Suran

more and more tempted the recipes sound lush

 

Thanks!
I'll get my mate to get me some when he next goes to London. I've just started some Taro off.

 

Longk , you starting taro??????? I don`t belive you , what uppen to you .....
are you getting corrupted by us

 

Utterly led astray!
My friend is from Cambodia and opened an Asian store (in our very non Asian town) last year. It's only now that business has picked up enough to do fresh veg.

 

I am really envious Sal - I wish I lived closer - but they are a bit heavy to post.

 

Sal,

Where did you order them from if I may ask?

I have found that Amorphs can be a bit tricky to grow.
In autumn, instead of the leaf dying off slowly and being re-absorbed into the bulb to build it up again, mine just collapse. So over 2 or 3 season the bulb just gets smaller and smaller and eventually nothing is left.

 

around the corner , the usual asian shop , every wednesday he goes to the asian whole sale and as long as I order on tuesday he will look for me as much as the season .
£12.50 for a bag of 5kg , 4 giant size bulbs .
he told me that there are another small variety as well but not idea and be honest the small of my vodoo lily is stronge as it is .

apparently the best way of keeping them is to pull the out , before the plant die , and let the bulb refill and store it dry , but I will eventually ask my friend , as he got few titanum .

 

I wonder if this isn't due to lack of heat in the summer. By analogy with a car battery, the tuber stores enough energy to kickstart the plant into growth. But after starting a car you must run it for some time to put enough energy back for the next time. If you don't you will run the battery down and finally the car won't start. I suspect that this and many other plants needs a long hot summer to put the energy back into the tuber.

I have no evidence of this other than its sounds logical.

 

I have read that, for things like the Amorphophallus titanum, it is important that the leaf dies down such that the plant can "reabsorb" the energy back into the bulb. If the leaf just collapses at the end of the season, because the weather is rubbish, then the bulb doesn't get the chance to replenish its "fuel".

But no idea if that is applicable ton this scenario?

 

Yup, most Amorphs are like this.

 

I think it is because the light levels drop quite quickly in October.
Not small gradual changes as in the tropics.


Though Kew seems to keep their Amorphs going, so maybe it is temp related too??

 

I am sure you are right Sirius - both heat and light are needed. These make the leaves produce energy all summer, and the more that they can make, during this time, the less is needed from the bulb. So I suspect that its the entire summer conditions that are important, as well as those last key months.

 

I think it is the speed with which dormancy happens.
If it is too quick, the leaf just collapses without building the bulb up.

 

Gorgeous, I've always wanted to grow it, but only ever found seeds available. I grew A. Konjack a few years ago, the flower formed, started to grow then got damaged :-(

 

Well ... those nice people at Anglia Bulbs have:
Amorphophallus rivieri
http://www.angliabulbs.com/amorphophallus-rivieri-p-279.html
Dracunculus vulgaris
www.angliabulbs.com/dracunculus-vulgaris-p-89.html

I have A. Konjack which I think came from Amulree or maybe Urban Jungle.