What is this

How lucky two....

chellflower, although, what we've got looks like Amorph. bulbifer. I think we've the Peony-leaf Voodoo lily. Look at this link on pf. That describes the type that we have.
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/180662

Did you read the comments? Eating pickel Elephant Foot Yam? That doesn't sound very appealing....


This message was edited Jul 26, 2009 10:01 PM

I agreed Lili. lol, I am sure I won't cook those corms. lol.

Tom, that is spectacular.. I so enjoy seeing everyones pics.. The blue amorph is Atroviridis .. in the same pot is a couple venosum.. (big stem and leaves at top and bottom of pic) they too put off little bulblets under the soil. The amorph on the left side with the "mottled" leaves is something I picked up in Kentucky a few years ago...not sure what it is.. it's really flourished this year.. It will be fun to unpot this fall and see how much they've grown..

I could have sworn I've posted several photos to this thread but I don't see any of them! Maybe I did something wrong, I'll try again.
This was my biggest konjac. Looks similar to Tommy's but grew at a slant. I've not seen a lot of huge ones but I'll bet they have less spots on them, like ours.

Here is the stem of bulbifer. A little blurry but very distinct light and dark areas.

Paeoniifolius at Fairchild Gardens in Miami (Coral Gables). Again, not a great photo, but a pretty distinctive pattern.
I've never been able to grow this variety very well.

Those are wonderful pics lakesidecallas......amazing. So exotic looking.

They are wonderful plants.

Lily_Love, mine does look alot like the Peony Leaf.... thanks for the link!

Happygarden, even luckier!...it is now producing a third! The dormant original took about 8 mos to wake up..but now it was worth the wait!

chell, keep us posted with pics. Don't think mine took 8 months, can't really remember when I planted it cause I didn't know what it was or if it would grow, or even how to plant it. Sometimes I misplace things and find them later. Not saying I am unorganized or anything like that....LOL I am getting a little better since being on DG, but I work so many hours that I am always rushing and not completeing everything before I start something else.

Happy, do you mean to suggest there's a different way to doing things other than "... always rushing and not completeing everything before I start something else"? Please do tell me about it, it'd be really handy for me to know. ;O)

I have only heard of it on different tv programs and magazines, I see on the headlines. Years ago I believe I purchased one of those magazines and was going to change my life.....it did I was out about $2.98.....LOL

Glad to know I have a friend across the big water with the same schedule....LOL

OK, I know this isn't a "tropical" now, but since I started here I might as well end it here.....well actually it is turning yellow, curling and looks like it is going dormant maybe. I reread the thread and this is what I gleamed out of it.
1. It will go dormant, I will know when the leaf starts curling and turning yellow. (which it is)
2. stop watering it or it will rot
3. wait
4. when it decides to wake up from a long winters nap, start watering it again.
5. Anything else?
6. Can I transplant it as soon as the leaf is dead? It is in a very small pot and would like to transfer it to a bigger pot.

Thanks all

The plant needs to withdraw nutrients from the leaf, which has happened when the leaf is completely withered. But they also need to withdraw nutrient from the root system and I've heard that takes a little longer. Probably a good idea to lift a bit of soil off and check the roots before repotting..

Or, remove the bulb from the pot, let it dry, remove the roots and any offsets, and store dry for the winter.
Put it in a paper bag or on a shelf. I'm not a big fan of leaving things in pots, especially if they have been sitting outside. There may be little bugs or worms in there, and the bottom 1/3 of the soil may still be moist or wet, leading to all sorts of problems.

It has never been outside, but in the garden room. The pot is so small see top pic that it dries out reallllly quickly, that is why I was wondering about repotting it. I could put it in a brown bag. That is how I found it, Bonnie had given it to me and I never got it planted, lost the name and everything, and sometime much later I stuck it in the pot to see if it would grow, then it started growing this beautiful branch and I had no idea what it was.....which started this thread.

I love seeing everyones pictures on here! These are such a fun plant and an even more fun bloom.

WOW Aunt B where did you get that blue Atroviridis? I need to go buy one too.

I love these. I have a few different kinds growing but Konjac is the easiest. I have a big pot in the shade, and a big pot of them in the sun. Both are big and full. The shade one might be better looking. I have had one in the garden planted but that one has made no pups. I wonder why. My potted ones get so many in the pot.

I have tried Paeoniifolius 4 times with big bulbs too and they never come up for me. Titan too died each time I tried it but then I read Titan really needs a GH.

I have an all black stem Konjac and a pink speckled one. Though the pink one is very pink in spring, more cream now.

Close up.

The leaves & stems of these plants are so pretty, I won't mind if they didn't bloom. If I can find any of these, I would grow them just for the plant itself(but if it bloomed,I won't mind either ^_^).

Nice, Kell! Yours has lots of leaves so I'll be you'll have lots of offsets.

Kell, that is just way cool. I was sooo happy with my one stem, but the multiples are sooo cool. I will have to take a pic of it now. The leaf looks like someone deflated it....funniest thing.

I am not sure because I have never repotted these, but all mine started with 1 trunk and as the years went by, they grew more stems. I think but may be very worng, there is 1 stem per bulb. The other stems have their own bulb.

Kell, you're absolutely right! One stem per bulbs. They multiply pretty rapid. :-)

Happ, most of mine have gone dormant except for one. I think I've two different kind, one is called 'green dragon'? The other is the peonie-leaf I think.

Thanks for setting me straight guys.

Lily, the peonie-leaf sounds pretty. I am just letting mine rest in the pot like I was told.....LOL I haven't had time to do anything acutally even if I wanted to, so that keeps me behaving.

Kell, I got it from Tony Avent down in NC at Plant Delights... I think I paid $28!!!!!!!!.. I think that is a lot for one little 3 inch long finger sized bulb... lol I haven't dug it yet, the pot is drying out on my covered front porch. I'm excited to dig in an see what's going on in there...
I wanted to say I've had one bulb produce multiple stems before. One year I let them die back in the pot... I covered the pot with plywood or something so the soil wouldn't get rained on. One fall day I dug them out.... I blindly maneuvered under the "bulb" and heaved up with it... it didn't "feel" like there was a bulb there, but I pulled a big clump of dirt and "bulb" out and dumped in on a wooden plank I had laying in front of the garage... as I dumped it out... I saw this clump of.... "yuck"... reminded me of a cow pattie... there wasn't a hard bulb..... just the pattie.... it was mushy and I've figured out it is the bulb feeding on itself... it grows a new one, only just a bit deeper in the soil... so if I left them in the pot for 3 or 4 years, they would eventually be sitting on the bottom of the pot. I don't know if my thoughts are correct but it's what I've come up with. I've had mine for almost 8 or 9 years and I'm still learning... wish you could have seen my face when I dumped that shovel of pattie on the board... LOL
They are the easiest plants to winter over that provide such a tropical effect...
Joyce, I've whacked a 4 inch green stem off, dug it up, washed of the dirt and let it dry out... the stem stump will dry and fall off, the roots can be clipped off or left to dry... once dug, I keep them shaded and protected from rain until the stem falls off. Allow the pot to dry completely... I would leave it until January sometime, cause I don't EVER again want to dump one out and see a pattie.. My pattie experience makes me leave the ones going dormant on their own alone until I know they have morphed back into being bulb. I think they are okay as long as they haven't been dormant too long... I'm still learning. Or Joyce, dump it out now and look... if it's mush, I'll bring you some more to the RU. :) This pic was taken over the weekend... the bottom of the stems are bigger than a soda can... (this was my last pot to plant.. so ALL the leftovers went into the whiskey barrel)

duh! I went back and re-read.... So since I have 3 stems on the atroviridis, does that mean I have 3 bulbs in there?????

eeeeeh, do I want to touch a cow patty? LOL My pot is soooo small that I couldn't have a very big cow patty.........ok you have my curiosity up, if I get home at a decent time I will check and see what is going on and send pics, if it is all gousie......

I have left the deflated leaf attached so far.

Love the barrel that is soooo cool.

Aunt B,
Well, you might and you might not. Here's a photo of a tuber, there will be a leaf coming off the middle and probably another leaf will start to grow off the bump on the right edge. The bulb may split or offset.

I've always thought the new bulb is formed on top of the old bulb. It sucks all the nutrients out of the old bulb and the old bulb usually shrivels down to nothing, just a little lump on the bottom of the new bulb, and the little lump usually falls off after a while.
There is a dishonest seller on eBay that tries to convince you he is selling you a twin bulb. He's also selling Typhonium (Sauromatum) venosum as Amorphophallus konjac or bulbifer. You can tell because venosum has a really green colored bulb that is wrinkly and brownish along the sides but pretty smooth and green on the top, often has little babies attached along the top.

Here's a sad photo.
This is a konjac that I dug up in the fall. Under the pile of roots is the new bulb. The bulb attached on the bottom is the bulb from last year. So, you can see the plant didn't grow big enough to absorb the bulb from the year before.

laskeside will you leave the older bulb attacked?
Thank everyone for all the wonderful infor & pictures.

I did leave it attached but it will fall off before the end of winter. Once the leaf is dead, it's work is done.
You can't tell in the photo that well but the leaf was hit by frost an d is turning yellow. The stem or petiole also starts to get flat instead of really round, that's a sign of upcoming dormancy as well.
In WI sometimes we couldn't plant outdoors until after Memorial Day, and frosts can start coming the middle of Sept. Not a very long growing season for these tropicals...

WOW lakesidecallas, that is a fat one! What a trunk!

Well shoot, I just got an order from PD last week! I did get 2 of their amorphophallus but not the Amorphophallus atroviridis. I just love that flower too. I think I was afraid it would not do well because it is from Thailand. Had I seen yours I would have gotten it. Your pic is better than theirs.

Do you have a lot of humidity and heat all summer? Here we are cool. I may just have to try it anyway!

Kell, I would TRY it.. I bet they are very adaptable... I think lakesidecallas in TN has lots of humidity, we do up here in KS... Lakeside, what do you think? I haven't dug the atroviridis pot, yet but IF I have an extra, I might be persuaded to trade for something like a black stemmed one..... okay... you are making me look... going to unpot and see... (so fun) Love the "just dug" pic, Lakeside. They are just weird plants in every stage.. I love them.

here is a pic of my Voodoo. Small compared to your beauties.
This is one of several that hasn't died back yet.

ridesredmule, I think that is a venosum sauromatum??? I love those, so pretty and different than other leaves in the garden...I had 2, over 5yr old bulbs.. I only found 5 or 6 tiny ones... the bulbs remind me of black walnuts... I think the "mama" ones rotted as they are the first to go dormant for me and I had them in with the atroviridis (lesson learned, plant them by themselves) I usually turn the pot on its side when they start going yellow...Oh, well, I have the lil ones... So here's what I found under the soil w/ the atroviridis..it appears to be one big bulb mass.. the original bulb was more cylindrical shaped, not roundish like the konjacs.

Amongst the roots I found some konjacs... here is one with the "pattie" still attached (new bulb on top-yucky on the bottom).. that is a sweet tater vine tuber it is on, I needed to get it up out of the dirt for you to see... all of the bulbs will air dry on my covered porch in a beer (or pop) flat... once they are more dry, I'll remove the roots and store them in the flats in a cool, dim part of my basement.

I don't dig these up. I haven't started digging for them til this year. I have been giving or trading them. I love the silly thing.
That is a good sized bulb you have there. This is largest one I've found and I have it promised out. It has two larger babies
and little nobs forming. If I dig I may find more. I love em ,don't you? I got a Konjac, can't wait til next spring to see it grow.
I hope it makes it. Wehave been getting quite a bit of rain, so I brought it in. to be on the safe side. Just retired so got
plenty of time to "piddle around" that's what my Daddy used to say. I have learned to do that as I have gotten older , never thought
I could but I'm getting there with the help of my plants and DG friends.

lol, I know what you mean... My sis called me a "piddler" early this spring.. after a few seconds of thought.. I agreed. I've been laid off since last Fall, and I'm loving EVERY minute of it...piddling and puttering helps me stay active, "relatively" alert and it's just good therapy. I feel better than I felt chained to a desk 9 hours a day... I have volunteer konjacs from where I had one in the ground years ago.. wonder how far down the bulbs are... the venosum (I call it horse-shoe palm- easier to spell and say) cause the shape of the leaf reminds me of a horseshoe.. it does bloom inside in early spring.. course, now I'll have to wait for the "nutlets" to grow a few years, but the little leaves are just as pretty as the big ones.