Devil's Tongue, botanical. Amorphophallus konjac, is the little sister of the titan arum, which is considered the largest flower in the world. The flowers are spectacular, but not necessarily suitable for indoor cultivation because of the smell. Caring for devil's tongues is not very difficult. This is how you properly care for these interesting tuberous plants.
How do you properly care for a devil's tongue?
Devil's Tongue care includes proper watering (seldom in the garden, more often in the pot), no cutting, fertilizing only outside occasionally and in the pot every four weeks, protection from diseases and pests as well as frost-free wintering of the tubers at around five degrees and Darkness.
How to cast devil's tongue correctly?
Devil's tongues that you put directly in the garden generally do not need to be watered. You should only give some water when the soil is completely dry. But avoid waterlogging.
In the bucket, the devil's tongue needs more frequent watering. The tuber must never dry out completely.
As soon as the leaves change color in autumn, water very little and eventually stop watering altogether.
Do devil's tongues need to be fertilized?
Since the devil's tongue is dug up in the fall and replanted in the spring, fertilizing is not necessary.
When caring for it in a pot, you can give it some liquid fertilizer every four weeks. But that's not really necessary.
Is cutting necessary?
Devil's tongue only develops one leaf each year, but it can reach a considerable height. Under no circumstances should you cut the leaf.
In autumn the devil's tongue moves in, so cutting is not necessary here either.
What diseases and pests should you watch out for?
Pests almost never appear on the devil's tongue. This is probably also due to the not necessarily pleasant smell of the flower.
If the tuber rots or molds, the substrate is too moist.
How does Devil's Tongue overwinter?
The tubers of devil's tongue are not hardy. They are taken out of the ground in autumn and overwintered in a frost-free place at around five degrees. It can't be warmer because the tubers will sprout again too early.
Be sure to store the tubers in the dark on some sand or in wood shavings. To prevent the devil's tongue tubers from drying out too much, you can occasionally spray them with a little water.
Tip
Devil's Tongue is quite easy to propagate. The mother tuber produces several daughter tubers that you can easily plant out the following year. Devil's tongues can also be grown from seeds.