The rich loam soil in these forest communities is moist, light, and porous with a high content of rotten leaves, and may be very rocky. Ginseng may also grow well in forest clearings, such as after selective tree harvesting. The first year of growth produces a small plant with one compound leaf having three leaflets. Second and third year plants have two prongs, four year old plants may have three prongs, and plants older than four years of age may have three to five prongs. Some plants may remain dormant for several years.
Plants are reproductively mature at three years of age.
During June and July a stalked inflorescence of six to thirty small, greenish-white flowers is produced at the top of the stem. Fertilized flowers produce small berries that are green at first, but turn a brilliant red when mature. Each fruit contains two or three wrinkled seeds. In early autumn the berries ripen and fall from the plant, where they become vulnerable to predation from rodents and birds. After the first frost, the leaves turn a golden-yellow before dying.