How to Plant Dioscorea Seeds: A Step-by-Step Guide
A small dioscorea elephantipes plant.
Dioscorea elephantipes, also known as the elephant’s foot plant, is a unique vining plant with a base that looks like a spiky turtle shell. The plant can withstand insane temperatures: It can grow in more than 105 degrees Fahrenheit, and survive down to 25 Fahrenheit.
general care for dioscorea elephantipes
If you want to add a d. elephantipes to your plant collection, know that they’re fairly easy to care for as long as they have a well-draining soil. In my own mixture, I include coconut chips, perlite, pumice, and turface, with a tiny bit of peat and sand. The plants get part shade, and are grown in a greenhouse that has temperatures up to 85 to 90 Fahrenheit in the summer.
For seedlings, I water my them as they’re growing perhaps once every week or two, but I look for signs they’re getting too much water (yellowing leaves). In my experience. seedlings can sometimes go dormant and come back quickly — they may not have a full year dormancy and growth cycle like bigger plants.
starting dioscorea elephantipes from seed, step-by-step
If you’d like your own dioscorea elephantipes plants (and if you want to make seed from them, you’ll need both a male and female plant) follow this below guide. There’s no one way to start them from seed, but I’ve had good success with this method. Seeds can be bought from a number of sources online, I like Mesa Garden, personally.
step 1: prepare the seeds and planting mix
Grab a small pot and fill it with equal parts perlite, pumice, coco coir, and turface. (These links are affiliate links for each product and I may receive a small commision if you use them, though you may find these products at nearby garden centers as well.) Moisten the mixture, but don’t leave it dripping wet. If you’re not sure, soak the pot, then let it drain overnight. No drips should be coming out of the bottom.
Fill a small cup with water and put the dioscorea seeds on top. I’d let them soak about 12 hours in there, but they may not even need that much time.
step 2: sow the seeds
Place the soaked seeds into the planting mix, about half an inch into the soil. You may choose to break off the winged “tail” from the seed bottom, but I’ve not found that necessary for germination. Make sure the embryo of the seed is fully in the soil, though.
Once you’ve planted them, put a clear covering around the entire pot. The covering can be a bag or a plastic tote, it just needs to be able to hold moisture for the seedlings to germinate.
step 3: Provide the Right Growing Conditions
Now that you’ve planted the seeds in the pot and you’ve covered it, place this in a sunny window. This can be done at any time of the year. Germination should occur within 4 weeks, though you may see small vines coming up much sooner. Let the plants have several months to establish within the pots before trying to separate and transplant them into their own pots.
step 4: be patient
Most caudiciform plants — and dioscorea elephantipes are no exception — need many years to develop their beautiful woody bases. Dioscorea plants you see in the wild that are several feet in diameter have had many, many years to grow to that size. How well you take care of your plant (light, water, potting medium) will determine how quickly it grows. Happy sowing!
