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mark4321_gw

Dioscorea mexicana (macrostachya) from cuttings?

mark4321_gw
9 years ago

Hi,

A number of sources suggest that Dioscorea mexicana can be propagated by cuttings (unlike its African cousin D. elephantipes). I'm curious whether anyone has tried, and what they observe in terms of growth of the caudex...

I received a rootless tuber last year as a gift which grew a vine. The tuber/caudex is about 3 inches across. This year the vine has been more vigorous, with big glossy leaves The vine has branched, and the branched portion strikes me as a obvious place to take cuttings. It looks like I could get about four 2-node cuttings at the moment, more if I waited longer. I've rooted a lot of vines, and I would resist suggestions to take longer cuttings without compelling reasons.

So I'm basically curious whether people think it's worth attempting cuttings. I understand if it's "better" to grow from seed, but since I have cuttings and not seed it's not an obvious option right now.

I do have seeds (from Seedhunt.com, highly recommended) and way too many seedings (close to 100% germination) of Dioscorea sylvatica, which potentially also forms "tortoise shell" caudexes. In theory it's faster growing and more cold hardy. Mine are definitely fast growing, although I'm not convinced the caudexes will be as nice. I need to follow up on that plant in a separate post.

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