what’s wrong with my dioscorea elephantipes
Ms houhouland
5 years ago
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SoCal Stewart (San Diego, Ca Zone 10A/10B)
5 years agoMs houhouland
5 years agoRelated Discussions
Looking for Dioscorea
Comments (10)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....See MoreAdvice on picking a caudicifrom
Comments (10)CC, Another one came to mind, one which could handle the humidity well (or at least better than some). And it's American (South) too! Jacaratia corumbensis, from (this year) M2G. MAY is too right, too - both of those are ideal, too. Here's a little tuberiferous Raphio - you cannot imagine, or maybe you can, how large these get.....Jabba-the-Hut-size is not hyperbole. I once remember a beast which had spilled out of an oak barrel into the ground and rooted so deeply, the folks in Shanghai were harvesting the root tips. Here's the Fockea - normally you'd see a vine coming out of the top, but one of the cats (we have our suspects) gnawed it off. Not to worry, it came back in two weeks. But back to Cyphostemma - here's a leafy one that's also available at the same place as all these others are. Cyphostemma cirrhosum. Non-caudex but as cute as a button: Back to the caudexes one more time - Beaucarnea recurvata: I would consider all of these easy to grow and take care of. I'm partial to the Cyphos but you can't go wrong with any of these....See MoreAdenium Garden - Martin in Denmark
Comments (158)Martin, your Bursera look lovely ! I'm quite envious ! :) I would love to grow some from seed. Maybe when I've got some space...I've just put 8 pots of rooted cuttings of P. Afra on ebay as I have too many ! If they find homes, I'll get my heated propagator out again, and maybe try some Commiphora too. I'd really like to try Boswellia, but it's hard to get seeds (and even harder to get them to germinate !) My Bursera is very much a work in progress. When I got it, it had no branches and was about 3 feet long ! The first 6 or so inches was maybe an inch thick - it then tapered off like a whip. It had lost almost all of the few leaves it had whilst in transit (I imported it from Spain !) It's shorter now, and thicker, and has developed some branches - it really is pot luck where they appear - but for me, any branch is welcome considering what it looked like when I got it ! As they are quite rare, I try to root everything I cut off it, and have had some success with that. I'll get some photos later today, or over the weekend....See MoreDioscorea Elephantipes Growing Medium
Comments (47)I've watered my seedlings every time I felt the soil got dry enough that the pot felt light and they were in well draining but a good amount of organic mix. They've been fine since they were actively growing, I'm more worried about the "transition period" where at some point they prefer less water (?)...I have 2 older (but still quite young) plants that are in straight gritty mix and they also seem fine so I dunno. The seedlings like or tolerate watering well. I am considering adding some organic to the older plants and many of my other plants but just not sure. I already have to some, considering others. I kept the older ones going last winter under grow lights and the seedlings were just getting started. Does anyone know if it's better to let them go dormant? Our winters are for sure too cold to leave little plants out there but I could leave them out of the grow light's reach if they would prefer it. Tyler, I also have to say that I take back my wishy-washy attitude on trellising and stand firmly on the pro side of trellising - I turned my back for a minute and my vines got unruly, tangled themselves and latched on to other plants. I had a roll of wire that was just a nice enough gauge to bend into a U shape and stick right in the pots, making a beautiful, sturdy little arched trellis for my D's. Kara, from what I understand the caudex doesn't really like / benifit from the sun at all, only the vine. So I would say it is not necessary to keep it in sun unless possibly that is for warmth? Someone correct me if I'm wrong. TanP - nice Mexicana! And on the eliphantipes am I reading your post right that you have 8 month old seedlings that are the size of a half dollar?? Please, please elaborate if I read that correctly! hoovb - that D at the Huntington is absolutely jaw dropping, WOW....See Moreisde02(zone5b)
5 years agoSoCal Stewart (San Diego, Ca Zone 10A/10B)
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5 years agoMs houhouland thanked SoCal Stewart (San Diego, Ca Zone 10A/10B)Kara 9b SF Bay Area CA
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5 years agoGabby C (FL 9A)
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5 years agoSoCal Stewart (San Diego, Ca Zone 10A/10B)
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