Help finding perennial ground cherry seeds

Hi all! I've been looking for perennial ground cherry seeds for quite some time. Either Physalis heterophylla or P. Virginiana. Although they are native in my area, I haven't been able to locate wild specimens yet to save the seeds. Would anyone know where to get some of these seeds? Thanks!

Those sound like an exciting plant to grow.

You might have some luck contacting baker creek seeds as they often carry unusual plants. If they don't have the seed, chances are they know someone who does.

Let us know if you find any.

I'm wondering the same thing. I've heard of people growing ground cherries (or tomatillos?) that reseeded. I'd love to know of a variety that reseeds or is perennial!

So, I did a little more research, and found that the hardy, cold-zone perennial varieties are clammy groundcherry (Physalis heterophylla) and smooth goundcherry(Physalis subglabrata). You can order seeds though Oikos (http://oikostreecrops.com/products/berries-shrub-crops/yellow-groundcherry/).

I also emailed both Territorial Seed (http://www.territorialseed.com/category/tomatillo_and_ground_cherry_seed) and High Mowing (http://www.highmowingseeds.com/organic-non-gmo-Tomatillo-Seeds1.html) about their ground cherries and tomatillo seeds. I found out that their seeds are a different variety, and not cold-zone perennial, but they supposedly will reseed happily all by themselves in our climate.

I hope that helps!

Territorial Seeds in Oregon offers two types of ground cherries.

Veronica I know what you are talking about. I will post something on the forum this summer if i find them again. They are easily zone 3 hardy, but in a garden they are like quack grass. If you helped them start in a dry thin grassy area like a road side bank, so they get sun and not smothered out, one could like their perennial habit. Maybe a orchard ,if sunny enough. Like many hard to control plants they can be hard to establish were they need to be. In their natural habitat they seem to behave nicely.

Physalis longifolia, another perennial groundcherry species, often grows wild near my house in abandoned fields. If I'm lucky, I'll see if I can find some seeds from this plant.

I have a bunch of wild ground cherries. I can save some seeds and ship them to you.

You might want to check the experimental farm network: https://store.experimentalfarmnetwork.org/collections/physalis-genus/products/colorado-perennial-ground-cherry

I have this and a few other accessions of perennial ground cherries growing in Quebec, if they survive the winter I should have seed next year.

It is a perennial up to 15F about zone 8. I just did some research earlier today. LOL Some people say this is a very invasive plant. But I need something that is more invasive than grass. LOL LOL

Clammy groundcherry can be as invasive as grass in the right conditions! They like to grow intermingled with the grass in the wild, in soils with consistent but not excessive moisture, but coddling them helps them give earlier and better fruit. I just picked the first ripe ground cherry of the year from my plants today and it was delicious.

I’ve had ground cherries come back from a zone 4/5 winter…on the porch in a pot. (Garlic chives also came back in that pot and thrived. So that would have dropped at least to -18F or so, which is more or less guaranteed every winter. They’re still there, but the ground cherries I transplanted into the garden, thus starting the aforementioned patch.) Last winter might have gotten below -20, but I don’t much watch the weather so I can only guess. Suffice it to say, they are thriving.  So they are harder than most plants that grow here, I’d say—few ordinary native trees and plants can survive being set out in a pot.

It’s nice to have a nightshade fruit that’s perennial in this climate, delicious, and also resistant to the numerous slugs, snails and other creatures who adore my wet climate. As with everything you’ll need to take care of them if you want much fruit, something that is easy to forget when we talk about hardy or low-care plants—they can survive in non-ideal conditions but won’t necessarily thrive.

I was happy to find one growing in one of my raised beds of its own accord, but apparently it decided it didn't like things here because it whithered and drooped and watering didn't help.  So maybe I'll get another chance someday, I was disappointed because I want to try the fruits.  It got about five or six inches tall, not very big yet when it croaked, no sign of any fruit yet because it was young.

Mine did something similar, got about that size and then just gave up on me. Never got to taste them either. Really want to try again sometime.