Glycyrrhiza Glabra Licorice Does anyone grow it in a pot?

I have moved from pre-K to kinder"garden" with this plant. As a beginner, I wonder if anyone else grows this in a pot. I am trying the pot as it wouldn't survive most of our winters. Is this plant deciduous? I am needing to move it to a larger pot and wonder if it would hurt to do so now? Thanx pod

Pod--then I'm happily still in Disneyland--because I had to look it up in plant files.
http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/286/index.html

Cool Plant--did some one give it to you? Give it the old half day sun and try to wean it to full sun. Isn't that how we have to test everything? lol

Believe it or not, it was an ebay acquisition. Most of the peculiar plants I want I can find there sooner or later. Always in search of the unusual. This past winter was mild and I got it midway thru. I kept it protected and it suffered minor leaf loss. (that's why I wonder if that is normal) It is putting on new growth and will need a larger pot. Think I'll try that this weekend. I have a passion for licorice and although it has no smell, couldn't resist. It did receive honorable mention in Southern Herb Growing but don't think they grew it.
P.S. Disneyland is more fun for us grownups, as they say "been there, done that"

I have no desire to visit Disneyland--I live with a 17 yr old--that's close enough.

Looks like an easy plant to air layer. Going to Nov RU in College Station? Sounds like you have an interesting assortment of plants.

Stepchildren only and all grown adn thankfully independent. Disneyland really was fun for us not them. Regretfully, no to the Nov RU. A little eclectic on the plants here. Not enough time to do what I want to do due to work and not enough money if I didn't work. Some day....

pretty eclectic here too....no way around work that I've figured out yet either.

Well, it's still growing well. I have seen no blooms. Does anyone out there grow this plant at all?

I care for the herb garden at Tucson Botanical Gardens. I have a container of this in that garden. We do have freezing temps here in the winter but I refuse to bring any herbs indoors because I feel that our visitors should know exactly what dormant plants look like so they don't get the mistaken impression that herbs look beautiful year round here. This plant dies right back to the soil level every year, however, it always comes back quite nicely from the root system in the spring. I feel that dormancy is very important for perennial herb plants. It's a time of rest and renewal and they always come back nicely and are stronger than if I bring them into a greenhouse or cover them to protect them from frost. I have a nice sign that explains dormancy and its importance that I plop into the pot once the plant freezes back. This year the licorice plant looked so lovely, until the grasshoppers arrived in late summer. Now it's a little pitiful but I'm not worried. It'll come back again in the spring. They didn't completely denude it. Mine has never bloomed also. Hope this is helpful.

Momherb, Hello. I have not met you before in the forums, my pleasure. What a great job you have ~ I am envious. I am thinking Tucson is a warmer zone than we are here. I rather worried about root damage from a freeze while keeping it in a pot. It has become a sprawling monster this summer and I may have to move the pot to a sheltered spot and mulch the pot. I am getting home at dark and morning light is dim now too but I think I saw the beginnings of blooms, or maybe just more new growth. If it should bloom, I will post a picture. How large is the pot you keep yours in?
Your statement "I feel that dormancy is very important for perennial herb plants. It's a time of rest and renewal and they always come back nicely ..." Wouldn't it be nice if we could do the same? : )) Thanks so much for your invaluable information. I do appreciate it. Kristi ~ pod

The pot is about 20 inches in diameter. I think I actually transplanted it a couple of years ago. Can't keep track of all of my babies but I do think it improved in vigor quite a bit after that. We do have temps below freezing but usually not much lower than that on a regular basis. And, the temps don't stay that low all day or for more than 1 or two nights in a row so most perennials can easily survive them. We did have a VERY cold winter several years back with temps around 18 degrees for a couple of nights. Things really took a hit that year but my perennial herbs managed to survive. I did cover them on those nights, however. Lots and lots of work!!!

Well, the first freeze has hit and I toughed it out leaving my plant out. It looks pretty sad right now but I did see the beginning of blooms before the frost. I opted to leave it out as it had gotten a bit large to move into the plant shelter. With this post, I will put this thread to bed...

Henriette Herbals has an 1929 article on the history and cultivation of Glycyrrhiza glabra in Turkey :

http://www.henriettesherbal.com/eclectic/lloyd-licorice.html

David_Paul ~ Thank you for the link. This plant has been on my mind. I found it most interesting as I am anxiously awaiting new growth and the link stated

I'm so jealous that your licorice looks so good. Mine only gets about 8 inches tall before something (cold, heat, spider mites, drought, etc.) Kills it back to the roots. Each time it grows back a little slower. It's currently living in the bathroom since it was 22° here this morning.

I was reading somewhere that you have to roast the root to get the flavor we think of as licorice. Otherwise it's just sweet when used in tea.

Katlian ~ I was surprised to see this pop up again. Wish I had brought mine in. I took a chance and left it out this winter. So far, "it" hasn't popped up. I need to dig and look at the roots. Some of the info I have read said it will come back from roots but we have been warmer for awhile now. Just don't know.

If you are interested, I have assembled some info in the journal... http://davesgarden.com/journal/j/viewentry/110180/

Wow, that's quite a compendium of licorice knowledge! I have one plant with three and half leaves and one with no leaves and one green bud. Every time they get more than a few leaves on them, something invariably kills them back to the roots. I think the poor roots are getting tired of this :) Maybe they need a bigger pot too.

I should have said crown instead of roots. They usually die back to the soil line. The larger one is in an eight inch pot and the smaller one is in a four inch pot. I'm thinking about putting both of them in a larger diameter pot together. Maybe I can find one that is taller than the typical terracotta or nursery pots. They're under the grow lights right now but the weather should warm up in a couple of weeks so they can go outside.

I cut back the brittle dead branches yesterday. I still have no new growth but the wood is still pliable so I don't think it is totally dead. I should have put it in the "bathroom" but there wouldn't have been room for me! Little bathroom not a big plant. LOL

Something is ringing a bell when you mentioned looking for a tall pot. There is a tall pot for growing a certain type of plant but I am drawing a blank on it ~ sorry. pod