Growing dioscorea elephantipes from seed

[Billh]

Hello I am a fairly new grower ( only been growing for a year or so) and I was wondering about how to grow Dioscorea elephantipes from seed, I have one seedling that is around a year old but I am trying a new batch soon. I have a heated propagator (thermostatically controlled) and will anything else be necessary. please can you tell me your tips on growing these seeds and the best methods to do so.

[peter831shaw]

I have only done these twice, so I am no expert.

I used the bag method once and not the other time. My germ mix was pretty much the same as my growing mix, nothing special.

put the seeds in shallow holes, and covered with the mix.

They both took quite a while to germinate 2-3 months, and I cant tell you how many seedlings are there, some have multiple leaves and I am going to let them stay covered for awhile.

Peter

[Terry S.]

Don't forget that adults of this species are winter-growing and usually come into growth any time between July and September. They are then watered through the winter and the leaves die as soon as it gets warm in spring. From this, it can be inferred that the species requires relatively cool conditions to germinate the seeds and that if you try to do it now, the resultant youngsters should be kept cool and shaded as we go into summer to keep the growth alive for as long as possible.

Having said that, I have never myself raised it from seed, but I do raise lots of other winter growing succulents from South Africa. I either sow these in the autumn without any additional heat or in mid-winter with a little bottom heat.

[Billh]

OK thank you I shall wait a little while until it cools down again And then make my attempt. Thank you

[KarlR]

Don't forget that adults of this species are winter-growing and usually come into growth any time between July and September. They are then watered through the winter and the leaves die as soon as it gets warm in spring. From this, it can be inferred that the species requires relatively cool conditions to germinate the seeds and that if you try to do it now, the resultant youngsters should be kept cool and shaded as we go into summer to keep the growth alive for as long as possible.

Having said that, I have never myself raised it from seed, but I do raise lots of other winter growing succulents from South Africa. I either sow these in the autumn without any additional heat or in mid-winter with a little bottom heat.

I've raised it once from seed under artificial lighting. Absolutely not cool conditions. Probably 30-35 degrees C during daytime and around 18 or so during night time. Had 100% germination or thereabouts. Sown in late July.

And for me they grow whenever it suits them. I've some that grow all through the summer, some that started in November/December, and some which just started growing now. One or two had a rest from September to December and then started growing again. I can't really make sense of them.

They were outside on the balcony all summer (with some small shade), but have been indoors in the living room since mid-September. They've only been given a small splash of water about once a month or so since being brought in. But when they decide to grow I feel like I have to oblige. Light conditions aren't ideal in the living room so I'm really not trying to push them.

[ralphrmartin]

Give the seedlings plenty of root room, and keep potting them on into bigger pots frequently - and give them plenty of water (when in leaf). They will develop a big caudex much more quickly that way.

[Terry S.]

I suspect that KarlR's dioscoreas are rather confused, which is why they come into growth at almost anytime. During the summer they have long day length combined with possibly cool nights and during winter they have whatever light is available in the room combined I suspect with warm nights.

The habitats of D. elephantipes in South Africa are within the Mediterranean climate zone, e.g. I have seen them wild near Clanwilliam (a couple of hours north of Cape Town). Kept in a UK greenhouse all the time, this species is certainly a winter-growing plant. At one time I had four plants from different sources that came into growth over a period of two months in late summer, but they were always highly predictable and came into growth in the same sequence.

[Phil_SK]

I bought a seedling, in leaf, in May 2015. It kept these same leaves and grew no more until the spring of 2018, at which point it went dormant. Stems began to regrow from the caudex in the autumn and I'm anticipating that growth will now follow the seasons. Maybe very young plants just don't behave as adults do. My plant was in the greenhouse down to +1C-ish over winter with no/almost no winter water; no change in position triggered the change in growing pattern.

[Tina]

When I have grown these from seed, the germination has been erratic so don't throw the pot away IF you get no or low germination, even my own home produced seed had germination over several months and one seedling a year later.
Another batch of discorea elephantipes X sylvatica did not germinate for over a year I think it was nearer 18 months, I was lucky I had used the tray for rooting some other succulents and then later some odd leaves popped up.

[Aiko]

When I have grown these from seed, the germination has been erratic so don't throw the pot away IF you get no or low germination, even my own home produced seed had germination over several months and one seedling a year later.

Even some years later they might still germinate, I know from experience.