Goldenseal is one of the most popular herbs on the market today - for all the wrong reasons.  Contrary to widespread popular belief, this herb will not mask drug use in a urine sample, and in fact, most testing facilities these days also test for Goldenseal and will fail you just for that if they detect it in your drug test.  If you have arrived at this page in search of a drug test foil, please read the Goldenseal and Drug Testing section of this page for tips on what you can do that might work.

Goldenseal is on the list of endangered plants due to its meteoric rise in popularity related to drug testing, and the price has skyrocketed to almost absurd levels because of its scarcity.  It has been over-harvested in the wild, and is disappearing at an alarming rate. It is a difficult plant to grow, and takes about 5 years from seed to grow into harvestable size.  It has an unpleasant bitter taste, and is not suitable for any culinary uses.  It is also toxic when overused, so unless you are an experienced herbalist with experience in gardening with hard to grow plants, you may want to consider moving on to one of the easier and safer plants for making herbal remedies. 

Having said that, Goldenseal is a perennial herb that should be grown in a woodland-type of situation.  It can be started from seed, root bulbs, or pieces of sprouted rhizome.  The soil should be light, humusy, and moist.  Plant seed in the fall and provide some sort of shelter until the plants become established.  If you know someone who has an established plant and is willing to share, wait until the plant dies back in the winter, carefully uproot the rhizome and remove the dirt, then sever the shoot and re-plant the underdeveloped root.  Harvest the dried leaves and stems in late summer after they have turned brown.  Harvest the rhizome in autumn, and sun-dry until it is a dark yellow-brown.  When buying commercial Goldenseal, buy from a reputable dealer and read the label carefully.  Because of its scarcity, Goldenseal is often adulterated with bloodroot and other plant materials. 

Because of its fragile nature and the skill it takes to successfully grow it, Goldenseal has only limited use in the home landscape.  However, it can be a nice addition to a native woodland setting or wildflower garden under optimal conditions as described above.