OCA.....plant deeper than usual?

[Hector]

Some of my potted OCA are a bit leggy...I'm planting them out. can I plant deeper to compensate without harming them... I wondered if they will sprout more roots ...shoots...or is this a bad idea?
thanks
Jackie

[Hector]

[Robert_Brenchley]

They'll be fine. I'm not sure that planting them deeper will have much effect, though it might produce a few extra tubers from buried stem nodes.

[Hector]

Thanks Robert. I'm going to give it a go in a raised bed :)

[lottie lou]

I grow them like spuds and earth up.  Grown outdoors I tend to also lift them slightly earlier in case of frost.

[chriscross1966]

I grow them like spuds and earth up.  Grown outdoors I tend to also lift them slightly earlier in case of frost.

Umm... Oca needs frost to complete its growing cycle, the frost knocks over the foliage and the plant reabsorbs all the nutrietns from it, a couple of weeks later the foliage is a husk adn all of its goodnesws is back in the roots.... at least that's what I was taught when I started growing it... the tuber is tolerant of cold, tjhe foliage isn't, it's a mountainside plant....

[Silverleaf]

I thought that the foliage getting killed by frost triggered the tubers to grow to a decent size.

[pigeonseed]

Yes they do seem to grow a fair amount after the leaves die off and they are very frost tolerant. Slugs are more of a threat than cold and it seems to be the tubers at or near the surface which get the worst munching, so earthing up might be wise, as long as there's enough leaf to catch the sunlight.

[Hector]

Thanks all folks. My goodness, it's gone from bone dry heat to torrential rain here....the OCA are looking happy and perky :)