My station from two years ago onHow to Grow Yamshas retain to raise questions . Today I ’ll share a few , along with my answer .
Cold Hardiness in Varieties of Yams
DEAN AKA LOWERALABAMA :
“ David : I live in coastal Mobile , AL , zone 8b and I found “ purple yam plant ” last yr that I purchased at a local oriental food market . The vines came up and seem gorgeous until the Robert Frost clip them back in December . We did have a rather cold wintertime this yr with a few Nox dipping down into the gamey adolescent . Anyway , I have been excited about see my vine come back up but as of yet I have not seen any live action . I figured it would be about sentence for the vines to appear since the Eddoes are sprout up all along the fence argument where I also plant the “ purple yam ” . Well needless to say curiosity got the honorable of me : I pulled on one of the dormant vine and it easily snapped off at the ground . I got my diminished nigga out and comprehend the “ purple yam plant ” up for review just to see that it looked like it was literally moulder / get soggy . What is your take on this ? I am debate buying some more “ purple yam ” off of Ebay and trying it again but it is expensive on Ebay . The oriental market is not carry these right now . I am really looking onwards to your insight on this one . Thanks in advance for your time and consideration . ”
DAVID THE trade good :
“ Sounds like the low temperature get to it . I ’m dark it rotted out – the cold was probably too much for it . They ’re really tropic . examine mulching hard when you try again . Also , if it ’s really wet , the tooth root will moulder even in the tropics . A combining of cold and rain in all likelihood did it in . ”
“ Hey David another immediate head . While looking at Ebay for Dioscorea Alata I ran across Dioscorea Trifida , the cush - cush yam . I am calculate on the web and can not find much data much less which USDA zona these will live in . Do you encounter to recognize this yam and can you secernate me if it will grow and survive in USDA zone 8b ? Thanks again . ”
“ Yes – I ’ve grown it before . 8b is jolly cold , but it may overwinter with heavy mulch . ”
AKIRA :
“ Hi David , I live on in zone 4b of the US and was wondering if it would be potential to mature Chinese yam . I bought a humble ball from the Asiatic securities industry and it ended up germinate up a exceedingly long regal vine . Would it be able-bodied to grow properly in the geographical zone I live in ? ”
“ believably not well , but you might be capable to keep it live by planting decently up against the south - face wall of your family and mulching it over the wintertime . ”
observe : Formosan Yam is BY FAR the most cold - hardy of all yam plant species . If you ’re in geographical zone 8 north , that ’s the one to try .
Are Air Potatoes Edible?
KATHLEEN RODGERS :
“ So you are saying that the air white potato , the piddling thing that look like miniature irish potatoes are not edible ? ”
“ It ’s not quite that simple . The wild Dioscorea bulbifera bulbils in Florida are moot poisonous . That ’s the most common “ air potato . ” They have a cousin that grows in the same region , Dioscorea alata , which has edible bulblet , though they ’re usually too humble to bother with . The root on those are much good . D. bulbifera , though , unless it ’s a school variety known to be non - poisonous , is not safe to reap and use up . ”
DEAN :
“ Good Morning David : Please clear something up for me . You are enjoin that the Bulbifera variety has both eatable and non - comestible assortment ? If I am not misidentify your admirer , Grower Jim , sells a Bulbifera salmagundi that looks like a space rock that is supposedly eatable . I purchased 1 of these last year but it never germinate . Would like to see your 2 cents on this . Thanks . ”
“ Yes , that is right . There are edible varieties of D. bulbifera in cultivation , of which Grower Jim has some , and so do I. They are different from the savage forms growing around Florida . Those are bitter and poisonous . ”
Air Potatoes which are likely to be poisonous :
There are other persona onthe UF Center for Aquatic and Invasive Plants Sir Frederick Handley Page .
These are comestible assortment :
Weird crinkly boundary , faceting , etc . , are common to edible type . decent , round Solanum tuberosum are generally poisonous .
