Amorphophallus paeoniifolius
Elephant yam, Telingo potato, Punga pung, Peony leaved snake palm, Voodoo lily
Also known as Amorphophallus campanulatus
- Height × spread
- 0.5m × 2.2m
- Position
- Part shade
- Hardiness
- Mild winter to -5C (RHS H3)
- Flowers
- Summer
Availability
Please ask in store about availability
Many plants are seasonal. Call 01234 567890 to check current stock.
About this plant
This grows from a corm that is edible - called Telingo potato. It is an important food item, providing starch for peoples in Vietnam, the Philippines and Northeast India. The plant is renowned for its beautiful leaves. They are extremely large and may be over two metres across, divided into leaflets that are large and impressive in their own right. Their conformation has the hint of the leaf of a paeony, but writ large! The plant produces a flower that has an unpleasant odour since it is fly pollinated. It stands up to 2.5 metres in height and is an expanded cup shaped spathe with brown and honey coloration. The stem has green and silver marbling. This needs to be kept just moist in winter, not waterlogged. It may be some years before it flowers, and may flower during winter in the UK since it is summer flowering in its homeland.
- Flower colour
- Brown, Green
- Foliage colour
- Green
- Variegated
- No
- Scent
- No
- Shape
- Cone
- Height
- 0.5m
- Spread
- 2.2m
- Flowers in
- Summer
- Evergreen
- Evergreen
- Garden style
- Exotic garden, Conservatory
- Sun or shade
- Likes part shade, tolerates light shade
- Soil type
- Loam (normal)
- Soil pH
- All types
- Drainage
- Moisture retentive soil, Damp and wet soil
- Hardiness
- Mild winter to -5C (RHS H3)
- Borders & containers
- Borders and containers
- Hazards
- Yes, potentially harmful; Humans: Harmful if eaten; skin & eye irritant
AutumnNow
Autumn - mid · Planting
Divide while dormant
Clumps of bulbs, corms or rhizomes can be divided when the plant is dormant. The divided bulbs or corms can immediately be replanted at a little distance from each other, or moved to other locations.
Spring
Spring-Autumn · Outdoors
Feed a general fertiliser
Give a general purpose feed two or three times during the growing season, preferably not within a month of its end so the plant isn't encouraged to make fresh young growth.
Where food elements are listed as three numeric values on the label representing in order Nitrogen(N)-Phosphorus(P)-Potassium(K), with percentage values for each, choose one where the values are more or less equal.
Spring-Autumn · Outdoors
Water during dry periods
For plants in the ground, when there has been little or no rain for a period of 7-10 days and the soil is dry, give it a deep watering and repeat weekly until there is a downpour of rain. Check plants in pots more frequently, especially in hot weather.
Winter
Winter · Outdoors
Water lightly during dormancy
The soil should be kept just moist during the plant's rest period.