Longevity Spinach

Overview

Longevity spinach is a fast-growing, trailing perennial with glossy green leaves. It is easy to grow from cuttings, produces year-round, and spreads into a low cover under trees.

History

Native to Southeast Asia, where it is eaten as a vegetable and used in traditional medicine.

Growing on Kauaʻi

• Likes moist soil and partial shade.
• Wilts in hot, dry, full sun.

Planting and propagation

• Push 4–6 inch cuttings into moist soil or mulch.
• Space about 12–18 inches apart.

Care and maintenance

• Harvest tips often to keep it bushy.
• Water in dry spells.

Role in the guild

Grow it with Okinawa spinach in the light shade of bananas and papaya.

Harvest

Pick young leaves and tips as needed.

Uses

• Food: young leaves raw in salads or lightly cooked; eat as part of a varied diet.
• Soil: living mulch under trees.

Problems to watch

• Slugs and snails; wash greens well (rat lungworm).
• Leggy growth in deep shade.

General guidance for Kauaʻi; conditions vary by site. Check any new plant at plantpono.org before planting.