Tropicals & Tender Perennials: Amorphophallus paeoniifolius worries, 0 by Kaelkitty

Kaelkitty wrote:
Hi All,
I've been off forum for ages, and I was just going through the threads I've missed. I thought you guys might like to see the wonderful gift I was given last year by a fellow Australian DGer, and give me some advice. I am a bit afraid I have truly screwed up this wonderful plant. I got admonished not to plant the tubers until it warmed up so, with one thing and another, this one didn't get planted until mid-summer.

I first noticed the flower bud at the end of September and I took the dried remains off on New Year's Day, waiting about two weeks after that to make sure the flower scar was fully healed. I thought it might take a year off and go back into storage as I have heard some Amorphs don't make a leaf in the year that they flower, but then I saw the leaf point starting and potted the bulb up on the 24th of January. The leaf spike on this particular bulb is coming up now (slowly - I just went outside and it is about 2 inches tall and yet to break the soil surface), just as the weather starts to cool down for autumn. My konjac has just "flopped" in the last week, although my bulbifers (which are still very young) are still growing. What should I do? What kind of temperatures will it cope with? It IS in a pot so I could move it but the problem is where? I have no verandas on this house to shelter it under outdoors; and I am pretty sure it would be too dark, and the air would be too dry, inside the house for successful growth.

Here is a link to a local weather page so you can see what my climate is like - http://www.weatherzone.com.au/climate/station.jsp?lt=site&lc... I usually dig my other amorphs once the leaf has dried up and store them dry for the winter, but I have never had one grow in the cool weather before and I am confused.

The soil is my standard bulb mix: 1 part sieved leaf mould, 1 part sharp washed sand and 2 parts "old" ( I reuse my mix by sifting it out each year to clear out roots and other rubbish as I empty my bulb pots, then I rest it in 60 litre (14 Gallon) bins until I need it again) to which I add liberal doses of pelleted aged chicken manure (NPK 3:3:2) , bulb food (NPK 3:5:3) 4 month potassium heavy slow release (NPK 6:3:12) and blood and bone with trace elements (NPK 5:3:1).

Ciao, Kaelkitty