Amorphophallus Corms

 Amorphophallus

Most years we have Amorphophallus bulbifer tubers in stock, usually during the period January to July (after that we have either sold out for the year or planted them ourselves to save any extras going to waste).

Every now and then we get other species such as konjac and nepalense in stock or as offshoots of our own plants - rare events so the availabilty is patchy.

To plant these corms and tubers, you will need a relatively wide pot, at least 4 times wider than the corm.  If potting several corms, allow sufficient space for the corm to double in size, in this way they can stay in the same pot for a couple of seasons.

To plant them, there is a 'right' way up and a 'wrong' way.  The right way is with the domed side uppermost.  If there is no obvious domed side, not to worry as planting the wrong way, the corm will still send a shoot up and its roots down and sideways.   Plant each corm to at least its own depth in compost.  Free draining compost is ideal, either soil or peat based.  If using peat based, add some perlite or vermiculite so that it is easily re-wet after the winter rest.

Warm, bright but out of direct sunlight until the leaves are full developed - so under the shade of shrubs or on the greenhouse floor.

The plant will tell you when it needs water (it will have a shoot above ground) and when to stop watering for the year (the shoot withers and yellows).  Feed well to plump up the corm and you will have a flowering sized specimen in a few years.  Flowering sized corms often 'shatter' after the flowering, producing many smaller bulbs that will grow to flowering size again in a few years.  A. bulbifer will produce a mass of corms in between the leaf axils of the large palm like leaves which can be used to grow new plants.