Re: Colocasia burgandy stem

From: Lester Kallus <lkallus at earthlink.net> on 1998.06.11 at 13:23:55(2270) That sounds like an easier method than the multiple steps I used. I have an area on my website where I describe the methodical care I gave to the Caladiums & Colocasias. It worked great on the Caladiums but the Colocasias turned into mush. It's funny because last year (summer of 96) I never got to the Coloasias. They were treated essentially the same as yours - I threw them into a bag. I kept planning to "get to them" but just never did. Surprisingly, I had great results that spring. It looks like the more you do to them, the less you get back. I guess I'll just relax this fall and try the paper bag method again. Les +More At 10:52 PM 6/10/98 -0500, you wrote: >On Wed, 10 Jun 1998, Lester Kallus wrote: > >> I obtained a Colocasia "burgandy stem" from Plant Delights last summer and >.. >> I thought I'd have plenty to go around this summer, but had miserable luck >> saving the tubers from last year. Actually, they weren't even tubers, it >> was just stems that hadn't formed tubers. > >Les, > >Don't give up hope on your "not even tubers" from last year. You would not >believe the resurrections I routinely perform on pieces of various >Colocasias (and I am no saint). > >I can't winter them over outside, and though I'm careful with the largest >pieces of each one (and, for a few such as Black Magic/Jet Black >Wonder/Voodoo, with every piece) I always have pieces I don't find - >especially with the 'Burgandy Stem' because it sends out those crazy >runners. Most haven't formed any tuber at all. I treat them with callous >disrespect - shake most of the dirt off, them toss them in a box in a heap >where they winter over with no - and I mean literally NO - water at all. >Any leaves that are up dry up and they look ghastly. > >Whenever I think about it in the spring, I fill a shallow pan with water, >chunk them all into it, and when I see a new growing point start up, I pot >them up or give them away or whatever. > >In fact, I found a piece of another Colocasia cultivar a guy in S. >Arkansas gave me last November in a sack just a few days ago, dry as a >bone since he dug it up, no real tuber at all. After about 4 days in >water, it's sprouting nicely. > >I'm not recommending this, you understand, but these plants are really >tough, so don't count them out too early. > >Steve > >-- Steve Marak >-- samarak@arachne.uark.edu >

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