Dioscorea Filiformis sp. Gamma Ray Care

About: 

A variegated form of Dioscorea Filiformis (thread-leaved yam, a climbing tuberous geophyte) sold under the name "Gamma Ray" by the original grower. It's a beautiful vining plant from Thailand whose leaves display a variety of different colors - Purples, pinks, ivory and many shades of green with both sectoral and speckled variegation. And I am absolutely OBSESSED with them lol. (All Dioscorea, really. I am in my Dioscorea era.) 

Family: 

Dioscoreaceae

Light Requirements: 

These plants absolutely love light. I mean, I probably wouldn't stick them on your patio in the dead of summer without some acclimation, but as bright as you can get indoors would be ideal. South facing window or under a decent grow light. They can tolerate lower light, but will quickly start vining towards the nearest light source if insufficient. 

Light levels also do seem to directly impact the amount and strength of pink growth (sunstress.) Though overall variegation is genetic. 

Temperature & Humidity: 

55 - 85° F (12.5 - 29.5° C) / 60% + Humidity.
The listed values are the averages for their native habitat. My personal opinion is that these gals tend to a bit better at cooler (65-75º) temperatures, and while they do enjoy that higher humidity they absolutely can be acclimated to household conditions. 

As always, I typically recommend bringing them down no more than 10% at a time until they're where you want them. Otherwise, again, you risk the ever-so-dramatic rending of garments, dropping of leaves, etc. etc. 

Mine are grown in my cooler tent at between 65-75º F with 75% RH.

Watering: 

They like to dry out pretty much completely between waterings. When you do water, just give them a nice big drink (really flood the pot) a well draining mix will be pretty important for this reason (more on that in a minute.) 

When in doubt - Bottom water. Let them drink up as much as they want until you get a better sense of how thirsty they are in your specific environment.

Grow Media: 

A well-draining mix, I use this one and am obviously not biased in the least. Any well-draining mix would probably be fine though even, in a pinch, a generic "cactus and succulent" mix. I have also grown them in Pon (Lechuza) but I have not tried them in LECA or the chunkier Pon mixes.

Growth Rate: 

On a scale of 1 (slowest) to 5 (fastest) they are a 5. Very fast growing once they get established.

Propagation: 

On a scale of 1 (easiest) to 5 (most difficult) I would say they're a 3 for beginners. Getting them in the right media and growing them under the right conditions will make a big difference. 

They're propagated by stem cuttings, I like to do mine directly into "soil" (I use a coir prop mix) but they also do fine in Fluval Stratum or moss. I have heard other people have had success doing them in water, but I, personally, have not. I've also failed at propping these in perlite and pon. (I haven't tried tree fern for these, so I can't speak to this efficacy of that one.) 

High humidity helps quite a bit when getting them established.

Toxicity: 

In humans - Many wild yam species (including, possibly, Filiformis) are extremely toxic if eaten raw or improperly prepared, causing all kinds of fun things like nausea, vomiting, heart palpitations, throat irritation, blurred vision and kidney failure. 

In pets - All Dioscorea species are toxic to cats, dogs, and birds. 

Additional Information: 

Probably my favorite genus at the moment. Not a lot of notes really. While they definitely have a similar vibe to plants like Fallopia, they're nowhere near as dramatic. These, specifically, can be a bit challenging to prop at first, but once you get the hang of them they're easy-peasy. 

Oh, wait. I do have a fun note - Sometimes these guys will mutate (possibly when stressed, or exposed to too much heat) and their leaves will go a little curly. It's cute. The curly version is often sold as a separate cultivar, but it isn't really. It's fine to grab one if that's your preference, but I wouldn't pay extra for it, is all I'm saying.

OK! I think that covers it. If you have any questions, or some advice of your own to offer, please feel free to comment below. 

Thanks so much for stopping by!