Quote:
Originally Posted by jeffreyp
I am wondering if some soil or weakened condition causes them to appear to begin with.
I'd be curious how the water suckers do if you plant them in ideal conditions with plenty good soil and fertilizer if they then regain whatever vigor was lost and become just as productive as swords..
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Jeff, my experience here is that tho the water sucker itself is a very dwarf plant and won't do what a sword will do at maturity, the babies that appear around the parent water sucker do a lot better provided that the original was planted deep enough.
A water sucker is nothing more than a pup that has developed close to the soil surface and reaches the light when it isn't quite ready to start growing up. The swords pop out of the corm at least 6 inches below the soil surface. The deeper the better.
I like the idea of planting the little tykes into a pot and keeping them as potted little things until they have put out at least 10 leaves then taking them out of the pot and putting them in ground.
Aloha to all from the 'Big Island' of Hawai'i.
Kele
PS - Tho the water sucker won't be producing and looking like a sword at first, its followers/ratoons, will be normal sized and produce a normal weight bunch for that particular variety.