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Kev Spence
Site Admin
Joined: Mon Oct 29, 2007 3:59 pm Posts: 10902 Location: Loughborough, Leics, central UK
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Amorphophallus konjac
Has anyone managed anything spectacular with this aroid mine has been growing for quite a few years now with not a lot of care and attention. It grows it dies down in autumn where I then leave the pots on the floor of the greenhouse through winter where it probably does go below freezing and later the next year they appear again. I bought one tuber/corm from Koba Koba which tells you how long ago I have had these as the owner has since passed away and the nursery closed so I may have had these 10 years........ Looking at this shot tells me maybe I should have planted the corms all in over sized pots. ( note to self must try harder to get pictures in focus occasionally)
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Fri Jul 26, 2013 9:26 pm |
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themes
Joined: Tue Aug 05, 2008 12:42 am Posts: 2148 Location: birmingham, UK
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Re: Amorphophallus konjac
what gives with that pot with labels. Is it the garden equivalent of keys in a bowl? keep it blurry
_________________ Regards,
Mo
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Fri Jul 26, 2013 11:49 pm |
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Steven
Joined: Sun Aug 10, 2008 4:02 pm Posts: 2486
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Re: Amorphophallus konjac
Well, if you look in my last set of pics ("Garden pics") you can see mine flowering after three years, Kev.
The corm weighed about 300g last year.
I think heat does the trick or keeping them under glass. In Germany you can grow them in full ground in the warmer parts. There was a guy on the web, somewhere in Hesse, who had a whole field of them, selling them via Ebay and digging them up each autumn. He stored them in the cellar over winter like potatoes.
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Sat Jul 27, 2013 8:03 am |
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Kev Spence
Site Admin
Joined: Mon Oct 29, 2007 3:59 pm Posts: 10902 Location: Loughborough, Leics, central UK
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Re: Amorphophallus konjac
Cheers Steven, 3 years hmmm, shows my lack of care after 10 years. Steven's plant
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Sat Jul 27, 2013 8:12 am |
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BenC
Joined: Fri Dec 04, 2009 3:23 pm Posts: 298 Location: East Devon, UK
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Re: Amorphophallus konjac
Kev, nice collection of A. konjac's!
I grow A.konjac, along with several other Amorphophallus. I've never had a flower on konjac either, but the tubers in my cultivation will need a few more years yet. It is all about the size and weight of the tuber - do you know how big your largest tuber is? I would have thought 300g is at the lower end of the scale for producing an inflorescence.
The tubers are capable of bulking up pretty quickly. As you've noticed, a large pot is best, as is a moderately rich soil mix.
I have obtained a couple of A. konjac 'leo song' this year. They have a really attractive pink flushed petiole which should look even better as the plants increase in size each year.
I really like Amorphophallus for creating unusual leaf textures in the garden. I often see photos of 'aroid beds' but they nearly always feature just Colocasia, or maybe the occasional Alocasia. It's a shame that the aroids are not more widely used - Sauromatum, Amorphophallus, Remusatia, Spathantheum and Arisaeama, amongst others, are all excellent plants for the tropical effect!
_________________ http://www.adventurousplants.co.uk
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Sun Jul 28, 2013 7:03 pm |
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Kev Spence
Site Admin
Joined: Mon Oct 29, 2007 3:59 pm Posts: 10902 Location: Loughborough, Leics, central UK
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Re: Amorphophallus konjac
Ben not sure how big it is, Jackie repotted these, I will check after the leaves have died down though I do know the larger one needs a bigger pot already....rootbound.
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Sun Jul 28, 2013 8:16 pm |
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Jimhardy
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Re: Amorphophallus konjac
Kev
I purchased 3 l bulbs last year,they threw in a couple more small ones.
The bulbs were the size of large tomatoes.
All overwintered,one lost its main shoot but....well,you'll see what it did.....
One of them I accidentally broke seeing if it was alive,it lived and has been planted in several sections(Horcrux) which are alive.
Heres the one that lost its main shoot/bud,it put out a circle and now has about four bigger sized ones coming up in the middle....also one put out a shoot 7' from the main plant...reminds me of Tetrapanex!
All were over wintered with a Frisbee over the top and a little pile of mulch on the Frisbee.
This one will end up about 4 1/2' tall and 4 1/2 wide at the top.
The 3 main bulbs put out around 15 shoots this year,not counting what the other little ones did.
Thanks for looking-
<a href="http://www.wunderground.com/US/IA/Fairfield.html?bannertypeclick=miniDial"> <img src="http://banners.wunderground.com/weathersticker/miniDial/language/www/US/IA/Fairfield.gif" border=0 alt="Click for Fairfield, Iowa Forecast" height=50 width=150></a>
Last edited by Jimhardy on Mon Jul 29, 2013 4:41 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Mon Jul 29, 2013 2:51 pm |
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carolpz
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Re: Amorphophallus konjac
Oh my god it's gorgeous!!!
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Mon Jul 29, 2013 4:20 pm |
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Jimhardy
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Re: Amorphophallus konjac
They really are fascinating plants...almost like they are from another planet. I hear the blooms are cool too!
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Mon Jul 29, 2013 4:52 pm |
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Clive in London
Joined: Sat Feb 09, 2008 8:46 am Posts: 409 Location: London
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Re: Amorphophallus konjac
Plant some in the ground, Kev - I had flowers on mine pretty quickly by treating them like potatoes, as mentioned! And I think for decent flowers you need to keep the tuber in soil whilst it is doing it's thing - you see those pics of people with the dry corm plus flower but it never worked for me - just got distorted flowers.
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Mon Jul 29, 2013 8:51 pm |
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Kev Spence
Site Admin
Joined: Mon Oct 29, 2007 3:59 pm Posts: 10902 Location: Loughborough, Leics, central UK
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Re: Amorphophallus konjac
Cool pics Jim I am surprised they come back for you with your low temps probably insulating snow is the factor. I think as Clive suggests I will try some in the ground and see what happens maybe next to my Cyathea cooperi which has made yet another appearance this year.
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Mon Jul 29, 2013 9:57 pm |
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Tom Velardi
Joined: Mon Oct 29, 2007 10:20 pm Posts: 4337 Location: Kyushu, Southern Japan (33.607N latitude)
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Re: Amorphophallus konjac
I'm surprised how well you grow these Kev considering your cool summers. They are totally at home here and are grown in full sun as a root crop - conditions quite different from yours! I passed a big patch of them just yesterday on the bike - shoulda stopped to take a pic.
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Mon Jul 29, 2013 11:09 pm |
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Jimhardy
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Re: Amorphophallus konjac
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Mon Jul 29, 2013 11:49 pm |
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Steven
Joined: Sun Aug 10, 2008 4:02 pm Posts: 2486
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Re: Amorphophallus konjac
Jim, the size of your corms was actually flowering size for mine!
If you have a thick layer of snow every year, you can actually grow a lot of "tender" perennnials. IF, I say. T rex is super hardy regarding the roots and makes perfect sense as a perennial, especially in a hot summer climate like yours, given it gets plenty of water and food.
My koniac is pushing up a leaf, now after the flower has faded, which btw, has lasted far longer than the one of the Dracunculus, for about a week! I think one can try them in full ground all year from USDA 8 upwards, given they are covered in winter, otherwise they seem to be prone to rot.
What's the plant in the background with the variegated leaves? Looks beautiful!
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Tue Jul 30, 2013 7:42 am |
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Jimhardy
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Re: Amorphophallus konjac
Thanks Steven Snow is a mixed blessing here,it for sure provides insulation and protection during Arctic blasts..... but as I mentioned in spring it can be a death sentence- Tetrapanex is ridiculous,I think the runners on these and the Konjac bulbs are hardier than the plants/bulbs. Would be interesting( I guess )to see what -10F with no snow cover would do but I am pretty sure they have seen close to that -although...we have been fortunate having snow on the ground during most of the worst cold.
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Tue Jul 30, 2013 3:17 pm |
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