Cultivation of a Dioscorea Elephantipes.

[mikethecactusguy]

And here is the dioscorea mexican that arrived today

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I had to water it right away. It arrived in the plastic pot but bone dry. The leaves were a bit limp
The caudex looks different then the dioscorea elephantipes caudex.
We will see how this one does after I repot it.

[Hallow]

How much do you pay for these plants? When mine go dormant again I plan on selling all but 2 of them. Just would like to know a reasonable price to ask. I am going to look more into the "Mexican" type

[mikethecactusguy]

The going rate varies by seller. I thought I paid the right amount for the first small plant at $25.00. I bought it on e-bay. A week later, when I stopped by Desert Creations in Northridge. They had a dozen for sale at $25.00. Theirs were a little bit larger in size. So I felt I did ok.
The dioscorea mexican was $25.00 on Etsy.
As they get older and larger the prices vary widely. The Softball size like I bought, range from $100 to $250. I snatched mine up at $80.00. Again on e-bay.

[mikethecactusguy]

From what I can tell both species are similar in looks and growing habitats. They however appear to have different chemical content.
The dioscorea mexican is used in the production of Progesterone or similar hormones. The Wikipedia pages for both go deeper into the use of the caudex's.
I still feel in cultivation not nature, these plants adapt to the growing conditions they are in. The larger ones I saw at Desert Creations had vines everywhere and this is summer heat and sun. So the theory that they go dormant in summer does not hold. Just as mine has taken to the heat and sun.
Were are in for a Full week of 85 degree weather here in Los Angeles so the plants should enjoy the heat. Sun is getting harder to find. The Sun has moved down the horizon and I have hills behind me that are starting to hide it. I'm hoping for another week of Sun, before it is gone until March.

[mikethecactusguy]

I also think that if exposed to sun early, the vines grow shorter but thicker. Again my view is that they grow to protect the caudex.

[Hallow]

Because they grow so fast I like to put a timeline on them. This is one of my favorites because of the deep cuts in it. A lot deeper than the other ones.

[mikethecactusguy]

That one appears to be fissuring really nicely. Are your other smoother? Are they all grown from the same batch of seeds?

[Hallow]

There from 2 different batches. The one in the picture has the best fissures. I have another one from that batch that has 1 or 2 deep fissure's. But the 2 have the smallest cortex's at this point. All my other ones are smooth. I like the one in the picture because the fissure's are very evenly spaced. Looks like a peace sign.

[mikethecactusguy]

Last Posting was 2 weeks ago.

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Growth on the lower part of the vines has stopped. Probably because sun strength has diminished considerably. The vines continue to grow in length though with new leaves appearing.
I have moved the 2 smaller dioscorea inside. I have dedicated my kitchen window as a colder weather protection zone for my 4 melocactus as well as the 2 dioscorea. 12 hours of light and temps above 64 degrees. The 2 melocatus that have cephalium appeared to be unhappy being outside. It has been getting down to the high50's at night and little direct sun during the day. I'll post separately about the Melocactus.

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[mikethecactusguy]

disaster.. Came home an hour ago and found the vine tywisted off. It's been real windy for the past 7 hours here in Los Angeles and the vine must have twisted around in the wind.
It will be interesting to see if it grows another right away or goes dormant. I'm going to move it indoors into the window and the lights to see what happens.

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[Hallow]

Aaaaagggghhh! That's a bummer!! Hopefully it grows back. I had to cut one of mine back because it was growing through a window screen. After the cut back it branched out from the remaining stem. Maybe yours will send out a number of smaller new shoots. Mine really slowed down in new growth almost to a stand still. There probably storing energy now for there next dormancy. I am still learning these little guys.

[mikethecactusguy]

so how do you know if these plants are still alive?

[Hallow]

I am sure it's still alive it wouldn't give up that easily. Give it some time. I noticed your citrus tree. Do you leave yours outside all year? I've been trying to grow one. It does fabulous outdoors but when I bring it in for the winter it loses all it's leaves and struggles to grow until I put it outside again. I had mine for 4 years now.

[mikethecactusguy]

I think it putting it energy into the caudex right now. I'll take pictures in the morning . It's changing shape. The caudex has started to grow a bit on top.
Its growing. The grow lights are helping

[Hallow]

Didn't know you were on, I edited my original post. Hahaha. Good to hear it's doing something