I planted a 2-3" rhizome indoors last year, in late fall. I selected the piece that had a greenish bud. It grew nicely - over the winter, the rhizome gradually expanded, and its 2-3' stalks lent a cheery atmosphere to the corner of the tub surround near a large window. In the spring, it suddenly exploded, and bloomed! Reacting to the difference in sunlight, I suppose. I finally planted it outside in a larger pot - separated the rhizome into multiple chunks, each with its own stalk - and located it on the north side of a treeline, so that it would have filtered sunlight. In late fall I harvested most of it, yielding a pint ziplock bag of unpeeled rhizomes in the freezer. I left a few odd, ropy roots in the outdoor pot - we'll see if they survive the Zone 7 winter - and replanted 3 very small corms indoors. It took about a month for one of them to finally sprout. Looking forward to keeping this annual in my house, and in my garden!
One note, once it sprouts, it likes a LOT of water. I got in the habit of giving it a small amount almost daily, and every week or 2 watered enough to fill the drip tray - which it would absorb over the next 24 hrs.
I planted a 2-3" rhizome indoors last year, in late fall. I selected the piece that had a greenish bud. It grew nicely - over the winter, the rhizome gradually expanded, and its 2-3' stalks lent a cheery atmosphere to the corner of the tub surround near a large window. In the spring, it suddenly exploded, and bloomed! Reacting to the difference in sunlight, I suppose. I finally planted it outside in a larger pot - separated the rhizome into multiple chunks, each with its own stalk - and located it on the north side of a treeline, so that it would have filtered sunlight. In late fall I harvested most of it, yielding a pint ziplock bag of unpeeled rhizomes in the freezer. I left a few odd, ropy roots in the outdoor pot - we'll see if they survive the Zone 7 winter - and replanted 3 very small corms indoors. It took about a month for one of them to finally sprout. Looking forward to keeping this annual in my house, and in my garden!
One note, once it sprouts, it likes a LOT of water. I got in the habit of giving it a small amount almost daily, and every week or 2 watered enough to fill the drip tray - which it would absorb over the next 24 hrs.