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Amorphophallus konjac |
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| Common name |
elephant yam; umbrella arum |
| Family |
araceae |
| Life cycle |
perennial (Z6-10) |
| Size |
to 5' |
| Light |
part-full shade |
I received a tuber for this plant in a generous trade last fall. Stored in mulch through late winter, then potted into potting soil in late spring, it never showed a sign of life - so I just set its pot outside. It wasn't until mid-July that my patience was rewarded: first a spike of growth emerged from the soil, not unlike an asparagus shoot (although a comparison to fellow aroids jack-in-the-pulpits would be more appropriate). At that stage, I gave it a place in a semi-shady area of our side garden, and forgot to look for a week or two. When I finally did, I was surprised to see how it had evolved, into a little palm of attractively two-toned leaflets. It will probably be a few years before we will see its striking purple inflorescence (if indeed it survives in our garden); in the meantime, I'll be happy just to observe its progress and habits.
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This plant used to grow in our garden, but it slipped away... About my plant portraits
PlantLinks to other web pages about Amorphophallus konjac
Visitors to this page have left the following comments| Helpful in Georgia | Jun 14, 2009 | [I received this comment by email, but wanted to share it here. Rob]
I was trying to find out what part of the country you live in and tell you to place him in the sun only little shade unless deep south and full sun will do there but he tends to go dormant in August in south georgia. I also keep mine in a large pot and he makes lots of little ones even before he blooms. In south georgia mine comes up the last of may and now is 3 feet high. He is in full sun. I also take mine in when they go dormant and leave them there till spring before putting them back out. I don't water while dormant but maybe once.
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| Starla | May 23, 2010 | I have had this plant for about 6 years, I never knew what it was called. For the first several years it was a palm looking plant but this year to my surprise It grew up 6 inches a day and the palm leaves didn't appear. It grew 5 feet tall and opened into a purple cone type flower. To my surprise the plant was suppose to do that. I live in Maryland. it dies off every winter and returns in the spring.
I wish I would have witnessed its bloom - alas, mine failed to return last spring. |
| Zane Zirkle | Dec 24, 2010 | I bought 2 baby bulbs on ebay 4 1/2 years ago, both of those bulbs are larger than a grapefruit (4-6 pounds each) I believe one is about to flower. I read the bulbs can grow to 11 inches across. |
| LETICIA MONROY | May 26, 2019 | Adquirà la planta en agosto 2018 media aprox. l.20mt follaje hermoso a finales del mes de octubre se seco y mantuve el bulbo (busqué otros bulbos pero no encontrë) en abril comencé a notar el crecimiento de la planta hasta el dia de hoy lleva aprox. 18 cm. la tengo a la sombra con agua necesaria espero que pronto floresca aunque ignoro si serán nuevas ramas o la flor. Me llama la atención el desarrollo de una plantita con sus hojas aprox. de 10 cm. a un extremo. Espero que las condiciones del clima y habitad sean favorables para el desarrollo de la planta y floración. |
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