Growing Dioscorea as you would grow a cactus (poor soil and letting the substrate dry out) is the old school way, they won’t die but they will grow much more slowly.
I have several of these, from seedlings to basketball sized specimens. Here’s how I grow mine:
SUBSTRATE: well draining but RICH soil, or poor but compensated with fertilizer.
WATERING: never let the soil fully dry out, when in vine I keep them fairly moist, I’ve watered them as often as twice a week (always with fertilizer). When dormant you want to cut back but still keep the soil from drying out completely, at least not for long. If they’re allowed to dry out for too long their roots dry out and it takes them long to get going the next season, thus yielding less growth.
CONTAINER: as deep as you can get. My basketball size one is on a pot that is over 2ft deep. You don’t have to be that extreme but deeper pots will help it grow faster. I like these pots for smaller plants: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08JCHDFGG?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share
LIGHTING: this one is a little tricky, the leaves want full sun, but the word on the street is that the caudex needs to be shaded. I know of people that grow theirs in full sun and let the caudex get exposed but they own large specimens. I believe the concern has to do with trying to help smaller plants retain water since they don’t have the bark layer around them yet.
DORMANCY: - They often don’t go dormant at all for the first few years, they’ll just put a new vine as the current one dries out. - They go dormant with heat, so be mindful of placing it outside during the summer. - If grown indoors the absence of heat allows them to extend the growing season and they start going in and out of dormancy off schedule.
I’ve compiled some information some info about growing Dioscoreas from talking to growers and my own observations growing several of these. This is more specifically targeted to elephantipes but I apply to other species I grow as well.
Growing Dioscorea as you would grow a cactus (poor soil and letting the substrate dry out) is the old school way, they won’t die but they will grow much more slowly.
I have several of these, from seedlings to basketball sized specimens. Here’s how I grow mine.
SUBSTRATE: well draining but RICH soil, or poor but compensated with fertilizer.
WATERING: never let the soil fully dry out, when in vine I keep them fairly moist, I’ve watered them as often as twice a week (always with fertilizer). When dormant you want to cut back but still keep the soil from drying out completely, at least not for long. If they’re allowed to dry out for too long their roots dry out and it takes them long to get going the next season, thus yielding less growth.
CONTAINER: as deep as you can get. My basketball size one is on a pot that is over 2ft deep. You don’t have to be that extreme but deeper pots will help it grow faster. I like these pots for smaller plants: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08JCHDFGG?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share
LIGHTING: this one is a little tricky, the leaves want full sun, but the word on the street is that the caudex needs to be shaded. I know of people that grow theirs in full sun and let the caudex get exposed but they own large specimens. I believe the concern has to do with trying to help smaller plants retain water since they don’t have the bark layer around them yet.
DORMANCY: - They often don’t go dormant at all for the first few years, they’ll just put a new vine as the current one dries out. - They go dormant with heat, so be mindful of placing it outside during the summer. - If grown indoors the absence of heat allows them to extend the growing season and they start going in and out of dormancy off schedule.
NEWLY PURCHASED PLANTS: - it might be a good idea to be more careful with watering if dormant since the roots might be dead upon arrival.
I’ve compiled some information some info about growing Dioscoreas from talking to growers and my own observations growing several of these. This is more specifically targeted to elephantipes but I apply to other species I grow as well.
Growing Dioscorea as you would grow a cactus (poor soil and letting the substrate dry out) is the old school way, they won’t die but they will grow much more slowly.
I have several of these, from seedlings to basketball sized specimens. Here’s how I grow mine.
SUBSTRATE: well draining but RICH soil, or poor but compensated with fertilizer.
WATERING: never let the soil fully dry out, when in vine I keep them fairly moist, I’ve watered them as often as twice a week (always with fertilizer). When dormant you want to cut back but still keep the soil from drying out completely, at least not for long. If they’re allowed to dry out for too long their roots dry out and it takes them long to get going the next season, thus yielding less growth.
CONTAINER: as deep as you can get. My basketball size one is on a pot that is over 2ft deep. You don’t have to be that extreme but deeper pots will help it grow faster. I like these pots for smaller plants: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08JCHDFGG?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share
LIGHTING: this one is a little tricky, the leaves want full sun, but the word on the street is that the caudex needs to be shaded. I know of people that grow theirs in full sun and let the caudex get exposed but they own large specimens. I believe the concern has to do with trying to help smaller plants retain water since they don’t have the bark layer around them yet.
DORMANCY: - They often don’t go dormant at all for the first few years, they’ll just put a new vine as the current one dries out. - They go dormant with heat, so be mindful of placing it outside during the summer. - If grown indoors the absence of heat allows them to extend the growing season and they start going in and out of dormancy off schedule.
NEWLY PURCHASED PLANTS: - it might be a good idea to be more careful with watering if dormant since the roots might be dead upon arrival.