heres a question for u all on out of soil stored corms..
?? when the corms flower they take alot of food from the corm
to produce the flower..some of my BIG flowering corms last yr
reduced by 1/4 after flowering..oh that a diet was that easy..LOL
ok..im off my topic.. lol
so?? if i could give the corm some external food while in flowering
stage..maybe that would help the corm..and it would "maybe" not
be so drained from the flowering..
???so ..i was thinking..not spraying any NPK on the corm..but..
maybe water soluable kelp.. or..maybe a very very weak solution
of fertilizer...???
maybe someone is doing this already..??
what do u all think???
much thanks..
Me and my 13 lb. Konjac in bloom. Taken today...
very interesting idea, tropicalnut. i am interested to see what others have to say. i never thought it was possible because the leaf is required to convert those nutrients into photosynthesis byproducts that the tuber can then store. it also seems like roots would be needed to draw in the nutrients. perhaps, tubers do it differently and what you propose is possible.
thats my thinking too.. i dont know the % of energy the leaves give..im guessing
the larger %..but we fertilize our plants..many nutrients get taken in thru the roots
of course the corms dont have active roots bareroot when flowering.. but it would be
good to see some "scientific" discussion on absorption by the corm..
?? thought..i think i'll drop a line to lari ann gardiner..shes a plant scientist..
she would know..
ive lost touch with old friends at university..so prob would be odd for me to drop them
a line.. theres also a dude ..wow..did i just write that..LOL at univ florida tallahasee..
he would know too..
if i get feedback ..ill post ..
hope to see some discussion on this..
much thanks...
i only water and fertilize during the growing season. i hope that you find some answers.
I too only water during the growing season. When the plant goes dormant it won't need any ferts you give them. When I see a new leaf spike pop out of the soil I begin ferts and watering.
soil is up to 75º now. i image that this will jump start the tubers. i hope to see flower and leaf spikes soon.
i bet your flower spikes will shoot up soon tucson..
tommy?? in pougkeepsie the relative humidity is pretty high..
even in winter...?? here in utah..we have relatively low humidity..
when i 1st moved here for school..(originally from midwest) i had bloody
noses for ever until my body got use to it here..:)
on anything for the dormant corms going into flower.. i wondered
if would help the corms by spraying lightly..and if use of fertilizer..or
just kelp on them would help them any...
my konjac are shooting up nicely.. i'll take some pics and
post.. last yr seemed once the flower spike got going..it was on
fast track to grow..grow ..grow..
Indoor humidity (I have forced air heating) is 30-60% or more usually.
My Konjac is growing 4 inches a day now. 37 1/2" currently.
that is so cool tommy !! mine are taking there own sweet time..LOL
?? do u talk to yours?? hehehee LOL
i know mine will pick up..they have only just started to shoot up so..
thats not bad on the RH tommy.. i doubt mine is over 30%..i think it
helps ..me and the plants that i boil water on the stove some.. picks up
the RH in the house..
that is very nice, Tommy!
tropicalnut, the things we do for our plants. lol ;-)
i am looking forward to pics of the flowers that ya'll post.
the humidity near the plants is ~ 50%. that is because i watered many of them on saturday. not the tubers! humidity in the room is 42% away from plants. i am looking forward to pics of the flowers. i am trying to avoid the urge to poke around and feel for the tip of a spike. someone stop meh! lol soil at 76º.
i could not help myself! lol here are some pics from just now.
the pot i.d. is 11" and its height is 10.5". i think that i should add some more soil so that the petiole(?) base has more support. the soil is bone dry right now.
the tuber is planted at an angle and the base of the tip is ~ 2.5" below the soil surface. is that deep enough or should i bury it deeper?
Deeper. About 5 inches below the top of the soil.
i can just barely do that in the current pot and still add a layer of crush clay shards for mulch. the pot most likely be filled to the brim but it will work. next growing season i can consider a 7-gal pot if it grows more.
i guess the base is 3-5 inches from the bottom of the pot.
Tommy, thanks!
very cool tucson.. ??? your potting mix.. do u use turface?
or DE chips? i bet u have great drainage in those pots..do u
have to water alot then??
ive been doing my rounds at lowes/homedepot..finding any HUGE
pots on sale.. lowes had some..but not the really big ones..which is
what i really want..
i agree with tommy.. the konjac that did the best last yr..were
depending on size of corm..largest..were 6" under top of soil..
hi tropcialnut,
i use Kellogg All-Natural Palm and Cactus Mix straight out of the bag. then, i add a layer of crushed clay shards to the top for moisture retention. this is what the strata of the clay shards look like. there is only about 1" on top of the soil.
i water every 2-3 days during the growing season when temps are hot. i grow them in the shade.
ones that were planted at a shallower depth did not do too good? i will be sure to plant everything deeper next season.
i found the large black nursery pots at our local hydroponics shop. they are ridiculously priced at the big box stores. i was able to get 25 gallon tough, sturdy black nursery pots for less than $15.
nice mix tucson.. i know on some soil mix forum one ingredient
is turface.. i dont have a local source for it..so im using pumice instead..
and its lightweight..doesnt break down like perlite..i also cant find a local
source for "larger" "chunky" perlite.. i can get all the 3/8" pumice my heart
wants here..:)
i agree on prices on BIG planters/pots.. i wish box stores would put some of
these on sale ..maybe in mid winter..just to sell them out.. id be in line...:)
i have always preferred pumice over perlite. lots of pumice in the kellogg mix. i do not mix the clay shards in the mix though.
good luck with your pot search.
Here's my biggest today. 52" from the top of the corm. Paper Towel roll for scale:
By golly, isn't that impressive!!! Tommy, I want to learn to grow my plants from you. Would you accept me as your student? Did that same corm bloom last year as well?
very cool tommy !!!! :) thats a great sized flower spike..
?? what sized corm is that one??
from looks of pic..it'll probably bloom less that a week..
mine are shooting up now.. its one of the things that make
amorphs so fun,interesting,curious.. the flowering..and the
palm like vegetative growths..
these are very fun plants !!!
keep posting pics tommy !!!!!!
that is really nice, Tommy!
Today the plant is 54 1/2" tall. The corm is 7 1/2" across.
Lily, yes it bloomed last year. These are VERY easy to grow. A very well draining potting mix with extra perlite is all I use. Feed once a week during the growing season. Very early morning Sun, then bright shade the rest of the day OUTSIDE after last frost date has passed. In the fall when the leaf stalk flops over dig it out, clean off the dirt. Let dry. Brush off remaining soil and place in a cool spot indoors.
Tom
heres a couple pics of my konjac..tallest has a 14" flower spike
other largest corm has a 12" spike..others are commin along..:)
hmmm...you should change your screen name to aroidnut! lol :) those are some nice tubers, trop. are those crinium leaves?
here's a question or two for ya'll that store them in open air during the winter? do you let the roots dry up and fall off naturally after you pull them out of the soil in autumn. i have always seemed to get dry rot while storing them and i wonder if it is because i pull off the healthy roots.
Ok, I am doing something wrong, I have had mine for 3 or 4 years and it has not grown anything like the way your guys are growing.. I guess maybe I am not fertilizing enough?
I live in Missouri but have a solar room, so it can get an early enough start and they do grow but nothing to the size you guys are talking about.
tucsonplumeriaz,
After digging mine up and removing any babies I let them dry and then the roots easily come off.
tucson..i do the same as tommy.. i wash mine real well..then when the roots
are brittle..i just brush them off..
no tucson..those leaves are amaryllis papilio.. i love the flowers on them..
i have a couple HUGE bulbs from a WONDERFUL gal in cali.. im hoping to
get a couple more..
happgarden... i think in MO .. do your konjac bloom..but just dont go into a
good vegetative growth??
with your sunroom you would get a nice start with the corms potted up..
one thing i have learned ..its when the amorphophallus is ready..thats when it
does what its ready to do.. flower..or go into foliage..
i thought i could get my tropical ones into a set dormancy in dec-feb.. NOT..
lol.. they will do what they are %$()$%&*( ready to do.. :) lol
dont give up on them though.. they are wonderful plants.....
okay, i was definitely not doing that! thanks, guys!
happgarden, there are some good growers in this thread that can get you on the right track. cheers!
The amorphs that I dig out I leave in the soil for a few weeks at least after the leaves have totally withered. When they're lifted there's no roots except for traces of withered ones. Every last drop of nutrient is in the tuber.Then, as soon as they start to sprout they go back into soil so roots can start. I noticed my titanum always put roots out first before the shoot started to grow. Makes sense.
Dave I got papilio several years ago but they've never flowered. The bulbs have grown huge, multiplied, but flowers, a big NO! Like most of those Hippeastrums they need the cold. There are some tropical ones, but colours are more plain reds and pinks. They multiply very rapidly but will also flower here. If you were closer I'd give you all my papilios, unfortunately they're only foliage plants here.
thanks for the info, tropicbreeze.
with all the tropicals i grow anymore..maybe i need to move to
downunder.. :)
i dont know alot about hippeastrums/amaryllis..all the papilio's ive had
were "smallish" bulbs.. and then lady in cali and i became garden friends..
she has the biggest papilio bulbs..mm.m.. not liking the way this is sounding
ok.. lets go this way.. the papilio bulbs she ...grows.. ya..better..
they are monsters.. easy..6" across.. last yrs depleted alittle..they did flower for
me.. they are more green/ with dark maroon stripes.. very cool colours...
??? tropic... hows your titanums doing???
one of my smaller corms is just starting with new vegy shoot.. other smaller one
just dropped its vegy foliage.. i transplanted it...into better soil.. and like u said..
the corm already has new bright white roots .. yea !!!
i hope i grow well..and it doubles/triples in size.. slightly smaller one is about 2"
across.. didnt weigh it..should have..
sorry im going on about titanum on konjac forum..
I get good vegetative growth, but mine have never bloomed, but the bulb size is nothing like what you guys are getting.
A friend gave me another and I guess because of the solar room, it grew in the late fall and was alot of fun to have it in there with the other tropicals. Course it wasn't blooming, I might of changed my mine if it had.
Do they need cold? I have not put mine in the cold at all.
Maybe I should just buy a bigger bulb for instant gratification.
check out this site, happgarden. http://www.boberosa.com/lily.html i bought a 3-lb tuber last spring. i hope it blooms this spring!
Yes I saw that earlier in this thread which gave me the idea of buying a bigger one. I will be curious to see a bloom but just the leaf is amazing enough.
i agree, happgarden. just the leaf alone makes me happy. :) a stinky flower now and then is fun, too. lol
arent amorphs great.. i dont have alot of species.. yet.. LOL
there are some very cool smaller ones.. and not as needy of special
growing conditions..
there are a couple growers that sell on ebay.. one guy has many species
sells couple times a yr on ebay.. i know one guy i coorespond with grows more
"smallish" ones..just because of space..and overwintering..
space isnt my problem..its the overwintering..or what do i do with this
14 ft tall titanum and a 9 ft ceiling..???? LOL
good stuff for sure..
post pics everyone... i will on progress of mine.. :)
i'd like to see the 14' titanum! : )
lol..maybe next yr..:)
i lost my big one..sigh.. &*(#$&*(%$ but..i know i will
have some that size..not this yr.. but..next. ive been checking out
places i can rent (greenhouse,or even space in a big greenhouse)
for the future.. until i get one put up..
if you do want some to see some pics of some fantastic titanums..
got to tindaraorchids website..or google search amorphophallus titanum
pictures tindaraorchids..
wow !!
i plan on a trip back east this yr..just to see their greenhouse full of
monsters..
i know i'll probably pass out..LOL :)
of course i want to see flowering..but for me..the vegetative stage is just
as exciting.. im truely a sick man..LOL :)