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| POTATO VINE, A STRANGE AND LOVELY PLANT | |
| Published: November 04, 1997 | |
Ornamental vine deserves a better nameQ:At the Spring Plant Swap, I acquired a "potato" to start a potato vine. Are there uses for the tubers other than as starters for new plants? Isnt this a strange and lovely plant!A:Potato vine is truly a lovely vine that deserves a better common name. Its botanical name, Dioscorea bulbifera, doesnt sound much better. This perennial twining vine, with large, ornamental heart-shaped leaves, not only grows from tubers but produces them as well.Theresa Grissom says that the "potatoes" are neither edible nor medicinal; however the foliage may have been used in past times as fertilizer and/ or as feed for cattle. The vine grows quickly, providing a fast cover to shade a porch or arbor. It dies back after a hard freeze and returns again in spring, possibly reseeded by fallen tubers. Charlotte Seidenberg in her book on New Orleans gardening discusses a potato vine that climbed to the top of her Chinese tallow tree. Plummeting "potatoes" were a hazard to those passing by. Potato vine grows well in sun or shade in well-drained soil. It is reported to be somewhat invasive. Transplanting banana plantsQ:My banana plants are about 10-12 feet tall. I would like to give some of the smaller plants to my niece. Can I cut the trunks back to 4-5 feet now and dig them?A:Assuming that your banana trees are the common perennial variety, the only problem you should encounter is the physical labor of digging the roots. Because the trunks are water-logged and heavy and will not serve any purpose next spring, I would cut them off at the base now. Dig each root, either now or after the plants freeze back. Even a part of a root will produce leaves next spring, so dont worry too much about damaging the root.When will shell ginger bloom?Q.Do you remember when we both got cuttings of shell ginger from a reader who brought them from New Orleans to The Daily Advertiser building? Mine hasnt bloomed. Has yours?A:Mine hasnt bloomed either, but I think its too soon. L.C. Cambre says that newly planted shell gingers bloom the second year after sprouting, but only if there has been no killing frost during those two years, which doesnt happen often.Shell gingers bloomed all over Lafayette in early summer, 1995, after two very mild winters. We planted ours in fall of 1995, and they sprouted in spring, 1996. If I am figuring correctly, the earliest they could bloom would be spring or summer, 1998. Mine are planted in a very protected location so they didnt freeze last winter. If we can just get through this winter without freeze damage, our plants should be mature enough to bloom in June, 1998. Care of Siam tulipsQ:I have received a potted Siam tulip. What is the botanical name and what care does it need?A:Curcuma alismatifolia is a perennial ginger that can be planted in full sun to partial shade in containers or beds. When the rhizome goes dormant in November, it may be left in the ground over winter, or it may be dug and stored until time to replant in May.Plant in beds on 12-inch centers or one to a pot. Bloom is from June through November. After each rhizome blooms, 4-5 pups will be produced which will, in turn, bloom the same season. The plant may be fed at planting time with 3-month Osmocote, or every two weeks during summer with a liquid fertilizer such as Miracle-Gro. |