Cultivation of a Dioscorea Elephantipes.

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mikethecactusguy
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Cultivation of a Dioscorea Elephantipes.

Post by mikethecactusguy »

For some reason my original posting was hijacked and it went out on a completely different subject so I thought I would try again.
I decided to give myself a birthday present. A Dioscorea Elephantipes also known as an Elephants Foot Cactus.
There are a fascinating plant. From all I have read, they have a mind of their own. There is a 50/50 consensus as to how much heat and light these plants should get. Have say no direct sunlight, just bright light. The other half say it grows in heat and sun and will thrive well that way.
Its been very hot here in Los Angeles. Hot enough that a few of my smaller cactus have yellowed from heat stress and I had to move them to a shaded part of the plant shelving.
I know its a repeat but here is the plant when it arrived on August 14th 2019
I pulled it from the plastic pot to check its overall condition and the condition of the roots
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What everyone did agree on is that this plant likes a shallow pot. So I planted it in this 6" x 6" x 2" terra pot. The soil that the plant came in was clean and I just augmented the soil with some additional new cactus mix.
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The next thing was deciding where to place this. Being cautious I brought it inside and placed in my plant window that did receive some direct sun first thing in the morning. However by the next morning I decided to bring it outside into the warm summer weather. When I looked at the plant in the morning, it just did not look happy. The pot was cool to the touch and It was vibing get me outside. So outside it went.
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Re: Cultivation of a Dioscorea Elephantipes.

Post by mikethecactusguy »

So the plant is obviously happy in this location. This how much it has grown on August 19th, so 5 days later
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So the next point of contention is watering. How much and how frequently. Also, this plants root system grows mainly around the outer edge of the Caudex. Most sites point out that this grows in a Tropical area of Africa. So hot and a bit humid. Most sites suggest only watering around the outside of the plant and definitely no water on the Caudex. Most site recommend letting the soil dry out completely before watering again. And all sites agree that when its is growing. it is a water hog.
Based on most of this, I chose to water when the soil has dried out, but right away. I bought a power mister that I use on my Air Plants and houseplants and it can be set to send a fine stream of water. I find it great to water my smaller cactus and it has allowed me to direct the flow of water around the caudex without over watering under the plant
This is August 22 so 3 days later. The growth is amazing. I have to assume the plant likes its location as well as the watering schedule.
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Last edited by mikethecactusguy on Sat Aug 24, 2019 1:56 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: Cultivation of a Dioscorea Elephantipes.

Post by mikethecactusguy »

The climate at my house is interesting. Daytime highs for the past week have been in the upper 80's to mid 90's. Night time temps get to around 60 degree's. so a 20 to 30 degree swing. And this plant loves it. Here it is today, so 24 hrs later from above
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When I bought this on e-bay the seller posted honestly that it was just coming out of hibernation. He was located in San Diego, so 2 hours away from Los Angeles. Temps are a bit cooler.
I can not tell yet if this is going to grow 5 very long stems like you see in pictures or if it's going to give me a stubby growth with a lot of leaves. There are 5 locations on the main stem that have branched and now have green growth sprouting from it. This is happening so quickly that I'll probably know with in the week, which direction this is going.
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Re: Cultivation of a Dioscorea Elephantipes.

Post by mikethecactusguy »

For those who missed the first post, I have a big problem with rats,mice and squirrels stealing plants. I lost a Lophophora williamsii with-in 12 hours of bringing it home and two lithops were chewed on. This baby is too expensive to be nibbled on so I built a protective cage.
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Re: Cultivation of a Dioscorea Elephantipes.

Post by Lophofbread »

I'm digging this post. I got one a few months ago, shipping took so long that it was in rough shape when I got it. The roots were pruned off and it was basically bare caudex only, I've been trying to bring it back.. caudex is still a bit spongey but I just got some green growth to start popping out finally.
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Re: Cultivation of a Dioscorea Elephantipes.

Post by mikethecactusguy »

Do you have a picture.?
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Re: Cultivation of a Dioscorea Elephantipes.

Post by mikethecactusguy »

A lot of progress. I spent close to 2 hours this morning really digging deep on the internet with Google. Bty, Bing is useless.
Before I go into my research. more growth pictures . So this is the progress in 2 days.
First shows location. The caudex is receiving some mid morning sun..
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It appears that I'm going to get a stubbier growth from these sets of vines with a lot of leaves. The plant is definitely growing towards the sun.
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I also watered it this morning. Around the caudex only. the water had a diluted bit of fertilizer in it. Maybe 25% at the most. There has been at least 3 inch's of growth in the past 4 days.
Last edited by mikethecactusguy on Sun Aug 25, 2019 7:53 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Cultivation of a Dioscorea Elephantipes.

Post by mikethecactusguy »

So here is what I have learned so far.
A lot of the recommendations for this plants care is regional. It also appears that it has not been documented a lot here in the USA and very little in my region. Most sites say it will go dormant in the winter. Well the winter in many areas is actually summer. And this is where the confusion in care starts. I found a few sites that talked about the plants going dormant sporadically. One person had 3 plants and each went dormant at different times of the year. Other say their plants go dormant 3 or 4 times a year. One site talked about cutting the vines as soon as the plant goes dormant and with in a few weeks a new vine will start to grow.
90% recommend Shade-bright light. The vine will grow to the sun for photosynthesis and it is the only part of the plant that should get full sun. 25% recommend letting the soil dry out completely the other 75% recommend letting the soil almost dry out. 100% agree, water the perimeter only.
Only 10% recommend fertilizing with every watering, the rest say only once or twice during the growing period.
What I have learned is that the caudrex should not be buried at all. Soil just up to edge. The plant likes a very loose and coarse soil. The mix It's in now is 50% soil-organic and 50% pumice,perlite etc.
So I have decided to experiment and really learn about this plant. I just bought another one and its being shipped Monday. This new one is very young.
And I will continue to update how this current plant does and how the newer one does.
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Re: Cultivation of a Dioscorea Elephantipes.

Post by mikethecactusguy »

The only thing that I still need to figure out is how to replicate natures treatment of this plant. If you look at most of the older plants in pictures, they are getting full sun. There are fields of newly found plants that have been untouched for ever . The vines and leave are what are giving shade to the caudrex. Watering in nature is obviously from the top when it rains, so the caudrex does get wet. I want to see if the newer plant is happiest in shade while the older more established plant like a bit more sun.
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Re: Cultivation of a Dioscorea Elephantipes.

Post by A_G_R »

Great post, keep it coming Mike
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Re: Cultivation of a Dioscorea Elephantipes.

Post by Hallow »

I have read, that the bulb likes to be shaded and cooler, like growing under a tree. The vine part can take sun. In there natural habitat they go dormant in summer to avoid intense sun of the desert. To let one go dormant is the healthiest way care for this plant. Maybe if the tops are in more shade they'll stay growing longer, and the growth be more unpredictable. I grew mine from seed and the bulb part is mostly underground at this point. Maybe it's a natural way to keep the bulb cool and out of heat and the drying sun. The ones I have don't seem picky on soil.
I actually just had a brain storm about these guys. I accidentally did a controlled experiment with these plants. I got a pack of seeds and grew some and treated them like a succulent, course we'll draining mix, put them in sun. Potted them in small pots with most of the cortex showing. There doing good and growing. Then I got another pack of seeds and got sloppy with growing them... like a succulent. I put the seeds in one large pot with your typical house plant potting mix and left them. The ones in the house plant potting mix "I let dry out well before watering" with the cortex mostly underground because I didn't mess with them. Are almost double the size as the ones that are almost a year older. My theory there tough plants but there not succulents. While there growing they do very well treated like a dry house plant. There cortex or bulbs swell with the energy they need to explode with growth. Because in there natural habitat they don't have the time to grow slowly and store more energy before it gets dry and hot again.
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Re: Cultivation of a Dioscorea Elephantipes.

Post by mikethecactusguy »

We tend to forget that nature always finds a way. Plants adapt to the conditions they have to grow in.
Do you have pictures Hallow?
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Re: Cultivation of a Dioscorea Elephantipes.

Post by bbarv »

Following with great interest.
Did you contact the seller about condition he grow this plant in?
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Re: Cultivation of a Dioscorea Elephantipes.

Post by mikethecactusguy »

Hi bbarv
I did talk with the seller/grower. Shade no sun on the caudex, dry soil between waterings. The growth history of the plant is visible. The remnants of 2 previous stalks are visible.
The growth is unbelievable. This plant is really enjoying having some morning sun and the 85 to 95 degree heat. The 2 shorter stems have grown up to the cage today and the 3rd, longer stem has grown all the way across to the cage side. That is 2" of growth in 18 hrs. I nudged it a bit to grow up through one of the 1/4" spaces in the cage top. I'm leaving the cage on. I'm going to let the stems grow through the cage. I need to make sure none of our rodents gets to the caudex.
If it becomes necessary to get to the caudex I will have to cut the cage off.
I'm going to let the soil dry out completely. I'm then going to give it a deep watering. The caudex feels loose in the soil. I want to let the roots reach out a bit.
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Re: Cultivation of a Dioscorea Elephantipes.

Post by mikethecactusguy »

Todays update
I have had this plant for 2 weeks now. The last pictures I took and posted were Sunday.
This is today, Tuesday. I'm giving up the idea that the growth will be short. These stems are reaching for the sun.
I watered it deeper today and will now let it dry out for 5 days. It is Still getting a small amount of morning sun. But as the day heats up it is about a foot away from direct sun. It explains the rapid growth towards the sun light
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