From: Duane Campbell <dcamp at epix.net> on 1997.09.01 at 21:02:51(1139)
At 10:52 AM 9/1/97 -0500, you wrote:
>I as not sure what the trigger is that causes the plant to wither. Can
>you please tell me if it is the colder temperatures in the daytime, the
>colder temperatures at night, the soil temperature, the shorted days
>(light), the dimmer light, or something else???????
I am one of the least expert members of this list, but since you seem
desperate for an answer, perhaps even a wrong one will suffice.
First, I suspect day or night length has little to do with it. Since it is
native to equatorial regions, I would imagine that it has little
photoperiodic response. And the same with light intensity.
I assume that temperature is involved. I used to store tubers and bulbs in
one section of the basement. When we added on I started storing them in the
new, cooler part, and this noticably retarded sprouting on many different
kinds of tubers.
Further, I often give flowering sized tubers of Amorphophallus and
Sauromatum to unsuspecting friends, explaining its unique flowering habit
but not passing on all the details of its bloom. We keep our house
considerably cooler in winter than most, around 60 during the day, fifty at
night. So when friends begin to get excited about the sprouting tubers
(which I suggest they put on their breakfast table), I start getting almost
daily reports back. Usually these tubers that I give away open their blooms
before mine even begin to grow.
I grow most of my larger tubers in gallon or two gallon pots. Smaller
tubers that I am trying to size up are planted in the garden, where I just
let them get knocked down by the first frost and dig them.
Since the roots are rather coarse, I would think (but don't know for sure)
that you could dig up the growing plant, pot it up, and move it inside to
complete its cycle. I would do this before the nights start getting cool
and giving it a signal you don't want it to have yet.
I would happily be corrected by more knowledgeable growers.
Duane Campbell dcamp@epix.net
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