thats a good idea on sinking pots in the soil tucson..where u have
such intense heat..limited water.. maybe even have something rigged up with how much water you
want dispensed..a reservoir ..ive thought of that with my very unsophicated set up with 3 gal water jugs
around the raised bed of amorphs.. but..havent put enough thought to it.. yet..:)
Me and my 13 lb. Konjac in bloom. Taken today...
i like to water by hand. that way i can have conversations with the plants. hmmm...i am just joking. but i do like to water by hand. i like to be out there every day to see how the kiddos are doing.
some of my best ideas have remained in chemical form only. haha!
?? hows everyones amorphs doing ?? surviving summer heat i hope..
ive started mine on a higher P fertilzer now.. to help boost feeding the corm..
this is my 1st yr with amorphs.. so..
?? im guessing not to let a frost kill off the vegetative growth.. couldnt be good
for the corm..?? how long will the leafy growth keep going??
mine have great colour,appearance..not anxious to see it go.. just wondering..??
im hoping ive done what the plant needed to replentish itself so i have a nice corm
when i dig them..:)
much thanks...
When the leaf stalk flops over (due to cool/cold temps) in the fall cut it off at soil level. Empty the pot and remove the soil from around the corm. Look carefully while removing the dirt for baby corms!
Put the main corm and any babies where they will dry and not get rained on. Inside if it's too cold out.
Eventually you'll be able to pull the roots all off and clean the corm easily. Sit in a cool spot indoors on a shelf.
Tom
thanks tom.. :)
already looking forward to seeing how the corms did this summer..
does your konjac flower every yr?? that is if its of size to flower?? and corm was kept well
during vegetative growth...??
im hoping we have a good long summer into fall.. early oct.. which isnt unusual for here..
will give more time for the corm to build up and store food for next yr..
i have that right ..dont i???
hope you all are having sucess with your corms this season..
i still havent decided if i like the potted up way..or right into the ground..
potted up..for sure has plus in that i can move it out of hot full sun when summer is full
on here.. and i can take in if we get early cold weather..then take out during the day..or nice warm
days..
i was thinking planting right in the ground (soil i put my amorphs right in garden..are raised beds,
with same soil as in pots)
guess i wont be able to make decision until i dig corms and see how everything did..
The one in that photo bloomed 2 years in a row. The corm needs to get around the size of a softball to bloom.
Keep well watered in a light porous mix and feed regularly.
mine are doing well. i am using Vigoro Tomato and Vegetable Garden Plant Food Plus Calcium 12-10-5. http://cache.vendaria.com/integration/images/ct/35/VpopHTML.html?bg=D6D7A5&nm=BZOpener&err=0&title=Demo&pf=t&fr=t&iid=jmIkUFkQcffdQVeUajbacdkfffaijkQgQji&ap=sys_homedepot_uid_203106474&uid=203106474&cf=3000&purl=sys_homedepot_uid_203106474 i will had been using 10-16-38 but tired of mixing dissolving ferts in water. i might use it again before the end of the season.
did i mention plunging the containers in the raised beds for more consistent root zone temps. then, you can pull the pots up in the fall and bring them inside.
ya..i think thats a great idea tucson..especially for you with your extreme
heat...
ive thought of getting a soil thermometer.. for use in winter and summer..
here i dont know if my soil temps are a problem for the corms.???
most of my potted up amorphs are in black pots..so im sure that increases the
heat in the soil..
i would think for you in tucson.. any way to keep plants from drying out in a couple hrs
would be a benifit.. i can go 2 days between waterings (potted amorphs)..i figure thats
good for the soil to drain..then give the plants another watering..
the pots never dry out.. i cut holes on sides of pots too.. just for more aeration in the soil
?? did you ever get any of those fabric/colapsable pots???
ive wondered about getting some.. i havent priced aroid.orgs pots.. now id need 15+ gal pots..
hope summer hasnt been to tough on u alls plants/crops...
the heat is not a problem for my corms in the black pots. too much direct sunlight is my issue. that is why they have more shade and dappled sunlight this year. i only have to water every 2-3 days. the plastic does not dry out like the fabric. no more fabric pots for me.
i still have many used fabric pots that have been cleaned in the washing machine and some new ones. give me a shout at tucsonplumeriaz @ yahoo dot com if you are looking for any.
i hope that your plants are doing well. it has been really hot and dry but everything is doing ok.
ive kicked around the idea of trying fabric pots.. for my EE,and bananas..
thats probably something i need to ponder on..your comment of fabric pots drying
out fast.. theres a good and downside to that.. im sure the drying out is more a downside for you
with your heat..and so much sun..
i am planning my set for my titanum this winter.. its spiking now (vegy spike) its a 14.5# corm.. i have it in
a 18" pot so its probably good for next season too.. unless i take way to good care of it..and it gets HUGE
fast.. LOL :)
i read where lari-ann had some of her amorphs actually break pots.. wow.. super strenght amorphs.. im
impressed.. :)
my konjac,and relative amorphs are doing great.. even the one of 3 that i pollinated seed on..and the flower
spike just hung on for everrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr ... lol.. after cutting down.. harvesting the berries..
i got a vegy spike up couple weeks ago.. YEA>>>
i am anxious to see how big the konjac corms did this season..
??? does anyone know if konjac is as agressive as titanum in growth??
i understand titanum can double..even triple in size in a growing season..
mmm. my 14# .. over 30 # next yr.. sigh.. oh my aching back.. LOL
hope all are having good luck this season too!!!!!
Konjacs can double in size I have found so far.
tommy..wow.. thats some growth..
i guess with konjac.. biggest ive read..was around 30# or so..
titanum.. upwards of 160#.. thats some big corms.. !!!
So far my largest was 13 pounds. But it shrunk to 8 in one season.
Several of mine appear to be in recess for the growing season. The leaflets turn yellow, then brown. They happen uniformly whether they are in containers or in the ground. I regcon they just pause for for the season of rest?
thats a big corm tommy !!! :)
my 4 biggest konjac are still going good..leaves are good colour,i did move the potted
ones out of full sun to where they only get full sun up to 1pm..then filtered sun.. i think i will do
similar next yr too..it was a HOT summer this yr.. but i get alot of full sun in one yard..all day long
im sure thats a bit to much for them.. they were just good to me this yr.. :) and tolerated my
poor treatment of them.. :)
im wondering if the konjac that flowered and i pollinated .. if the corms will be smaller than
ones i just let flower and then go to vegetative growth...
these plants are facinating..and alot for me to learn.. :)
i guess a longer grower season is needed to get a larger corm. i should be able to keep mine going until thanksgiving if not later. i sure hope we have a warm winter.
have y'all seen the aroid facebook group?
tucson.. you might even be able to grow some of your amorphs outside overwinter..
?? my brother lives in phoenix..he grows many tropicals outside.. palms,birds of paradise,
cycads..
also..you might check around if theres some aroid society,or tropical plant club/society..
they would be a great source of info..
i wish more people here in utah collected/grew tropicals.. sigh..
im hoping for an extended fall and warmish temps into late oct..
guess i'll get what i get.. :)
tucson experiences colder winter. the leaf will become mush before the new year.
i was not looking for an aroid group. i just wanted to know if any of you had seen the group on facebook. i am a member. it is free if you have a facebook acct.
im not a member..but i have to check it out.. thanks..
bummer tucson has cooler winters.. :( super hot summers.. coolish winters..
sigh.. but who of us has the perfect weather.. lol
Lily_love,
How hot is it there? How much direct Sun does it get? Feeding and watering regularly?
I'll pass on the Facebook group, I don't do Facebook. Tried it and it's a big time waster IMHO.
tommy - i use facebook 99.999% of the time just for the plant groups. for me, it is just like going on dave's garden. all the other stuff that happens on facebook doesn't really phase me. it is good because many of the groups are locked, so friends and family can not see that i am posting on facebook while in the groups.
Tommyr, thanks for noticing my question. It has been hot here on the upper 90'ish F. most time, those that are in full fun as well as in semishade all did the same thing-- they turned brown and mush. Large or small corms. I stopped watering them, and will take them out of the soil and inspect the corms soon.
Lily_love,
Hmmmm, a bit puzzling. Maybe too much water. Is the soil really well draining?
have you grown these before, lilly_love? and, you are saying that the leaves turned brown and mush?
Tommyr, it possibly be too much water. I regularly soak them although the soil is well draining. Mr. D, yes these I've since 1996. The grand daddy of them all gave me quite a few offsprings. Speaking of offspring, they too withered along with the older ones. Grrrrrrr.
why did you water more this summer?
I watered them because it was hotTER I suppose. I didn't think they are drought tolerant kind of plant. Lack of knowledge!
okay, that is what i thought. perhaps, it was a combination of water and heat. mine went pale and somewhat melted when i gave them too much sunlight the first time. i read that konjacs are a forest floor plant and doesn't get that much sunlight. if anything it would be dappled. so, that is what mine get now and they are doing fine even when it is 100+ degrees and low humidity. all the best next year!
Thanks Mr. D I'll see if I can correct this problem in the near future. I shall return with note of the plants' progress.
its been discussed here concerning konjac.. but i was wondering if can pertain
to other amorphs as well.. that is.. amount of sun the amorphs are grown in..seems to affect
the height of the vegetative growth.. that is a slight dwarfing in height..
does that sound like a good assumption??
with that..if so.. im thinking with my titanums..when they become more mature..and BIG>> sigh..
lol
that if i grow mine in "more sun" if it might have same affect..that is a slight dwarfing in height??
there is the concern i have..what other affects could/would this "more sun" have on the general
health of the corm..and potential flowering..
thoughts?????
my konjacs... btw.. some have been in full..all day sun.. hot sun.. i do water more often..but the
vegetative growth looks good.. and potted ones..which i like situation better.. have been in
probaly 1/2 day full sun.. they also look good..
i dont know how the corms look yet.. ?? i would think.. u all help here.. if the vegetative growth is
going good..i would think the corm is too????
so much to learn.. and glean from ya all..
thanks...
Mine get early morning Sun, then bright shade the rest of the day.
I love fall and now like it even more because when the leaf stalk flops over I can cut it off and dig out the corm to see how big (or small) they got. Flowering I believe shrinks the corm. It takes a lot of energy to push that flower stalk up and make that stinkfest of a flower!
lol tommy.. ya..i had 3 konjac flower this yr.. im wondering the same..how the corms did this summer
our falls here (utah) are generally great.. this yr..i doubt we'll have much leaf colour..its been so dry..
friends with cabins up in mts say leaves are dry and crunchy..so..they'll probably just drop.. :( bummer..
i too am anxious to see how BIG or small :( the corms are...
i do think next yr..i'll pot up all my corms.. maybe the small ones i'll make a raised bed again for them..give them plenty of space
to put on some size.. but i think a shade cloth over them would be appreciated. most of my back yard gets full sun..
hope u end up with some MONSTER corms tommy !!!!! :)
ive been giving all my amorphs higher P fertilizer last 3 weeks..
with one of my bigger konjacs ..the pot.. black plastic..its heavy weight pot too...
is actually showing some bulging on sides.. mmmm.. im thinkin that i probably should have
put the corm in a bigger pot.. lesson learned...
im hoping it hasnt had any adverse affect on the corm.. guess i'll find out in a month or so..
weather here has definately shifted..
nites are actually hitting mid 50sF now.. days are in mid/low 80s F still..
id love for a long fall with moderate temps.. but.. mother nature will dish out what
she dishes out..
hope all others are having sucess with their amorphs this season !!!
hope ya all post how big your corms got...
Hi tropicalnut777!
Mine are doing fine so far. An occasional thunderstorm knocks over 1 or 2 now and then but they seem to take it o.k. as long as none of the leaf breaks. As it gets cooler/colder they wil start to flop over. That's when the fun starts! Cut off the leaf stalks, dig em up, get the babies and dry them off for the winter!
this is my 1st yr..so im anxious to see how everything did.. :)
you must have some strong winds there???
i am curious to see if i got babies..and how big the mother corm got this season...
i have a big canning storage area in basement..stays real stable temps..60F has doors
on the shelves..so the corms can stay in dark..until i bring them out next spring..
?? tommy..when do your konjac usually give it up in fall?? mid oct??
if season is "normal" whatever that means.. lol
Yes they can stay in the dark. Near first frost they are usually flopped over. That's when I dig them out, get any babies corms and dry them off. Our first frost here is around Mid October.
r u digging any yet tommy?
weve had some chilly nites.. mid/low 50sF but looks like were going into a slight
warming up for a week..or so..
i do have one konjac that has flopped over..
?? tommy..do you dig then..or let the leaf dry some??
this is my 1st yr..so im really a newbie.. :)
sure love these plants !!!!!!
we are starting to cool down here at night. i've had one flop over, too. the 3-pounder continues strong. i have found that i have to leave mine in the pots. they just shrivel or develop dry rot in my arid climate.
tropicalnut777,
Starting to pull them out of their pots now. Doing small ones now, big one's over the next week.
dig them up, keep them dry and bring inside to a cool place. As you clean off the dirt look for the babies.