growing around Hulu Kapuas... thinking, OK, give 'em a few more years! Well now, it's 2022 - the Plantation trees around JongKong are now 8, even 10+ years old. They are being carefully grown & harvested year after year.

Great to see BorneoHale here on Double EM!

[add to descartes]

when talking about the potential kratom bans in certain states, I sometimes come across the retort "just grow your own." for some reason they assume it's just like growing weed, but no, kratom needs to become an actual tree, growing for several years minimum, in favorable conditions which don't exist in most states, to produce anything of value. not exactly something you can keep in a flower pot on the window sill.

I don't know what the earliest date a tree would be mature enough to be harvestable. I've also heard something like 3-4 years, but it probably wouldn't even be very potent at that time. then how much could you even expect to get from one tree per harvest, and how often could you do that? you would need multiple, if not many trees to make it a worthwhile for even one person. then you'd need a big enough space, probably not a typical backyard. t's definitely a significant investment.

has anyone started a kratom forest/plantation (not the best word for this) in the states yet? I never hear about kratom that is successfully grown here, but I know people have been trying for long enough that the trees would be mature enough at this point. still waiting on some Miami Maeng da or Honolulu Hulu.

something I've wondered: is the soil in this country even conducive to growing quality kratom? what about hydroponic kratom?

[Lokey]

I got a couple trees from My Trees of Life, they're doing good so far in South Florida. They are in Texas.
https://mytreesoflife.com/

[Kelleytoons]

Here in Florida the University of Florida is not only seriously studying Kratom, they are growing their own "forest".

What they have found, so far, is that even after many years the amount of the "good stuff" is very low, and their theories so far is that it might take decades for such plants to have the potency that we are used to in the imported leaf. But they ARE interested in trying to get this as a viable crop for our state, assuming other things work out.

There are some good YouTube videos from these folks well worth watching - some of it is boring science stuff, but it does explore the botany quite thoroughly (even down to seeing what amounts of fertilizer produce the most potent leaves, etc.) It's clear that even if I had the space I couldn't grow a crop significant in the same way as weed can be grown (which is essentially a weed, thus the name - they actually have to take steps to KEEP it from growing in most places) I wouldn't have the time in my life.

[IndelibleDotInk]

Not really, but I'm sure kratom trees have a gestational period or whatever, despite me not knowing or caring.

wtfing f? So unexpected right off the cuff.

[onespeedstop]

That probably sounded worse than it was meant. I just meant no, I don't really think about it, it grows on trees, so I assume it takes a while. Meanwhile the trees have been growing wild there for decades if not centuries, so it seems like it'd be a while before they run out of leaves to pick, hence my lack of concern. Plus now they grow/plant them on purpose (I've read) since it's become such a good cash crop for them, so I expect there will be plenty more in the future - not accounting for political shipping issues and/or local ordinances etc. For comparison, most u.s. bananas aren't grown here and yet I can go buy one cheaply 7 days a week, I don't worry about bananas either ha-ha.

[Jordan Borneohale]

Not really, but I'm sure kratom trees have a gestational period or whatever, despite me not knowing or caring. Seems like I read a while back that it takes a few years for 'mature' leaves, that is - ones that have all the good chemical parts we want in them. Since it's from a tree and not a bush or shrub or weed, that alone means it'll be a while longer than for some things, like say dandelions or basil, those grow super fast compared to just about any tree ha-ha.

Thank you, your opinion is very helpful. I also once asked a farmer about the age of kratom harvest, he replied that the older the kratom tree, the higher the content. that's very good info

[Jordan Borneohale]

Seems like I read a while back that it takes a few years for 'mature' leaves, that is - all the good chemical parts we want in them.

That's my understanding, too. I remember back in 2017, seeing videos on Facebook of young "Plantation" trees growing around Hulu Kapuas... thinking, OK, give 'em a few more years! Well now, it's 2022 - the Plantation trees around JongKong are now 8, even 10+ years old. They are being carefully grown & harvested year after year.

Great to see BorneoHale here on Double EM!

wow, very informative. it seems that at that age the kratom tree is very good for picking and processing because at that age it must already have a lot of leaves.

thank you, nice to see you here too

[onespeedstop]

Assuming it never gets very cold there where they grow, then the leaves wouldn't fall off like they do up north here, so yeah, a mature leaf a few years old should have all the chemicals in it, since it's probably the original leaf that the tree first sprouted. Now the question is, how long does it take before a 'kratom tree' even gets any leaves ha-ha.

[Jordan Borneohale]

Here in Florida the University of Florida is not only seriously studying Kratom, they are growing their own "forest".

What they have found, so far, is that even after many years the amount of the "good stuff" is very low, and their theories so far is that it might take decades for such plants to have the potency that we are used to in the imported leaf. But they ARE interested in trying to get this as a viable crop for our state, assuming other things work out.

There are some good YouTube videos from these folks well worth watching - some of it is boring science stuff, but it does explore the botany quite thoroughly (even down to seeing what amounts of fertilizer produce the most potent leaves, etc.) It's clear that even if I had the space I couldn't grow a crop significant in the same way as weed can be grown (which is essentially a weed, thus the name - they actually have to take steps to KEEP it from growing in most places) I wouldn't have the time in my life.

Wow amazing, can kratom trees grow well in florida in soil conditions?
that really adds to the information, I think the older the tree, the more good things it will produce. but we still don't know that a good tree is at a good age, because at my place for a year old it already has a lot of leaves.