Ashitaba – Angelica keiskei potted plant

Ashitaba – Angelica keiskei or “Tomorrow’s Leaf,” is a hardy native Japanese plant primarily used as both a food and a medicinal herb, known as a ‘longevity herb’. It has beautiful glossy foliage and its unique yellow sap and high nutrient content, particularly chalcones and B vitamins, provide antioxidant and other health benefits, consumed in dishes like soba noodles, tempura, tea, and even ice cream. Ashitaba is a biennial, dying after setting seed, but you can encourage it to grow as a perennial by cutting back any flowering stems that emerge and prevent it going to seed. It can be grown in large containers and growing in a container will also inhibit the flowering process and help the foliage keep on producing. The name tomorrow’s leaf refers to the folklore surrounding the plant that if you pick a leaf there will be a new one growing the following day. Also the food of Samurai warriors! If you want to collect your own seed to grow more plants, these will flower around August 2027. Ideally you want at least two plants (more is better) wait until seed is ripe and plump and beginning to fall freely. Surface sow the seeds immediately in autumn/winter only lightly covering with 2mm of compost. They will need at least 4 weeks cold stratification, which they will receive naturally if you leave in an unheated greenhouse or a sheltered spot outdoors. Alternatively you can sow them, put them in the fridge for 4 weeks and remove them, you will see seedlings emerge within 2-3 weeks. Saving seed from your own plants is the best way to perpetuate your ashitaba crop. Our experience has been that seed matures really late in the autumn so it is tricky to get it to mature in time, but not impossible. Likewise, with keeping your plant perennial by removing the flowers, this also has mixed results, with some plants carrying on and others thinking they have reached the end of their lifespan and naturally senesce. We are telling you all this information so you are fully informed about what you are purchasing and what the results might be. We will also have seed for sale at the end of 2026.