Amorphophallus paeoniifolius (Dennst.) Nicolson (elephant foot yam) and A. muelleri Mill. are commonly cultivated under tree canopies. They are usually harvested two to three years after the planting of one-year-old corms. However, information about suitable cultivation periods and shading levels is limited. The present study was conducted in a field located in Bogor, West Java, over a period of three years at four shading levels: control (0%), 25, 50 and 75%. Regardless of the shading level, the fresh mass of the corms increased exponentially in a year in elephant foot yams, while linearly in A. muelleri. Leaf size increased with the increase in the shading level, resulting in the production of large daughter corms at a low light intensity. About half of the A. muelleri plants flowered in the third year under the 75% shading condition, while no elephant foot yam plants flowered under the same condition. Daughter corms reached a commercial size two years after planting in A. muelleri and three years after planting in elephant foot yams under the 75% shading condition. These results suggested that both species are shade-loving plants and that A. muelleri could be harvested one year earlier than elephant foot yams under shading conditions.