PUSHING THE BORDERS

After seeing a photo of Charlie’s plant and thinking how lovely it was, I decided to get one. It’s a very tiny plant and I understand they go dormant/you force them to go dormant through the summer. So my question: as this is such a small plant do I keep it growing so that it becomes a stronger and more substantial plant or do I allow it to go dormant? If the latter, what do I do and when should I do it? Thanks for any advice. I really hope I can grow this beautiful thing.

That is a nice little plant.

The aim is to get as big a tuber as possible this year.

Domancy is induced by heat and drought.

So to keep it growing pot it up, feed it, don't let it dry out and once summer arrives keep it out of the heat. It will eventually go dormant what ever you do, and then let it dry out.

The top growth is frost tender, so it needs to be kept frost free over the winter. I failed with that in the tunnel.

Chad

Thank you Chad. Very useful.

I had a very small plant - 9cm liner - in my unheated greenhouse last winter and it remains in good nick after -3.5C, so it does have a little bit of tolerance.

Thanks Paul. That’s also very good to know. I’d read that it can’t tolerate frost at all and ideally I’d love to grow it in my greenhouse which is kept just about frost free. I was presuming I’d have to grow it in a pot indoors but after what you have reported, it might be OK in the greenhouse where it would have room to reach its potential. Thank you.

I found mine shy to flower in a pot until I stood the pot on top of another pot which had something that had died in it, so I imagine the tuberous root system likes to go down deep, I have a second plant in total shade but that doesn't flower at all as its in a bed I haven't been able to remove it without damaging the jasmines which are in there with it.
It looks to be an ok plant Martin, easy from seed but I had no luck with cuttings (but I only tried the once!)

A third good piece of advice! I think it may do best then in a large, deep pot. Thank you Charlie.

You were absolutely right Chad. I kept the little plant going. It didn’t grow at all really, just stayed green and then suddenly fizzled away. I assumed it was too small to have developed any kind of tuber/root large enough to re-sprout. Rather than throw it, I shoved it in a dark corner of the greenhouse. I was amazed and very pleased to stumble across it today to see that it has regrown with three healthy new shoots. Can I expect any flowers this year or do they take a while to develop a large enough rootstock?

Pot it up quickly, minimum 5L and I'd go to 15L.

Keep it in growth and you 'might' get flowers this year; certainly next year if it is grown luxuriantly this year, in (did I mention it?), A BIGGER POT; it wants to produce 3M stems, and the pot has to be big enough to support that.

Bonzai it, and it will take longer.


Chad

Yess boss! Will do!