From: "Dr. Uli Siegel" <siegel at mail.sdt.net> on 1998.07.13 at 15:43:52(2464)
Hello Les!
> A discussion a short while ago pointed out some controversy about
> konjac.
>
> If I understood correctly, someone said that konjacs in Japan are
> grown in direct sunlight. Is anyone here growing one under direct
> sunlight?
Yes, I do. But where I live (Southeastern Germany), tropical plants
usually get hardly enough sun - just in this summer, who looks a bit
like an early November......
I keep my A. konjac on my east-facing balcony, where it gets full sun
from sunrise to about 11/12 am. It seems to like it. But it needs
plenty of water, especially when it's warm (what is not usually the
case in our summers...) and - fertilizer! I have a friend, who grows
it directly on his compost heap in his garden! Usually, the plants
start thriving during April and grow until September. I have one old
plant, about 1 meter high and 70 cm leaf diameter. I expect it's first
bloom perhaps next year. Besides, I have many daughter bulbs of
different sizes, and it seems to me, that the smaller the tuber, the
later it thrives and the shorter it's growing season! Some of the
smallest tubers are starting just right now. But they all do really
well, I wish, all my plants would make so few problems! It also does
not need very much warmth.
But I doubt, if full sun (and heat!) during the whole day would not be
a bit too much for it - since some smaller tubers grow in the big
plant's pot and are very strongly shaded by it's leaf, but it doesn't
seem to bother them.
During winter, I keep the tubers in their pots completely dry in my
apartment at room temperature.
I have two small A. bulbifer, too, they do equally well. And one small
Madagascan A-phallus, I got it from a Botanical Garden as A.
hildebrandtii, who finally broke it's nearly 20 month dormancy (!) two
months ago - but this one needs a lot of warmth, it stands indoors on
a heating pad together with Madagascan succulents. It has a very nice
blueish colored leaf.
So, I think, you don't need to worry much about your A. konjac. Just
let it grow and feed it well!
Good growing
Uli
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