Where can I buy live sasparilla plants or seeds for my garden?

Question

I want to grow the "root beer" plant in my yard and make my own root beer.

Answer 1

what your looking for is a tree not a plant. I would try contacting one of the large mail order nurserys like gurneys.  

Answer 2

The "Root beer tree" is actually the Sassafras tree, specifically Sassafras albidum.  But root beer extract is no longer made from true sassafras since 1960, when safrole, the active compound in it, was found to be (possibly) carcinogenic (cancer causing).  Acacia bark with other flavorings are used now.  Sassafras was later found to only be carcinogenic if taken daily in larger quantities than most people would ingest, so the cancer scare is one of those "yeah it's probably true, but" sort of things.  

Even so, the specific variety Sassafras albidum is very difficult to find at nurseries because of that.  Your best bet will likely be to post somewhere like the Gardenweb.com Exchange/Trade forum (http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/expl... and find someone who lives in southern Missouri, who has a yard full of real Sassafras albidum who is willing to ship you some saplings or rooted cuttings.  The stuff grows everywhere down there, as it suckers out and crops up all over the place.  Don't bother with seeds, as they are very difficult to propagate from seed.