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Aroids
eythan_gw

Amorphophallus dormancy

15 years ago

I have konjac, muelleri, bulbifer, paeoniifolius and soon I will also have titanum.

I don't know which of these prefer dry dormancy or which prefer to be left in the ground.

My konjac and bulbifer seem to do fine in dry storage, but my paeoniifolius is yet to go dormant since I bought it, and the muelleri hated the dry (but it was a very small corm, and I hear the small corms don't do the dry so well anyway)

I'm about to receive two titanum and a large muelleri, and my paeoniifolius will eventually go dormant, and I was wondering how I should treat them all.

I live in Melbourne, so that means hot hot summers (can get to 40C at midday) and cold cold winters (can get to 3C at midday), and I'm always cautious about leaving them in the soil when the temperatures drop so low in winter.

Any tips for Amorphophallus growing will go appreciated :D

Thanks!

Featured Answer
  • 9 months ago

    A. titanium are very different to a lot of other Amorphs. The quickest way to lose them is allowing to dry out, both during growth and dormancy. But they don't want soggy either. Another of their pet hates are nematodes. If those get into their soil they are doomed. You need to use sterile potting mix when repotting, and keep the pot out of contact with the ground. If you don't have nematodes where you live then no problem.


    Titanum don't follow an annual cycle, they're from an equatorial climate where rainy seasons have two peaks during the year. So generally conditions don't vary much. When young the plants sometimes produce two or three leaves at a time. They can go a few years without any dormancy. This is awkward for repotting as you need to do it whilst the plant is in growth. Some people just leave them go and keep fertilising. But you need to be careful the soil doesn't become too compacted and poor draining.


    A bit older they settle down to a single leaf at a time, although the dormancy can still be erratic. Propagation is easy if you've got two flowering plants. But very few people have even one flowering plant. The other way is with leaflet cuttings. If you dip a leaflet in a rooting hormone and place in something like sphagnum, a small tuber will grow at the base of the leaflet.

    Comments (9)

    • 15 years ago

      I treat my paeoniifolius and bulbifer the same. Late in the season I keep the petiole tied in the upright position allowing all the 'Juice' to desend to the tuber while I allow the potting mix to go dry. I maintain the temps cool. Once the petiole has dried up I carefully remove the tuber from the potting mix and rinse very well and air dry. I soak them in systemic fungicide for a few minutes then air dry again. I place them in individual paper bags in an airy storage area inside my home. In the spring I monitor activity around March. I pot them in ammended fresh potting mix, water them and place in a warm greenhouse until it warms up outside.

      {{gwi:385379}}

    • 15 years ago

      Definitely leave your new titanums in soil with just the slightest bit of moisture in the soil during dormancy. I mean the slightest. All of the other your mention I keep dry over winter.

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    • 15 years ago

      Yes sir radar. I lost my titanum likely due to moisture and temperature fluctuations during dormancy.

    • 15 years ago

      Konjacs = dry dormancy. When mine go limp in the fall from the cool temps and darker evenings I cut off the stalk, dig up the corm, dry it out and clean it off to store on a shelf for the winter. If I have babies they too are dried and stored for the winter. When they show signs of growth in late winter/early spring I pot them up and get them going again.

    • 15 years ago

      I grow konjac and paeoniifolius. I leave them potted up all winter but move the pots to my attached garage. I do not water at all and then move pots outside when threat of frost is past. All my potted Amorphophallus(6 pots, some with 3 large corms) come back better than the previous year grown this way.

      -David

    • 15 years ago

      Thank you for the advice!

      My A titanum are going dormant now that they're settling into Melbourne, and the others are dormant and dry (except for one strange A. paeoniifolius that shows no signs of going dormant despite the temperature averaging about 10C. Weird).

    • PRO
      10 months ago

      My A titanum die in dormancy manly because I dried it out like a rock, I have been trying to buy a new one and take much more care, but it is hard because live in Australia and can not import plants. it would be greatly appreciated it anyone had tips on where to find them in Australia. Thanks!

    • 10 months ago

      Titanium should NOT die when dried out. They are supposed to be dry during dormancy from everything I've read on it.

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