I just bought 10 air potatoes and I have a few Q's.
Vines have root like trumpet vines ( I suspect not because this would be unique to the tuber family.) This is so I would know weather or not I could plant it growing up a pipe on the side of the house.
Will the tuber survive underground in zone 6
And any other information you have will be helpful, and I know it is an invasive but not in my area.
Looks as if you may very well have Dioscorea bulbifera there.
Lots of people successfully growing this plant in zone 7. I suspect with our current warming trends that we're going to see the range of this species expanding. Good chance it will overwinter in a zone 6 micro-climate. It may die back to the ground but it could very well come back next year.
Just a thought but if you are worried about your plants, would you be able to dig a mock hole sized to a readily available 3 gallon pot then plant one of your air potatoes in the 3 gallon pot and drop it in the hole? I do this with some plants. In fall, I take them out of the mock holes and overwinter them in the garage or the greenhouse.
The other thought would be saving those air potatoes and propagating them yourself. I've never propagated this species but they can't be all that difficult.
If you don't mind my asking, what attracted you to this particular plant? Just the attractive foliage? I don't think they're edible. People waste them in Florida.
I was thinking since by the end of the summer I will so many that I won't dig one up and if it doesn't come back then I know not to do it any more. In china people do eat them they were originally brought to the united states to be cultivated for the food and birth control industries, but if you have a wild strain the tuber can be bitter and even poisonous (so I won't take my chances there). I have some of the other members of the tuber family so found this one (I am also looking to collect a mountain turtle yam and a mountain buffalo yam) and I liked how fast it grew and it's chain of flowers so I hunted it down and found it on good old ebay. I know mostly everything about this tuber besides how to cultivate it since most of the things on the internet are about trying to get rid of it.
I'm kind of a lazy gardener which is why I decided to go with mock holes for some species that weren't cold hardy. I know I'd never get out there and dig up a plant in fall but it is easy enough lifting the pot out of the hole and walking it to another spot. Fortunately the holes are in the back where we're less likely to step in them. I've taken a few good nose dives out back for stepping in my holes.
Now don't be posting any more photos of their pretty leaves! ;) Wouldn't want to start a fad here at a green site! I'm hoping they don't increase in popularity because the last thing we need is a cold hardy ecotype manifesting itself. Eesh, we've already got Oriental Bittersweet, Mile-A-Minute, Kudzu, Porcelainberry Vine, Chinese Wisteria, Morning Glory, English Ivy, and a host of other cold hardy invasive vines to include that other Chinese Yam capable of toppling trees and blanketing vegetation.
I don't know if you'd be interested but...
https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=8334
In the 14th post down is a photo of Dioscorea villosa. A mild mannered native look alike that would be hardy to where you garden with no fuss or muss. I also have D. quaternata out there somewhere although I don't remember where I planted those and haven't seen them in a few years. That's another mild mannered native look alike that would do well in your area. One of those might be a viable option to climb your pipe going up your house. The leaves are equally as beautiful as the D. bulbifera albeit somewhat smaller in size.
Whatever you plant, don't plant D. oppositifolia. I've got that popping up all over here too and I didn't plant any of it. Interestingly enough, it wasn't supposed to be cold hardy this far north but it is not only surviving but thriving much to my chagrin. That plant is nasty to get rid of. When I go to hand pull it, it breaks off at ground level sometimes.
When I have difficult plats to get rid of I get weed killer that I am supposed to mix with water to dilute and then I don't dilute it so it is much stronger it worked on poison ivy, poison oak and the mortal enemy of my Italian Victorian brick house trumpet vine!
I only use chemicals as a last resort after all other options are exhausted. The D. oppositifolia digs up easily enough and you can deplete its reserves if the above ground vegetation is repeatedly removed.
This looks like a fun community event-
https://plants.ifas.ufl.edu/roundup.html
I would have taken my kids to an activity such as the above.
Yes I love looking at pictures from these events the air potato round ups have become somewhat of a sport in florida. Did you see the giant one one under weird potatoes I hope I can grow a large one like that.
I haven't a clue how to tell whether you have a poisonous variety or not. I was always told to not eat the air potatoes when we were down in Florida. Maybe you better go online or contact that seller and specifically ask if what was sold to you can be eaten or not.
If it is found to be able to be eaten, how were you planning on preparing it? Are you sitting on a recipe of some sort that you've been "dying" to try? Pun intended.
Just got off the phone with her. She has no idea. She doesn't think she's ever even tasted one before. Sorry.
Looked online and this was all I could find-
https://www.walterreeves.com/landscaping/article.phtml?cat=10&id=33
[quote]Q: Can air potato ‘taters be eaten?
A: A search of the Internet revealed that they are eaten, steamed or boiled, in Hawaii and Panama but no notes on preparation were found. A few weeks ago, a reader sent in his recipe for cooking the ‘taters with rice, which seems safe enough in small quantities. Eat them if you must..... and while you enjoy them, remember that kudzu can be a dining delight as well.
Q: I have been growing for several years the “air potatoâ€
( I suspect not because this would be unique to the tuber family.) This is so I would know weather or not I could plant it growing up a pipe on the side of the house.