Tuesday 14 June 2011

Two baby Elephant's Feet!


This happy post is 100% a result of EllieT's posts about growing Dioscorea elephantipes and her advice in the comments section (don't bury too deep!).

On May 27th I sowed two pots of elephant's foot seeds (3 seeds/pot). The package says they can take up to 6 months to germinate, so while I was encouraged by EllieT's quick success, I didn't get my hopes up. Then, much to my surprise, when I was inspecting the pots a few days ago, there were two thin brown sticks poking up. Fairly certain that I didn't initially plant sticks, I removed the plastic cover and put it back under the grow lights.

And now the sticks have leaves!

*happy little leaf dance*

Nothing has sprouted in the other pot yet. I couldn't decide what orientation to plant the seeds in (they look like little maple keys), so in one pot I seem to recall planting the seeds flat, and in the other I slotted them in the soil before covering. Of course brilliant me didn't record which pot contained what. I'll give the other pot a week or so before going digging.

Note to self: "Self, start some sort of gardening notebook or google document. And actually use it. Otherwise your science-y brain just might have a fit at all this uncertainty".

Since my lithops are outside for most of the summer, there is lots of room under the grow lights and I'm considering planting more of these guys as backups. If I end up with extra I could always give some away. Spread the awesome caudex love around.

5 comments:

  1. Aww, they're super cute! Like little hearts onna stick! :)

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  2. I just had my first dioscorea elephantipes seed sprout! I'm so excited to see it start to look like yours. I just noticed the sprout yesterday, I think, and I see where there might be a little leaf starting to form on the end. Love it!

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  3. Aren't they super adorable? One of my seedlings just got a second sprout and leaf starting to grow - totally wasn't expecting that. I kinda figured new leaves would come from the same stalk. Will post an update with pics when I get back next week.

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  4. These are amazing. Just sprouted mine! I saw you later post about them too. Seems like they grow faster then I would have expected.

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    1. Good luck with your little guys! I was very surprised at how fast they sprouted and how fast they grow. The caudex isn't big and craggy yet on my oldest dioscorea, but apparently that can take a few years.

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