Marshmallow Crowns (Althaea officinalis)
Available again in July 2026. Sign up below to join the waiting list.
Marshmallow is a traditional medicinal herb valued for its soothing properties. The leaves and roots have historically been used to support inflammation and irritation of the respiratory, digestive, and urinary systems, including dry coughs, stomach irritation, and urinary tract discomfort.*
Each order includes 1 healthy marshmallow crown cutting with a growing tip. Simply plant into your garden over winter and watch it emerge vigorously in spring. Examples of growing tips are shown below.
Organically grown at KoruKai Herb Farm without synthetic fertilisers, pesticides, or herbicides.
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You will receive one dormant marshmallow crown with growing shoots similar to the image below.
Marshmallow is soothing in every sense of the word. The leaves, flowers, and roots are rich in soft, slippery mucilage that has traditionally been used to calm and protect irritated tissues and mucous membranes.
It is especially valued for supporting the respiratory and urinary systems, making it a popular herb for dry coughs, throat irritation, urinary discomfort, and digestive inflammation. Marshmallow’s naturally demulcent qualities help coat and soothe irritated tissues internally and externally.
Each year at KoruKai Herb Farm we prepare a marshmallow root tincture for our herbal remedies. The roots produce an exceptionally thick, gooey extract — a testament to their high mucilage content. Because of its gentle nature and pleasant flavour, marshmallow is commonly prepared as teas, syrups, extracts, throat lozenges, washes, and soothing skin balms.
Marshmallow is an easy-to-grow perennial that adapts to a range of soil types, though it thrives best in moist, fertile, nutrient-rich soil.
We grow our marshmallow in full sun where it flourishes throughout the warmer months. It can also tolerate wetter or swampy areas, although overly wet ground may make root harvesting more difficult.
For substantial medicinal root harvests, plants should be grown for 2–3 years before digging.
Choose a site with good moisture retention and enrich the soil with plenty of compost and well-rotted manure before planting.
Space plants approximately 40–50cm apart and mulch well around the crowns to retain moisture and suppress weeds. Keep the growing tips above the soil line and clear of mulch to prevent rotting.
Water thoroughly after planting and continue watering regularly through dry summer periods.
Leaves and flowers are best harvested as the plants begin flowering, when some blooms are open and others are still in bud. Harvest on a dry day once the morning dew has evaporated.
The aerial parts can be cut using secateurs or a harvesting knife. During the second and third growing seasons, harvest leaves and flowers sparingly so the plant can continue building strong root systems through photosynthesis.
Roots are typically harvested in autumn of the second or third year, once the top growth has fully died back. Cut stems before digging and return them to the compost heap. Using a trenching spade, lift the entire root system carefully from the soil. Mature plants generally produce abundant, thick lateral roots ideal for medicinal use.
To dry leaves and flowers, lay stems in a single layer on drying racks with good airflow, out of direct sunlight, at approximately 37–40°C. Under ideal conditions they usually dry within 3 days.
Once dry, strip leaves, buds, and flowers from the stems and store in paper bags in a cool, dry place. Properly dried material should remain light, fluffy, and slightly pliable.
Roots should be washed carefully before drying, taking care not to soak them excessively, as some medicinal compounds are water-soluble and may leach out. Slice roots before drying to speed the process.
Store fully dried roots in paper packaging in a cool, dry place for up to 2 years, or preserve them as a tincture for longer-term storage. Roots can be milled in a food processor before use.
For internal and external use.
Roots are commonly prepared as decoctions or tinctures. Leaves and flowers can be used in teas, herbal washes, poultices, or infused oils for soothing skin preparations and balms.
*This information is provided for educational purposes only and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent disease. Always consult a qualified and registered herbal practitioner before using medicinal herbs therapeutically.
Ingredients: live plant material to plant into your garden
Good strong plant, took really quickly
Arrived healthy. Went to sleep for winter. Just saw it a couple of days ago out of the ground 2 or 3 inches. Do it's back. Yay.
We bought marshmallow in 2022 and planted it out in the boggiest section of our garden in the Far North. It's begun growing nicely and I think will do well. Really happy with the plant quality. I love telling people what it is!
I just wanted to say thank you for the beautiful plants they've arrived in mint condition ❤️ the turn around time from farm to home was quick as. Primo service.
Please sign up below to get an email once they are available again (July 2026).
Echinacea (echinacea purpurea) is a highly effective and safe immune herb that helps to jump-start the immune response in the body.*
These crowns are in their 2nd and 3rd year.
Growing tips are below.
Available in July 2026. Sign up below to go onto the waiting list.
Wormwood (Artemisia absinthium)
Family: Asteraceae
Common names: Wormwood, Absinthe Wormwood, Green Ginger
Wormwood is a hardy, aromatic perennial herb prized for its striking silvery foliage, intense bitterness, and powerful medicinal properties. Traditionally used as a digestive tonic and vermifuge, it is one of the classic bitter herbs of Western herbal medicine. Easy to grow and drought tolerant once established, Wormwood thrives in poor soils and makes a beautiful structural plant in the herb garden.
Wormwood dies down in winter. You will receive a dormant crown with established shoots.
Below you’ll find growing instructions, medicinal uses, and herbal preparation ideas.
Available again in July 2026. Sign up below to go onto the waiting list.
Solidago virgaurea
Family: Asteraceae
Common names: Goldenrod, European Goldenrod, Woundwort, true Goldenrod
Goldenrod is a members of the daisy family and has vivid yellow flower heads that are made up of many, small, daisy-like flowers. It was traditionally used to heal wounds, and a yellow dye was produced from the flowers. Its a stunning plant in meadows, wild flower gardens and herb gardens.
Plant is shipped during its winter dormancy. It will be a bare rooted, dormant crown without any leaves or stalks, but with growing buds already in place (see image below). Simply plant into your garden over winter and watch it emerge in spring. Growing tips are below.
Russian Comfrey Crowns (Symphytum × uplandicum)
Available again in July 2026. Sign up below to join the waiting list.
Russian comfrey is a highly valuable perennial for food forests and organic garden systems, known for its vigorous growth and deep nutrient accumulation.
Both the leaves and roots have been traditionally used in herbal practices. The plant is rich in allantoin, a compound associated with tissue regeneration, making comfrey a well-known herb for supporting skin and tissue repair both internally and externally.*
Each order includes 1 strong crown cutting with a healthy growing tip. Plant directly into your garden over winter and it will emerge strongly in spring.
Horseradish (Armoracia rusticana)
Available again in July 2026. Sign up below to join the waiting list.
Horseradish is a hardy perennial known for its vigorous growth and pungent, aromatic roots traditionally used in culinary and herbal preparations.
Each order includes 1 dormant, bare-root horseradish plant with a healthy growing tip (see example images below). Simply plant into your garden upon arrival and it will emerge strongly in spring.
Organically grown at KoruKai Herb Farm without synthetic fertilisers, pesticides, or herbicides.
Available again in July 2026. Sign up below to go onto the waiting list.
Earth Chestnut (Bunium bulbocastanum)
Common names: Earth chestnut, pignut, great pignut and earthnut
The edible parts of the earth chestnut are its tubers, leaves and seeds. The tubers are small, nutty, and taste like chestnuts and can be eaten raw or cooked like potatoes. The leaves are edible and have a parsley-like flavor, while the seeds are also edible and can be used as a cumin substitute.
You will receive a seedling with roots and young shoots (see image further below). Simply plant into your garden as soon as you receive it and watch it emerge in spring. Growing tips are below.
Available in July 2026. Sign up below to go onto the waiting list.
Motherwort (Leonurus cardiaca)
Family: Lamiaceae
Common names: Motherwort, Lion’s Tail
Motherwort is a hardy, easy-to-grow perennial herb from the mint family, valued for its calming effects on the nervous system and its long traditional use in supporting the heart and women’s health. With its tall leafy stems, soft pink flowers, and abundant summer growth, Motherwort is both medicinally powerful and highly attractive to bees and other pollinators.
Below you’ll find growing instructions, medicinal uses, and herbal preparation ideas.
Motherwort dies down in winter. You will receive a dormant plant.
Available again in July 2026. Sign up below to go onto the waiting list.
Artemisia dracunculus var. sativa
Family: Asteraceae
Aromatic and flavoursome herb, narrow green foliage with tiny yellow flowers in summer. Use fresh or dried. Delicious in hollandaise, bearnaise and tartar sauces.
Height in summer: 30-40cm
You will receive a dormant plant in its first year with visible shoots with no or very little leaves (plant is dormant in winter, see example photo below). It will emerge in spring and grow into a lush plant. Prune to create a bushy appearance.
Growing instructions are below.
True Peppermint Dormant Bare Root Cuttings (Mentha × piperita)
Available again in July 2026. Sign up below to join the waiting list.
A true, high-quality peppermint selected for its strong, clean flavour and reliable vigour - distinct from common garden mints often sold under the same name. This is the same commercial strain grown at KoruKai Herb Farm and is rarely available through retail outlets.
Plants are supplied as dormant bare-root cuttings with active growing tips, shipped nationwide during winter dormancy for easy establishment.
Frost tolerant and highly productive once established.
Peppermint dormant plant (see image below) is suitable for a 20cm planter or pot and will have growing shoots in place.
Available again in July 2026. Sign up below to go onto the waiting list.
Smallanthus sonchifolius
Order is for 1 crown (see sample images below).
"Yacon" means "water root" in the Inca language and its tubers were historically highly valued as a wild source of thirst-quenching refreshment for travellers. It taste like a sweet cross between early apples and watermelon with a touch of pear.
The liquid can also be drawn off and concentrated to produce yacon syrup. The yacon is a species of perennial daisy traditionally grown in the northern and central Andes from Colombia to northern Argentina for its crisp, sweet-tasting, tuberous roots.
Available again in July 2026. Sign up below to go onto the waiting list.
Rosmarinus officinalis
Native to the Mediterrannean, rosemary prefers a warm, moderately dry climate and a sheltered site. It is an upright woody herb with blue flowers. It flowers in late winter and spring and is loved by bees. It is a culinary herb with many medicinal uses (see below).
Order is for 1 bare rooted seedling.
Available again in July 2026. Sign up below to go onto the waiting list.
Mentha suaveolens
Family: Lamiaceae
Common names: apple mint, woolly mint, fuzzy mint
Apple mint is a delicious compliment to many dishes and is great as a hot herbal tea or iced tea. It’s easy to grow and simple to care for. There’s no question – this species of Mentha definitely deserves a spot in your herb garden.
Grown organically at KoruKai Herb Farm, New Zealand. Free of pesticides, herbicides and other agrochemicals.
The seedling is shipped bare rooted with courier. Plant it in the garden or in a pot and water well over the first few days. Growing conditions are below.
Available again in July 2026. Sign up below to go onto the waiting list.
Lovage (Levisticum officinale)
Lovage has long been cultivated in Europe, the leaves being used as a herb and soup ingredient, the roots as a vegetable, and the seeds as a spice, especially in southern European cuisine.
Dormant crown with growing bud/s. Simply plant into your garden as soon as you receive it and watch it emerge in spring. Growing tips are below.
Available again in July 2026. Sign up below to go onto the waiting list.
Mashua (Tropaeolum tuberosum)
Mashua (pronounced Mah-shwuh) is an Andean tuber. A relative of the garden nasturtium, Mashua is one of the highest-yielding, and easiest-to-grow of the Andean tubers, and most resistant to cold. It also repels many insects, nematodes, and other pathogens, thus making it a valuable plant to intercrop with other species. The tubers about the size of small potatoes or big yams.
Mashua is high-yielding, even under conditions of almost no management. Even the leaves are edible!
You will receive 2 medium tubers or 1 large one (see image below).
Simply plant into your garden as soon as you receive it and watch it emerge in spring. Growing tips are below.
Available again in July 2026. Sign up below to go onto the waiting list.
Perennial Stinging Nettle (Urtica dioica)
Family: Urticaceae
This plant have been grown organically at KoruKai Herb Farm, Banks Peninsula. Free from synthetic fertiliser, pesticides and herbicides.
You will get 3 dormant rhizomes (about 20cm each). Please find growing information and photos below.
Available again in July 2026. Sign up below to go onto the waiting list.
Meadow Arnica (Arnica chamissonis)
Common names: arnica, meadow arnica
Creeping alpine herbaceous perennial.
This plant have been grown organically at KoruKai Herb Farm, Banks Peninsula. Free from synthetic fertiliser, pesticides and herbicides.
You will get 3 dormant root pieces. Please find growing information and a picture below.
