Persicaria tinctoria Maruba - Japanese Indigo Maruba - Tadeai - Seed

Description

• Polygonaceae Caryophyllales
• China, Southeast Asia
• L1.2m x H 1.2m
•  Z7 
• Annual
• Synonyms : Tadeai, Dyer's Knotweed, Japanese Indigo
• Variety : "Maruba-Ai"
• Other varieties sold on this site : Sen-Bon and Kojo-Ko
• 1 packet of 50 seeds
  (maruba-ai variety)

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Details

Variety : "Maruba-Ai"

Variable plant with more or less broad leaves depending on maturity, growing conditions, and variety, as well as a more or less bluish green color depending on the amount of sunshine and the vigor of the plants

Japanese Indigo is traditionally cultivated in China and Japan (where it is called Tadeai)
Ten varieties exist, such as: Sen-Bon, Maruba-Ai, Kojo-Ko, Kosen-Bon, Akakuki-Kosenbon, etc.

Persicaria tinctoria is cultivated primarily for its dyeing properties, as one of the purest and easiest to extract Indigo (indigotin), either for producing blue pigment (primary color with yellow and red) or as a natural textile dye
It is also possible to get greens, grays, tans and purple colors (indirubin) with this plant

Tadeai is also one of the Traditional Chinese Medicine remedies

Fast-growing in summer, Dyer's Knotweed needs warmth, fertile & moist soil, and plenty of sunshine to produce the most beautiful Indigo

Its large, tender green leaves are very aesthetic
Above the foliage, in late summer and early autumn, a multitude of graceful spikes appear, bearing fragrant white or pink flowers, allowing Persicaria tinctoria to be used as a small ornamental

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Cultivation

Sow warm in pots from February to April, or directly in the ground in May-June
Transplant the early seedlings in the ground after the last risk of frost, the plant being frost-tender

Harvest the foliage in early July for a higher Indigo content

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Use for Dyeing

Learn to Use this Indigo Plant with our Courses:

Internship indigo Dye on Wool and Colorimetry

Internship Master Class: Compound Colors and Colorimetry