The Huntington
Botanical Gardens, they are not that expemsive. Mine have just gone dormant. Must be kept winter warm. Norma

Dioscorea elephantipes will grow pretty quickly if given lots of root room, so you can be rewarded even if you start with seeds or very small plants.

Norma - Thank you for the resource. You said yours have just gone dormant? What part of CA are you in and what species are you growing? From what I've read some are winter growers, is that true? Most that I have found online are just coming out of dormancy. Thank you for all your help.

D. elephantipes is a "winter grower", meaning it prefers to grow during the cooler parts of the year (spring and fall). They will go leafless during the hot summer. If you live somewhere that does not see temps too often beyond 80F, with cooler nights, then you may be able to keep it growing in the summer. They are from S. Africa.

D. mexicana, from Mexico, is a summer grower and needs water and heat to be active. It is dormant during the winter.

D. elephantipes is probably the more desirable species.

x

Xero-thank you I just purchased one listed as D. Macrostachy. I believe this is the same as D. elephantipes just under a different name? My summers get quite hot and humid with only a brief spring and straight into 87 to high 90's. So I'm guessing I'll wont be planting yet :o(

Hello,
nativec, d. macrostachys = d. mexicana. = from mexico.

d. elephantipes is a different species from south africa.

i have 2 d. elephantipes. up here in seattle, i bring mine indoors for the winter. both went dormant at the end of summer, then put up new shoots mid december. now 1 has gone dormant again, and the other is still green. I have found mine to be unreliable in predicting dormancy onset.

happy growing :)

-curiouscomputer

Curious- thanks for clearing that up. Guess its good to know what you are growing...LOL So now that its clear that I purchased a d. mexicana I guess I will be planting after all. At some point I'll get this down!

Thank you!

Looking for help. As you see above I purchased the D. Mexicana back in March. The seller told me I could place it in soil but not to water until I see roots. I'm concerned as it has been "sitting" there with absolutely no progress. My temps are now in the high 80's to 90's and nothing :o( What am I doing wrong. I am new to this plant and I am clueless. The center is still firm so I am assuming its still viable. I have it stitting on the top of soil(cactus mix) and I have not watered at all. Any suggestions? Should it be covered in soil? Or am I just impatient? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

For the most part, you are just being impatient. :-) How big your plant is makes a difference, but I'll assume you got one of the 4-8" size caudex plants. If yours is a seedling, things change.

First off, get it into a better draining soil mix. Take the soil you bought and mix it with two parts perlite or pumice. In warm weather like this, you could try lightly wetting the soil you mix up for the Dioscorea. The caudex should be kept out of direct sun especially at first. You can bury it just below the surface for maximum growth, but *only* if you put it in a better draining soil mix!

Beyond the soil, I would give it at least another two or three months before considering any action. As long as it isn't in direct sun getting cooked, it won't mind the wait. One thing to avoid is constantly moving the caudex to see if it has struck roots. That usually just serves to break the delicate new roots being formed. Just waiting until the vine emerges is my usual approach. If you just have to look, use a chopstick or pencil to dig away some soil at the edge of the caudex. The roots all come from beneath the edge of the "cork", so you won't have to dig around much to see new roots.

FWIW, although technically a "summer" grower, people who I've talked to down here in SoCal all agree that they sort of just grow whenever they want. My plant tends to grow most actively in fall through winter. A friend of mine has two from seed, and one grows in the summer, and the other seems completely random changing every year. All I'm saying is don't be surprised if yours doesn't do a thing until the end of summer into fall.

Well its good to know I'm impatient...LOL I'll get some perlite in the mix ASAP. The plants caudex is about 12" across and nearly perfectly round so I'm assuming I don't have a seedling. I'll just amend it and stash it away out of full sun and try to just leave it alone. Maybe, just maybe it will grow when it feels like it:o) Thank you for the help.

-Nicole