Please read all instructions before you begin! There is a lot of info out there...not just on my site.

The following is a list of items you will need to purchase before you receive your tuber.

potting soil, perlite, storage bin for soil, garden gloves, latex gloves (for handling tubers), sharp knife, paper bags, plastic sheeting, plant labels, fertilizer, compost mix, a regular house fan.

Tubers come in many shapes and sizes. Tubers of the same species may have similar features; however, no two tubers are exactly the same.

I have four A. yunnanensis tubers and they don't look the same at all. One is almost black, and the others are a light tan color. The same goes for the petiole of the plants. One petiole can be light green with a mottled appearance, and the other can be textured with no apparent markings at all. The images below show the great variation in texture and color of an A. gigas that Troy Davis has in his collection.

EBay sometimes has listings for Amorphophallus that are simply described as "Amorphophallus sp. 1, sp. 2, sp. 3," etc. What this means is that the seller has been unable to positively identify the tubers for one reason or another. If the species is unknown, until a tuber flowers, no positive identification can be made. I have a few of these in my collection. It will be a surprise when they finally flower. Many people send the image of the inflorescence to Dr. Hetterscheid, or other knowledgable persons for the purpose of identifying them.

There is one species of Amorphophallus called A. mahajanga. Even though it has been named "mahajanga", it is still an undescribed species; which means it hasn't been given its proper name. I have emailed Dr. Hettersheid and asked for some help on this topic.

Here is what Dr. Hetterscheid emailed back.

You've Received Your New Tuber...Now What?

When you get home, pour a couple of the bags of soil in the container add perlite until the soil is light and fluffy. Throw in some handfuls of compost and mix this all up real good. Make sure you see lots of perlite in every handful. You can use your own soil mix or one of the others listed on the site also. This one just works for me.

I know you’re thinking: You only have one Amorphophallus, why do you need so much dirt and the big container? I am planning ahead for you! You may have one Amorph now, but in 4 months time, you will have 30 different species like I do; which is nothing compared to some of my Amorph buddies. If your addiction gets too out-of-hand, counselors are standing by. Go ahead and laugh. I spend all of my money on this species.

I also have a collection of 55 different species of Passiflora (passion flowers). I feel sorry for them because I don't have much interest in them anymore. They just sit out in the little greenhouse and get watered once a week.

Check the Amorphophallus Dormancy and Distribution chart on this site, or Aroideana #19, to see which group your plant belongs in. Check for any growth on the top of the tuber (the belly button). Store your tuber as suggested on the chart. If tuber is to be stored dry, put on a shelf in your closet; but don't forget about it. Always label your tubers and don't mix them up. It's a problem to figure out which species they are because you have to wait for them to bloom. I put them in a paper bag with no dirt-if they are dry storage tubers. Just write the name of the tuber on the bag and check it a couple of times a month. Never put an Amorphophallus tuber in a plastic bag!  Even if you ask the experts which species your tuber is, if it doesn't have an inflorescense, they probably can't tell you. Labeling is important!

Put on some latex gloves before handling your tubers just to be safe. Amorphophallus plants and tubers contain Oxalic Acid and may be harmful to your skin. Check your tuber for desiccation (dry and shriveled) and for rotting and softness; sometimes they feel slimy or mushy. Keep rotted tubers separate from all other tubers, as this may spread. If there is a slimy or mushy texture to your new tuber, please see Inspecting Rotted Tubers on this site.

If the chart suggests that your species be stored in soil, put them in a pot that's 2-3 times bigger than the tuber when growth begins. There are many soil combinations you may use. Finding what works for your climate and temperature is the best way to go. I just use a rich soil mixture with some added perlite until it feels fluffy. Some people keep their tubers moist while they are stored in soil. Please post a message on Aroid-l on the IAS site if you need more answers. I am sorry I can't be more helpful. In some cases, I have only been collecting Amorphs for a little while, and I am learning right along with you. Plus, you need to figure out what works for you.

The tuber on the left is showing no growth. The tuber on the right is showing the beginning of a growth "nub". Some people like to plant their tubers at the first sign of growth. I like to plant mine after I am done looking at them. It's fun to set a tuber on your dresser and watch it grow. It will grow without soil but I think tubers generally grow faster when they are potted. I have a habit of checking on my tubers when they are dormant, in the soil or out. I catch myself digging them up to check for rot or desiccation. If they seem desiccated, I put them in soil. If they seem to be getting soft and mushy, I take them out and treat them with the sulfur powder as described in Inspecting Rotted Tubers. Sometimes, no matter what you do, you can't save them. I am fanatical about checking them; which may not make them happy at all, but I have to do it for my peace of mind. It's a sickness you too will catch. This species is addictive!

Caution! Check out Growth of An Amorphophallus on this site to see how quickly they grow. I can't believe how quickly, and you won't either.

Happy Learning!

Growing Tips from Snow and Friends

Plant your tuber deep. Since the roots come out of the top of the tuber, you have to make sure you place it deep enough in the soil to support it when it grows. If the roots grew from the bottom, as they do with most plants, there would be a built in anchor. Below, see the image of the roots growing out along the top of the tuber. As the plant reaches full size, the roots start to grow down and closer to the tuber, hugging the dirt. These plants grow so tall, so quickly, they will fall over without the needed support from placing them deep in the soil. The weight of the leaves and the inflorescence will make the plant top heavy.

Repot your tubers every dormancy period. Clean the pot with warm soap and water and fill it with fresh soil. After watering your plants for long periods of time, the nutrients are flushed from the soil.

Species such as A. longituberosus and others have elongate tubers. Most tubers have a more rounded appearance. An elongate tuber is shaped like a carrot. When you plant these tubers, don't forget to allow for the length, as well as the width when choosing a pot. A pot that is twice the diameter of the tuber should be sufficient. Planting these in a pot that is too small could smash the tuber into the bottom of the pot; where most of the water collects. Too much water means it will rot.

If you were to dig up a tall, healthy plant at the height of its growing season, you would most likely not find the tuber you planted. As a matter of fact, you probably wouldn't find a tuber at all. All the fertilizer and water you fed it went into the tuber, where it was stored. While the plant grows, all of its energy comes from the tuber. Most or all the tuber is depleted, and the plant no longer has an anchor to hold it in the dirt. This tall, beautiful plant is sitting in an empty hole waiting for a new, larger tuber to grow. Tubers can grow as much as three times their weight in one growing season. If you dig up this plant at the end of the season, you will be surprised to see how much bigger the tuber is! Don't forget to check the soil for offsets. Look through your Aroideana #19 to see if your species offsets readily. You really have to check the soil thoroughly for any babies or offsets. Make sure the pot is big enough in the beginning, to handle the larger size of the new tuber.

If you live in a dry, arid place, and you don't have a greenhouse, you can still grow these guys. Get yourself a cheap cool air humidifier and a humidity gauge/temperature gauge to check air moisture and temperature. I live in San Diego, and the air is too dry for me to use clay pots; the soil dries out way too fast. I have the florescent light and the humidifier on timers. The light is on about 16 hours a day, and the humidifier comes on every 2 hours for half an hour depending on how low the humidity is that day.

We don't use the heater in our house, even in the winter. It can get as low as 25 degrees Farenheit in San Diego, believe it or not. Inside the house this winter, it got as low as 45 Farenheit. (See the metric conversion chart if you are more familiar with celsius temperatures.)

I have all the Amorphs in my office -in the winter time....(so I can stare at them all the time) with heat mats under them. The temperature never gets below 60 degrees Farenheit in the room.

Fertilize your smaller plants less often with half the recommended dose to prevent burning the leaves. Never put any of your plants in full sun without doing it gradually. Even if the plant can handle full sun, increase the light intensity slowly. Don't over water. The number one killer of the Amorphophallus species is over dosing on water. Get yourself a moisture meter and use it! Don't water until the gauge shows that your soil is on the dry side.

Hold back on the water when you notice the plant going into dormancy. It will look like it's dying and give you a heart attack. The leaves start turning yellow and falling over. Never pull this leaf out with a lot of force. Wait for it to fall over and give it a gentle tug. Sometimes, there is a new leaf right behind the old one, getting ready to poke through the soil. I know it's not right, but I have to dig around in the soil carefully to see if the tuber is OK and to see what’s going on under there. This is not advice, and it's not recommended; this is what I need to do to lower the suspense level in my house. I don't like suspense; I need to know right away what the Amorph is planning to do next. If the weather is getting warmer and the leaf has just fallen, I leave the tuber in the soil and cut way back on the watering; almost none at all. Just make sure the soil is a little damp on top once in a while. Keep checking for new growth because they love the warm weather. I wait about a week and if it's a dry storage species, I take it out of the soil and shake it gently to remove large clumps of soil and put it back on the shelf. I guess you could just leave it in the soil and completely withhold any water until you see the growth coming through the dirt. They still don't need a lot of water until they start growing more. You don't want to rot the tuber by waterlogging it.

Make sure your tubers are planted deep enough and in a big enough pot for the roots to anchor the plant. Some of these species can get 15 feet tall, and without the roots being able to support the height, they will fall over. I have lost a couple of plants because they weren't buried deep enough in the soil and the wind blew; which broke the petiole in half.

This site is not meant to take the place of the valuable information on the IAS Web site. Use it as a stepping stone to understanding what you need to know to grow these guys. After viewing this site, you will better understand all there is to learn on the IAS site.

On the next page, find out what to do when inspecting rotted tubers.