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joeb004

What to do with my konjac & paeoniifolius

joeb004
17 years ago

So its getting to be cold here now. I bring these guys in at night now; and have been watering less frequently. They still aren't showing any signs of dying out. Another month or so and they probably can't go outside anymore. Mn is getting a little chilly by the end of October. Should I stop watering all together at this point?

Thanks in advance!

Joe

Comments (11)

  • nightbloomincereus 7A noVA
    17 years ago

    just treatr them like normal, but with a bit less water. When the time is right they will flop over. Wait till the stems have dried up and remove them. Half of my konjacs already did that a month ago.

  • jim_6b
    17 years ago

    Send them to me and I will keep them warm!
    I'm in the same situation. I am new to growing amorphophallus and hope I don't kill them this winter.
    Jim

  • philh
    17 years ago

    nightbloomincereus, roughly how long had the first ones to go dormant been in leaf for? All of my amorphophallus came into leaf much later than i'd expected and some might not hit dormancy before it gets frosty, i doubt having 20°C nights in the middle of september is helping with their decision. Oh, does peaoniifolius have a considerably longer growing season than konjac?

  • nightbloomincereus 7A noVA
    17 years ago

    hmm, I believe mine leafed out in april, or early may. They were started in the greenhouse, but I waited for new shoots to begin on top of the bulbs before trying to plant them. Dont' worry, they will tell you when it is bed time.

  • philh
    17 years ago

    My konjac tubers all looked desperate to be planted when i potted them up, unfortunately they seemed to sulk directly afterwards and didn't actually leaf up until mid-late may, every other species i grow was considerably later starting but some seem to be getting to the end of their season before the konjacs.

  • Bonbon_N_KS
    17 years ago

    My uncle has been growing konjac for years. He said he lets the frost knock em' down and then digs the bulbs. Mine didn't leaf out till July this year.

  • nightbloomincereus 7A noVA
    17 years ago

    Well the bulbifers are drooping and have gone almost white so it's nearly time for them.

  • joeb004
    Original Author
    17 years ago

    Hmmm...I've been avoiding letting mine frost because the thought was that they might be more prone to rot as it gets colder. I bring them in every night if it's going to drop below 50, and that's about half the time right now. Is this not a good plan? I guess I'm attempting to extend their growing season.

    Regards,
    Joe

  • philh
    17 years ago

    I'd be concerned if it's getting much below 40f but at 50 i'd be happy to leave konjac outside myself, according to the greenhouse thermometer it's been just a bit below 50f at one point and i've still got a gigas seedling in there!

    That said, i don't know how unpredictable your weather is, if there's a serious risk of you getting your first frost without warning and it being a hard one then keep bringing them in, the longer they grow the riper the tubers will be.

    on a non aroid note, i've got numerous Musa sikkimensis seedlings, mostly just under 1 foot tall, in the greenhouse at the moment, does anyone know if they're likely to survive reduced light levels if shut away in a shed(with window) or brought inside over winter?

  • rredbbeard
    17 years ago

    I'm no expert, but I brought my typhoniums (in pots) in, and unpotted them. They seemed a little wet, so I cleaned them off and sprinkled the suspicious areas with a lot of cinnamon, which is a good anti-fungal. Some of mine still had green leaves, but I still brought them in. I have heard elsewhere on this forum that paeionifolius in particular is susceptible to rot, so some type of dusting with a fungal treatment is probably a good idea.
    I was surprised that some of mine wintered over in the ground, and did well. I will mulch them again, and see how they do this winter...

    --Rr

  • philh
    17 years ago

    All but my largest T. venosum have died down of their own accord now, they seem to have a very strictly limited growing period as all those that came into leaf at a similar time will hit dormancy at similar times.
    Typhonium venosum seems pretty hardy to me, tiny offsets that have been missed when unpotting the paren't plant come up the following year wherever i've mulched with the spent compost.
    Those that i've planted deliberately all seem to come back up quite happily, though they will start growing later than if lifted and replanted.

    This year i've started treating lifted tubers with yellow sulphur powder and i'm reasonably impressed, not that T. venosum tubers are difficult to store anyway but it certainly makes me a little more comfortable about damaging the skin when removing the old spent section of tuber from the base.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Powdered Sulphur

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