Amorphophallus bufo growing advice?

From: "StroWi at t-online.de" <StroWi at t-online.de> on 2011.10.04 at 11:51:48(22216) Amorphophiles, quite some time ago I sent a question asking growing advice for Amorphophallus bufo (Cameron Highlands, Malaysia). I got only one reply and that was off list from Pascal Bruggeman from The Netherlands. And he is in deed the one who grows bufo on a window sill, a thing I heard rumours about before. He did not mind forwarding his growing advice to the list and here we go: +More "The main reason in failing wit bufo is that i t is grown TOO HOT. So no, they should NOT be grown warm!!! Bufo grows in the Cameron Highlands and the day temps will not exceed much above 22-24 C. Night temps can easily drop to 13 C. Also very inmportant is to keep the compost evenly moist, I have lost 2 plants by letting the compost get too dry and then give them water, roots of this species seem to rot easily with fluctuating moisture content and also water it from the sides of the pot. Bufo doesn't mind dry air, it does however mind fluctuating moisture levels of the soil so I have to admit I grow it on a window sill with a plastic bag around the pot so there is no evaporation from the soil. Regarding the potting mix I grow them in, it is a mix of fibrous peat, chunks of peat and bark. It is a commercally availble mix in NL as "Jongkind no.7". But as with most cultivation, each growing condition requires a different mix, it could very well be that what does well in my situation will not in yours. But in the wild you can find them in a crumbly clay like soil with the top of the tuber and some of the roots in the humus layer. Usually these growing conditions are very hard to duplicate in cultivation so I always try a "normal" mix first. And this time it was OK, Jongkind 7 is humus rich, airy and moisture retentive. Regarding the plastic bag, I either put the whole pot in a plastic bag and tie it around the stem or put cling film on the pot when I pot the tuber up. Once it comes up I simply make a small hole to let the shoot through. Purpose is to minimize the evaporation from the soil so the only water loss is for growth and through the leaves. It means that instead of watering it twice a week I have to water it once every 3 weeks. This creates a more stable moisture content in the put. In the wild the moisture levels are also very constant because of the buffering capacity of the forest floor and the dead leaves on the soil also prevent evaporation from the soil. I basically use cling film to replace forest leaves....." Thanks to Pascal again via this post (just in case that he's still reading the aroid-L). Hoping that this might be helpful for everyone who wants to grow species from similar habitats. Happy growing, Bernhard. -----Original Message----- > Date: Sun, 13 Mar 2011 19:48:24 +0100 > Subject: [Aroid-l] Amorphophallus bufo growing advice > From: "StroWi@t-online.de" > To: "aroid-L" > Aroiders, can someone give some more advice than the general (free draining potting mix, warm growing conditions, fairly moist due to the origin - Malaysian highland mountain rainforest) to grow Amorphophallus bufo (Highland) . All I heard so far is that it is pretty difficult; on the other hand the are rumors (well a single one) that it can be grown on a window sill (yes, bufo, not a misslabled konjac or sonething similar...). Looking forward to any suggestion..... Best, Bernhard. _______________________________________________ Aroid-L mailing list Aroid-L@www.gizmoworks.com http://www.gizmoworks.com/mailman/listinfo/aroid-l

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