Hello Nexus
For the past few months I've been growing a very pleasant dream herb named calea zacatechichi. You smoke it before bed and it facilitates conscious, vivid dreaming (lucid dreams).

Before growing, I had an ounce of dried herb for my use which has now run out. I currently have 2 plants in 1 pot and a plant that i started from a seed in another. None of them are growing anymore though

The plants are rooted in generic soil from the hardware/gardening store. I currently water my plants with a few cups every week or so, they sit out in the sun all day.

Here are pictures of my plants, any growing advice would be highly appreciated. Switching soil? Adding nutrients?

http://i.imgur.com/tSoJ8.jpg?1
http://i.imgur.com/VE6s1.jpg?1
http://i.imgur.com/SxkrA.jpg?1
http://i.imgur.com/n0OG0.jpg?1

Thanks!

I've grown Calea z. for years, and find it to be a very hardy plant once established.
It can survive for a long time inside under artificial lighting.

I can't say exactly what's going on with your plants, but I do know that Calea z. doesn't like to be over-watered or fertilized, as it grows in poor soils in its native Mexico. It does enjoy sun, but potted plants are more sensitive.

If you are using cheap chemical-saturated potting soil, I'd definitely switch it out with organic soil.

Good luck

Organic soil sounds like a good idea. The soil I currently use is very cheap.
Also a note, my soil seems to be very earthy and containing wood/bark chips, I don't supposed that's a good thing?
Thanks buddy!

How has the plant contributed to your dreams? Is it pretty potent i'll be getting some plants pretty soon just because i love plants especially with shamanic value. I've tried Synaptolepis kirkii root powder, had 10 grams and took about a gram every night and let me tell the first couple of nights were glorious. lol

I admire your ability to smoke Calea. The tea is unbearably disgusting, smoked it's a very dry smoke that irritates and leaves a foul taste behind. I'm brewing a tincture with rum to mask bitterness.

The plant has put a twist on my dreams that I can't quite explain, as well as adding to my consciousness whilst dreaming.

While the taste is quite foul, I find smoking it to be not too bad in comparison to the tea, and not too harsh. Maybe I medicate too much

I enjoy Calea Z. I have smoked it pretty regularly for a week now. The tea... is... *shudder*.
Calea is very subtle. Others that I have shared it with call it diet weed. Cannabis and I don't get along, so perhaps this is why I get along with Calea so well. Here are a few observations of mine:
Roll it! Out of a pipe that bitter taste seems to just punch you in the face hole. Rolling it makes it 10x better to smoke. If you mix it with some naturally grown tobacco leaf, or with blue lotus it also aids the flavor.
More isn't always more. We have tested it in large quantities and have found that while anything past 2 or 3 rolled calea cigarettes doesn't seem to make the immediate (and short lived) sensation stronger, but the afterglow (1 - 2 hrs) stronger and longer.
The tea does last longer. If you can figure out how to make the tea somewhat palatable, please let me know. I do have a "non-bitter" calea plant growing right now. When it gets old enough to contribute I will comment on it.
Dreaming. This is hard for me to comment on. I haven't really dream't in over 2 years. Recently I found out that I don't dream because I have a strange form of sleep apnea where when I get to REM sleep I stop breathing effectively and my body comes back out of REM to get O2. CZ has caused me to dream once, it was a short dream and it was hard to recall. This was after about a week of using it daily. I have heard that you need to use it consistently to get the dream effects, though I am sure that this is user specific, it seems to be the case with others as well.
Digestive help. It keeps you regular (especially the tea). We have called it coffee because it gives you a little pep, and keeps you regular. This isn't bad, your not racing to the bathroom, but it will make you regular in a good way.
Growing from seed... sucks. I planted 20 seeds. Only one has germinated. I tried placing seeds in water, soil, covered in vermiculite, spread them in the backyard, none of these has seemed to work. What has worked (only one seed so far) was pressing 10 seeds into rockwool (so they were on top, but made a depression in the rockwool). I placed the rockwool in a netcup and in my aeroponics set up. 1 seed has germinated... another is questionable. The plant itself (past seeding stage) is supposed to be bulletproof. We will see as I am definitely not a green thumb. Also the seed that did germinate wasn't from the "fresh" seeds that I ordered, but from the seeds I pulled out of a bag of dried plant material. So maybe freshness of seed isn't as important as some make it out to be. Would need more results to know for sure.
I really enjoy CZ, you can use it almost anytime during the day due to the mellow and subtle effects. Just a nice warm plant that wants to hang out with you, and can wait till your asleep before it shows you the way anywhere.
Srz for the novella. Hope this helps.
**Unheimlich**

Getting seeds to germ is not as difficult as it seems. You just need to know that the plant is an early successional pioneer in areas that have recently burned. The seeds respond to some ashes mixed in with the soil. I germed a bunch easily this way many years ago.

Liquid smoke might be an option, as well as planting the seeds shallowly and then burning a bit of paper on the soil surface, although I never tried either of these.

Interesting, I will give this a try.

yeah i bought a heap of leaf once and i recon it kept me in one flowing dream, it was all over the place but your there i sweated heaps, i tried eating the leaves LOL.

TRY THIS* i alternated with fasting and eating with calea.
And if i ate some sugar food with my calea _i always had stronger dreams. biscuits plrrrr

Are these plants available on the USA west coast at plant stores? So from what I gather you plant it, grow it, then smoke it? Whats the preparation needed to actually smoking it?

And just to be doubly sure, this will help with inducing Lucid Dreaming?

I haven't found them in any plant stores in my area. I ordered seeds and a cutting. The cutting is doing rather well. You can also order the dried plant material at very reasonable costs. Preparation, well there are many. I usually just roll a couple calea cigs and enjoy. It's less bitter rolled than in a pipe. The tea is very *gag*. Lots of information out there if you look for it, but nothing really special in preparing the plant.
I'm the wrong one to ask about dreams, as I don't really have any... though I have had a couple since taking calea regularly. It's very mild, but enjoyable. Some have reported having a harder time falling asleep after ingesting/smoking it.

Is it possible to obtain a live specimen of the bitter variety of Calea z.?