Stephania Erecta Experiment: Thailand & Indonesia Soil Mix - Part 2, The Condition

Updated: Nov 20, 2020

After figuring out the different soil mixture for this experiment in the previous post here "The Soil", let's talk about the condition and the environment that we will place these 2 subjects in.

*Disclaimer: These requirements (from soil mix to the condition) are based on my own conversations with several caudex sellers from these 2 countries. I am not implying that this is the standard practice or the same method as other collectors/sellers from these countries. It is from my own observation on the differences they both applied to their own growing methods, used in their own nurseries. This experiment is not by any means trying to show which method is the best method, but merely a fun experiment to observe variety of techniques.

There are some similarities of condition for each countries; both require sunlit area and warm humid condition.

Placement: north facing balcony that will get roughly 3-4 hours of bright sun, area remained pretty hot/warm throughout the day.
Filtered water on every watering days.
No added fertiliser used to stay true to individual methods.

Thailand Caudex

Humidity, humidity, humidity. It is the main key required to sprouting a caudex bulb according to the Thais. In order to initiate or "start-up" the centre of the bulb where the sprout is from, it is important to make sure humidity is in lock. Below are the steps I took for Thailand experiment:

ziplock bag over the pot for added humidity, making sure the bag is always foggy.
placing this 2 feet from the edge of balcony and still getting bright sun.
watering every 2-3 days depending on how sunny the days are (water until excess comes out).

Indonesia Caudex

Sunny & Moist. These are the main key requirements by Indonesian grower. Heat is very important to revive the caudex bulb and it is important to make sure humidity is in lock. Below are the steps I took for Thailand experiment:

placing this much closer to the edge of balcony, getting almost direct sun.
watering everyday until excess comes out. Twice a day on much sunnier/hotter days.

Let the Test (also FUN) Begin!

Now the stage has been set and the bulbs are cosy in their pot, we are ready to go! I will be documenting the progress every weekend (Saturday morning) with pictures and any visible differences I can detect.

Experiments

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