Hi Gill,
It sounds like your D. vulgaris may be dormant. My D. vulgaris tubers are dormant now but they have already bloomed and produced their seed. In late June when it gets hot here in Tennessee they die back and become dormant. When this happens I dig them and remove any offsets they may have produced. I usually leave them sitting in my garage for several months before I replant them. When the weather and the ground temp starts to cool the tubers start to put out a new root system and start to form a growth tip and they will stay like that until late Feb. or early March. They will start growing and producing new leaves around this time and bloom in mid to late May. This is the yearly cycle of the D. vulgaris where I live but it might be different where you live. IÂm wondering if the person you purchased yours from dug them to early resulting in their early dormancy. As long as there is no rotting or drying out of the tuber I would think that it would be alright but it may not do anything until next year. I'm no expert on these plants so maybe someone else can offer some more advice.
Jim

Jim, thanks for the info you have given. On closer inspection, parts of the tuber were a little soft and a spongy in aplace or two, so I have kept it out of the compost in the hope it will dry off and recover.
Our seasons are all topsy turvey over here at the moment...April was the hottest and dryest for 320 yrs! May and June (June was the wettest since records begun) were a complete washout with almost constant rain and low temps..July isn't doing much better yet apart from the past few days between the downpours and we are already at the mid-month. On mid-summers evening we sat with the gas fire on!! No wonder the plants don't know what to do eh?
Thanks again.
Gill.

Hello again, well I took the 'bulb' from the compost to let it dry off ...and then completely forgot about it till today! It had dried out and there is no sign of rot...thank goodness...here it is today, as you can see there are several sprouts that look like small bulbs apearing since it was it was dried off. The main one also appears to be regenerating.
{{gwi:388847}}
Any advice as to whether to plant it now/store it till spring/compost type etc. would be most welcome.
Thanks in advance.
Gill.

Ssssssomebody help me! To plant or not to plant? If I don't plant it now, will it dry out too much before next spring? If I plant now, is it too late? Time is marching on as we're already almost halfway through August...I can't believe that.
(sorry to bump my own question back up, but this forum is a tad slow compared to my usual one).

Thanks again. Gill : ¬ )

Hello greenclaws,

Is it possible for you to grow this indoors for the winter months should it decide to begin growing?

If so I myself would just place it in a spot that didn't get too hot or cold indoors and keep it in the dark. I store mine in my basement.

Check it every 10 to 14 days to see if it is truely coming out of dormancy.
During these checks look for rot or excessive drying. I don't know if your variety needs to be stored in soil or if it can be placed on a shelf and stored 'dry'

If it looks as though it is shrivelling and drying out you might want to pot it in soil and just barely moisten the soil, then proceed to check the pot every 10 to 14 days looking for new growth.

When your tuber is ready to emerge from dormancy( assuming it is dormant) you will see new root/leaf growth.

If your tuber has just suffered a setback and has not gone into dormancy at all you should be prepared to grow it indoors until it decides to go dormant.

When tubers of these sorts go into dormancy think of them and store them as you would a potato.

As far as I know Aroid tubers cannot be forced to grow.

Keep in a dark, warm (not too cold not too hot), just slightly humid enviornment.

You want to give it conditions that are roughly opposite what it needs for vigirous growth. No heat or high humidity or light.

Thanks for all the info A/L, and yes, I could grow it indoors should it decide to grow now, our g/h will be heated just enough to keep the frost out during the winter months so that wouldn't be a problem for me. If that would be too warm, we have 3 spare bedrooms that will be unheated all winter, (apart from when the 3 offspring+partners turn up that is!) maybe that would be a better option just to keep it ticking over.
Thanks again, Gill.