I just bought another on Friday! I have 3 now, one I've had for about 5 years, it went underwater in Hurricane Ike (4' of salt water for about 24hours) then through a hard freeze last year and another this year. I have never repotted it, read they like to be rootbound, but then again I read they have a shallow root system and I had to dig mine out of the ground where the roots had gone through the pot. I keep them on a side porch on the west side of the house, the base is shaded and there is support for climbing. Do NOT water at all when they are dormant, mine were out in the yard so they got watered when it rained with no ill effect but watering when dormant seems to be the major cause of death. The vine climbs up into the full sun every year. They can, and do, go dormant for more than a year, moms didn't sprout for 3 years one time and then started growing this past December. She had thought it was dead. They are all potted in a mix that the nursery I bought them from uses for bromeliads, it's a pre-mix for the nursery trade and he uses it for about everything. It looks a lot like miracle grow potting soil with less peat. Tally HO!

Dioscoreas generally start growing new roots before they form a top shoot and its a good idea to have them potted up before that happens eg. in December-January. Keep the caudex shaded and the vine growing in dappled light. They respond well to a mix with rotted compost in it along with a dose of osmocote and I also use some Dynamic Lifter! Keep moist at all times, even when dormant,when young especially. The roots die off if left dry out and they find it difficult to get started again. If you accidently break the vine off, it won't regrow that season. Hope this is of some help. Joylene.

I have had many failures with my seeds collected from my own two plants. Over the last two years, I have had only two germinate and only one survived. I tried putting them in the fridge before planting as had been advised by another grower but to no avail. I had kept the pots of ungerminated seeds for many months in case they were slow to germinate. No luck. As a last measure, I planted the rest of the seeds and left them in a sealed plastic bag to see what would happen. It is spring in this part of the world. Last week, I looked inside the bag again months after planting them. Some had started to germinate. I took the bag off and over the next week or so, I have had over 30 germinate. I don't know what has caused this sudden success but next time, I will replicate the time and method of planting. I don't get seeds every year as my two plants are out of synch when flowering and often do not overlap to allow me to pollinate (they are male and female plants). I am growing another 3 plants to try to get some to overlap flowering but they take a long time to flower for the first time. The oldest plants are over 20 years old and the 3 young ones are over 5 years but have not flowered yet.

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.