So since I am sending out a bunch of tubers a few of you have requested that I maybe make it known what I do so that people can have some info rather than have to hit the ground running. I guess you all like to hear me ramble on
Most of what I am sending out is good beginner material because gigantea and menziesii are very forgiving species and can take a little abuse and slip ups. I grow all my tuberous the same way so this applies to any of the tubers that I am sending out. However, as always, I will not swear that this will work for you. This is only what works for me and I will only guarantee it as working for me. Your conditions/situation may differ.
I use a media composed of 2/2/1/1 sand/APS/LFS/pine bark mulch (brand name Nature's Helper Soil COnditoiner from Home Depot) I realize few people have pine bark mulch on hand an even fewer will want to buy a whole bag for a couple pots worth of media so go ahead and substitute peat moss if you want as it works fine too.
I tend to use pots a minimum of 10cm (4") deep. There are pots out there called "tall" style or "tap-root" that fit this description tending to be 1.5-2x as high as they are deep/wide. There are also pots called "band pots" that fit this description. I like these because they give me the height I require without robbing me of the lateral space I covet. A standard style pot works fine though so do not pull your hair out if you can not find tall pots. And if you are in a real pinch go to a dollar store and buy some cheap 16oz plastic glasses and drill some holes in the bottom.
To pot up the tubers simply put a thin layer of LFS in the bottom of the pot (acts as a wick and not 100% necessary so don't sweat it if you don't have enough LFS) and then fill the pot with media. Give it a gentle tamp and then poke a hole with a pencil/finger/chopstick. Usually you hear that the hole need be 3x the widest dimension on the tuber. I find that this in not always deep enough so I usually just go about a quarter the depth of the pot. A lot of people make a big deal out of keeping the eye of the tuber up and advocate all kinds of ways to get the tuber in to a tiny hole and still accomplish this. Seriously, this does not matter! Just place the tuber carefully in the hole and then gently back fill it. These plants, like everything else on the planet, evolved under gravity and can tell up from down so if you just drop the tuber in and it ends up upside down then don't freak out. When the plant starts growing it'll send the shoot up.
One caveat I will add here. Some of the tubers I am sending out are already sprouting. For these you will need to make sure that the tuber is buried deep enough that the top of the sprout is just at or barely under the surface. Obviously this requires that the tuber be upright and this also can govern the depth of the hole.
Watering is a bit tricky. For fresh tubers just coming into growth I find it is best to hold off watering until you see growth above ground. I will occasionally put the pot in a tray and add just enough water for the pot to absorb it fully and I will do this once a week for 2-3 weeks. If I don't see growth by this time I stop and wait till there is growth, sometimes tubers skip seasons for no good reason.
For established/growing plants I use a shallow tray set up. 2-3cm of water and I let the tray dry before adding more. Easy enough. If the tuber you receive has sprouted the treat it this way.
Once the plant starts to die back you should hold off watering. I usually let the tray dry like normal then do the once a week minimal watering thing for a max of two weeks then I pull the pot and put it in a protected area out of the sun. This is important as the media has to dry slooooow or the tuber does not form correctly. After about a month I take the pot and stick it in a large ziplock. This keeps the local humidity higher than ambient so there is not desiccation of the tuber. Never ever put dormant pots in the sun or near heat sources. You do not want to bake the tuber you just want it to have minimal excess moisture. Some dark corner somewhere is good.
With the onset of fall I start checking the pots weekly. When I see growth I put the pot immediately back on the tray system.
Temps for these guys can be sort of flexible. Night temps seem to be the main trigger for these guys, they become very active once nights start to hit 5C (40F). Day temps are okay up to 30C (85F) but better if they are in the 23-25C range (75-77F). The main thing is a steep drop at night. If you can get it down at least 5 degrees that is okay but 10+ is better. Try to avoid freezing them but they can handle frosts if they are not hard.
So there it is in a nut shell.
Hope it helps.
Most of what I am sending out is good beginner material because gigantea and menziesii are very forgiving species and can take a little abuse and slip ups. I grow all my tuberous the same way so this applies to any of the tubers that I am sending out. However, as always, I will not swear that this will work for you. This is only what works for me and I will only guarantee it as working for me. Your conditions/situation may differ.
I use a media composed of 2/2/1/1 sand/APS/LFS/pine bark mulch (brand name Nature's Helper Soil COnditoiner from Home Depot) I realize few people have pine bark mulch on hand an even fewer will want to buy a whole bag for a couple pots worth of media so go ahead and substitute peat moss if you want as it works fine too.
I tend to use pots a minimum of 10cm (4") deep. There are pots out there called "tall" style or "tap-root" that fit this description tending to be 1.5-2x as high as they are deep/wide. There are also pots called "band pots" that fit this description. I like these because they give me the height I require without robbing me of the lateral space I covet. A standard style pot works fine though so do not pull your hair out if you can not find tall pots. And if you are in a real pinch go to a dollar store and buy some cheap 16oz plastic glasses and drill some holes in the bottom.
To pot up the tubers simply put a thin layer of LFS in the bottom of the pot (acts as a wick and not 100% necessary so don't sweat it if you don't have enough LFS) and then fill the pot with media. Give it a gentle tamp and then poke a hole with a pencil/finger/chopstick. Usually you hear that the hole need be 3x the widest dimension on the tuber. I find that this in not always deep enough so I usually just go about a quarter the depth of the pot. A lot of people make a big deal out of keeping the eye of the tuber up and advocate all kinds of ways to get the tuber in to a tiny hole and still accomplish this. Seriously, this does not matter! Just place the tuber carefully in the hole and then gently back fill it. These plants, like everything else on the planet, evolved under gravity and can tell up from down so if you just drop the tuber in and it ends up upside down then don't freak out. When the plant starts growing it'll send the shoot up.
One caveat I will add here. Some of the tubers I am sending out are already sprouting. For these you will need to make sure that the tuber is buried deep enough that the top of the sprout is just at or barely under the surface. Obviously this requires that the tuber be upright and this also can govern the depth of the hole.
Watering is a bit tricky. For fresh tubers just coming into growth I find it is best to hold off watering until you see growth above ground. I will occasionally put the pot in a tray and add just enough water for the pot to absorb it fully and I will do this once a week for 2-3 weeks. If I don't see growth by this time I stop and wait till there is growth, sometimes tubers skip seasons for no good reason.
For established/growing plants I use a shallow tray set up. 2-3cm of water and I let the tray dry before adding more. Easy enough. If the tuber you receive has sprouted the treat it this way.
Once the plant starts to die back you should hold off watering. I usually let the tray dry like normal then do the once a week minimal watering thing for a max of two weeks then I pull the pot and put it in a protected area out of the sun. This is important as the media has to dry slooooow or the tuber does not form correctly. After about a month I take the pot and stick it in a large ziplock. This keeps the local humidity higher than ambient so there is not desiccation of the tuber. Never ever put dormant pots in the sun or near heat sources. You do not want to bake the tuber you just want it to have minimal excess moisture. Some dark corner somewhere is good.
With the onset of fall I start checking the pots weekly. When I see growth I put the pot immediately back on the tray system.
Temps for these guys can be sort of flexible. Night temps seem to be the main trigger for these guys, they become very active once nights start to hit 5C (40F). Day temps are okay up to 30C (85F) but better if they are in the 23-25C range (75-77F). The main thing is a steep drop at night. If you can get it down at least 5 degrees that is okay but 10+ is better. Try to avoid freezing them but they can handle frosts if they are not hard.
So there it is in a nut shell.
Hope it helps.
Last edited:
