I thought these were shade or part shade plants, at least in your zone. I think Dan grows some in full sun, but he's up North. Is this a new plant for you?

Susan

Hi All!
Susan, I have grown konjac for 2 years now and the bumpy stem form of paeoniifolius. I have heard of putting them in the sun just before they emerge so they will be full sun plants. Never tried it???

Thanks,
Cody

Unfortunately, I don't have any yet. But next year, I intend to try konjac because it is hardy here. I might try to push paeonifolius, since my back yard is home to many zone 8 plants. I really like it best of all, but have heard it can be a ninny at times.

I'll remember your advice when I get one - probably from Tony Avent.

Susan

hi there,
i have been growing paeoniifolius here for a few years and last season i put them in the ground in full sun. ide say my results will indicate to you how suited to sun they are-
i put down a small bulb of about 100gms or less. (golf ball size i guess). i did very little in the way of extra fertiliser etc, just full sun. when i dug it up, the damnd thing was 3.1 kilograms!
cheers
cory dale

Don't you just hate it when they do that? LOL!! I'm reading a lot about how sometimes these bulbs grow to 40 lbs (convert that to metric, I'm metric-impaired!).

Susan

This form of A paeoniifolius grows in full sun in some locations so I expect it will be happy if you try it in full sun, just let it harden slowly as with any Amorph.

Cheers, Troy.

You guys have me going conversion crazy!

Susan

Susan

A kilo is 2.2 pounds, I was born after the changeover in Australia, which was about 1967 I think (?) but imperial was still in use, and my mum's a pom (an English person that moved to Australia) so she stuck with imperial for a long time, and I can think in either. I still think it's bizzare how anyone can work with 3/16ths spanners and weigh 12 stone 2 pounds, metric is so much easier!!

A 40lb tuber is 18kg and Cory's 3.1kg tuber is nearly 7lbs.

Cheers, Troy.

Whew - thanks for the help, Troy. I started to print out a conversion table last night, but ran out of paper and printer ink. So intended to do today at work, but as usual work got in the way of my good intentions. I do pretty well with sizes in centimeters, but from there, I'm mush...

Susan

Hey Troy!

I tried to email you. I wanted to ask if Amorph. Paeoniifolius giant form's petoile is bumpy????

Thanks,
Cody

I have the giant form, the smooth form and the "regular" form; the giant form is bumpy but with darker blotches than the "regular" form; the smooth form in coloration is like the giant form, but in leaflets has much smaller ones. I grow mine where they get a lot of full sun, especially later in the day. To get really big tubers, give them high phosphorus fertilizer from mid season up to the beginning of dormancy.

The giant form puts out very few pups, while the "regular" form is very prolific (for me, anyway). If you have them in the ground, remember that the new tuber is formed significantly lower in the ground than the original one you planted in the Spring. Keep this in mind if you try to dig it up.

LariAnn Garner
Aroidia Research

Hi LariAnn!!

Thanks for the reply you eased my mind!!!! I was getting worried. have you noticed a difference in the giant and regular form as far as size goes??? I am excited about mine!!!

Thanks,
Cody

Cody,

Oh, yes, there is a dramatic difference in size, but you won't notice it until the plant has grown for a few seasons. I have one that started this year as a tuber about the size of a marble and the leaf is over 18" tall. My large ones are well over five feet tall, with quite stocky petioles and much coarser leaflets than the "regular" variety.

I imagine these plants would make great patio umbrellas; you could build a custom hexagonal table with the pot in the center and the petiole coming out through a suitable hole in the tabletop. I would make the table in halves so you could install the plant whenever you wanted to (i.e. when it has reached full size already).

I keep mine in pots (I had to use a very large nursery pot, 20 gal, for my big ones) and when I plant them, the tuber is placed just a few inches below the surface of the mix. When I harvest them, the new tuber has formed nearly at the bottom of the pot. Besides that, the pot is deformed out of shape as the growing tuber increases in size, which is another reason why they should be unpotted and reset at the end of every season.

LariAnn
Aroidia Research

Hi Susan,
please try some converting sites:
( Today i found out, they have english ones,too! )

http://www.sengpielaudio.com/calculator-cminch.htm

http://www.sengpielaudio.com/calculator-areaunits.htm

http://www.sengpielaudio.com/calculator-volumeunits.htm

http://www.sengpielaudio.com/calculatorWeightunits.htm

http://www.sengpielaudio.com/calculator-temperatureunits.htm

And here you may find some more:

http://www.sengpielaudio.com/Calculations03.htm

Bye
hermann

Hermann - thanks so much, I'll do that and put them in my favorites.

Susan

hi please help how do i grow these bulbs

I grow mine in high shade with morning sun.
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