patchouli plant question....

[ladywithafan]

I have noticed that nobody has posted on this aspect of the board, so I decided to start a thread. I was wondering if anyone has a patchouli plant, and how do you take care of it? I have a pretty good size one, but it isn't doing as well as my other plants. Also, what kind of plants do you have? I have quite a few. My favorites are lavendar, aloe, and my yucca plant.

[calico_skies]

I had a patchouli plant a couple of years ago. It did really well for a while then just wilted away. I think their life span just isn't very long. Do you pinch it back so that it does not get too leggy?
We have quite a few plants also. Several different trees, vines, jade and aloe to name a few. My favorite is our jasmine tree, she smells so beautiful when blooming. Heavenly.

[nappydread]

hey,
you guys seem to know way more about patchouli than me (though i hope to get me a plant one of these days - where?..... i think someone said Home Depot or something? do they sell seeds too?).
Anyway, does anyone have ideas about extracting oil from these leaves? I'm sure it would be similar to making weed oil but I was just wondering if anyone has done this procedure for beautiful-smelling patchouli oil?

i usually like to grow herbs...rosemary, dill, thyme, coriander, basal...etc.
:)


peace

[happyheathen16]

I just spent the entire day driving to a flea market far away from where I live, to search for a new bottle of the patchouli oil I had purchased there over a year ago, because it was the best I've found in a very long time. Alas, the exact brand (well, it wasn't exactly a "brand", just a paper label on a little brown glass bottle) wasn't there anymore....I found a pretty good one, though, and bought the only two bottles that the vendor had.
When I got home, I started doing some reading online about the plant and its primary source (Indonesia), and found out that the other kind - "pogostemon heyneanus" - is available here in the States. I found a nursery in California that sells the plants for $3.75 for a 3" pot...but I am in Florida, and would much prefer buying locally if possible.
Does anyone know anywhere in Florida (like a nursery chain) that sells these plants? Also, any growing info would be appreciated....as well as a question I see has already been posted, and that is, can the plant produce the coveted oil, and if so, how?
I am a new member as of today and am happy to have found this site. Thanks in advance to anyone who has info for me!

[toman]

I don't know exactly, but usually when any oil is extracted from a plant, it's done with a solvent. The process for extracting patchouli oil at home is probably something like: Gather up all your plant matter, steep it in a clean solvent like acetone or isopropyl alchohol or use an extraction method similar to how you would make hash oil using butane, then filter out the solids, evaporate the solvent, and there you are. I doubt if you were to do this at home that you would get very good product though, so I'd leave it to the people who do it for a living.

[redthewitch75]

I don't know exactly, but usually when any oil is extracted from a plant, it's done with a solvent. The process for extracting patchouli oil at home is probably something like: Gather up all your plant matter, steep it in a clean solvent like acetone or isopropyl alchohol or use an extraction method similar to how you would make hash oil using butane, then filter out the solids, evaporate the solvent, and there you are. I doubt if you were to do this at home that you would get very good product though, so I'd leave it to the people who do it for a living.

I was wondering if it wouldn't be better to pack the leaves(is it the leaves or are there flowers from which you extract the scent?) in a very clean glass jar with a light oil? I have a recipe for lilac oil that uses this method. I would love to get my hands on a Patchoulie plant, but I'll settle for dried leaves from Happy Heathen (Pagan store in Richmond, IN). instead.

[toman]

Not the same deal. That would probably work somewhat, but what I was talking about was extracting the oil out of the plant. What you're talking about is sort of infusing some other oil.

[LIBRA]

Hey I just got one!!! It smells GRRRREAT~~~ I was surprised that it smelled so good and strong I really didnt think it would. Its just a little guy now so hopefully I wont kill it!!

Hey Red Id love to have that lilac oil recipe your talking about, my lilacs are days away from being full bloom, so let me know! thanks

[nappydread]

^^^ ...i just got one too!!!!:cheers:
and i've been researching some things about it too...
-its a perennial and you get the oil from the leaves (as toman said)
-it likes partial shade and cold temperatures will kill it!
there's some cool info on it here: http://www.frontiercoop.com/learn/eo_patchouli.html

you're right libra....it smells amazing!!!
you got a pic you can post? ...mine looks kinda sick so i just wanted compare them :bandit:

peace

[LIBRA]

mine looks sick too!! I keep moving it around to see what it likes, I had it outside but the nights get chilly so I brought it in and its the same, kinda droopy looking yet watered but not over watered, I will take a picture!

And it does smell great, I was amazed I really didnt think it was gonna smell so good!!

[StellaBlue]

I used to have a plant too. It almost always looked sick. Except for at the garden center where I bought it of course, there it looked fantastic! I just moved it around a lot until I found good light for it. They are really picky. I took great care of it, and it still died. Then I got another one, and it started to do the same thing, so I gave it to my mom. This was a couple of years ago, and she still has it. It is beautiful and huge. She claims she doesn't do anything special...but I don't know, it looks fantastic. Maybe it just depends on the plant and the green thumb taking care of it.

On a side note, I found that pinching the sickly looking leaves often encouraged a lot of new growth. Good luck with your plants!

[nappydread]

hey...
here are two patchouli plants, i got a week ago from a friend who grew it from seed. 2 of the 4 seeds germinated. It still looks kinda sick, but i think i'm giving it the TLC it needs:)

http://img89.echo.cx/img89/3236/patchouli9ib.gif (http://www.imageshack.us)
peace

[StellaBlue]

Hey Nappy...your plant looks pretty good! When I had mine, I found that pinching off the leaves that were turning brown really helped the rest of the plant. That way all the nutrients in the plant just go to the healthy parts. I don't know if that is helpful info for you, but just in case. I love seeing plants flourish!

[nappydread]

hey Stella!
thanks for the advice:D
i'll probably just wait for the new growth to get bigger before i remove any of those brown leaves...we'll see:)

peace

[LIBRA]

Mine looks like that too, I have pinched off the leaves that are not looking so healthy, so I'll try that, and nappy you try something else, our powers combined we will have some kick ass plants!!!

[nappydread]

yay...
you got it libra!!!!:cheers:
i'll try the companionship gardening thing...with hmmm...errr...other plants
:bandit:

...and yes...they will be kick ass!!!
:D

peace