Re: [aroid-l] refrigerating tubers

From: "Michael Marcotrigiano" mmarcotr at email.smith.edu> on 2003.12.01 at 22:01:02(10868) I find the flowering stalk to be 'less resistant' to being held dormant by cold on konjac and if it wants to go it goes. I would not risk stopping it by going any colder than 44 or so. I once stored a big konjac in a refrigerator at 38F dry and it received enough cold injury to have the tuber rot. Remember that the flower stalk must preceed the leaf and if you are to get the leaf out in time to renew the tuber stalling the flowering until late spring would not result in good vegetative growth unless you have a greenhouse or live down south. +More _______________________________ Michael Marcotrigiano, Ph.D Director of the Botanic Garden and Professor of Biological Sciences Smith College Lyman Conservatory, 15 College Lane Northampton, MA 01063 email: mmarcotr@smith.edu voice: 413-585-2741; fax: 413-585-2744 www.smith.edu/garden www.science.smith.edu/~mmarcotr ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Art is the unceasing effort to compete with the beauty of flowers and never succeeding." Marc Chagall >>> llmen@wi.rr.com 12/01/03 12:43 PM >>> >Last March, I came home from a trip to find that a konjac had sent >an inflorescence up in my basement, the spike had shot through the >space between the shelf system and was in the process of trying to >open up. >Now the question is: What would be the ideal temperature to keep >the tubers in hiberation but not induce any temprature-related >injury? I assume the Canna would do best around 45 degrees F (7 C). >Would that be OK for kojac? Hi Les, My konjac's do just fine in my basement with temps in the low 50's (F) and a friend of mine keeps his in a root cellar at even lower temps, probably closer to 45F. As long as they are kept away from any dampness, they should be fine. Don't know if this applies to any other species. -- Don Martinson Milwaukee, Wisconsin Mailto:llmen@wi.rr.com

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