It seems that this plant has become one of the most sought after plants in the current plant craze. This plant was once in tissue culture, and was readily available on the market. I got my original Queen in a 4" pot in 2005 or 2006 for, if I remember correctly, perhaps $25. It had leaves about 6 inches long and was so beautiful even at that size I almost died!

I eventually grew the plant in my greenhouse into this plant. This photograph was taken in November of 2008.


But this plant was also a victim of the Great Greenhouse Heater Burn Out Debacle which claimed so many of my very cold sensitive plants. I managed to salvage 3 small offsets but they were badly damaged and did not survive.

Native to the wet rainforests of Columbia, this plant is an epiphyte which grows in trees and is almost never found in the soil. Th leaves of well grown mature plants can reach 5-6 feet in nature. In cultivation they usually top out at between 2-4 feet.

A member of the Anthurium section Cardiolonchium (the velvet leaved anthuriums) the leaves look like velvet but are thick and leathery to the touch, and can be brittle and easily damaged.

These anthuriums need extremely high humidity and LOTS of water. They cannot be allowed to become completely dry. Being epiphytic tree dwellers, they are climbing and need some support. They are totally unsuited to houseplant culture, the most successful indoor growing is in a large vertical terrarium or vivarium. The best growing substrate is packed sphagnum moss that is keep continually uniformly damp.

This is a variable plant and there are different forms. There is a lighter green form, and a darker form, as well as others.

The recent plant craze and especially the aroid craze has seen small starter plants commanding prices of between $200-500, sometimes more at auction. The dark form is currently the most highly prized and sells for more.

I could not afford to replace my Queen in this current high priced plant market, but through the incredible generosity of a very good friend, I was given one last summer and it is doing quite well in the greenhouse. So I get another chance at this outstanding plant. I have it in moss in a coir lined basket. It has started to trunk and put out climber roots, so I will have to move it to a position where it can attach to a support soon. It helps when they start to do this to wrap the exposed roots in a thin layer of damp moss, which I will be doing when I move it soon. Another new journey in growing aroids to undertake!
Photos taken today of my new Queen:

Haha, and I had just told you I don't like anthuriums! This one is gorgeous. I also learnt that I do like clarinervium, too.

Once again, you're "taking one for the team" for the people who can't ever keep plants like this. We can live through your pictures!

Why thank you! I am probably not the only person on the forum to have one, just the only one who still posts

Gina that an incredible plant and support system you have designed there.

Do you use automatic misters and grow lights on system computer? They are useful and can give the grower some extra time . Your greenhouse is amazing!

Not in the greenhouse. There is overheard watering by a sprinkler system, which I basically turn off in winter because I hand water so I can inspect everything for pests (they get worse in winter). In summer when the temps are 95+ every day the sprinklers come on automatically daily. Its ~1740 square feet so it takes a while to hand water but I like doing it.

I use reptile foggers and a pump up hand sprayer to water in my terrariums and keep the humidity up

Gina ~ what a beauty!! Sadly, I don't have any anthuriums. Even when I was working in greenhouses years ago, I just couldn't keep them happy. Maybe because I was living in AZ at the time and humidity is hard to come by out there. I'm sure I'll end up with one eventually. They are truly gorgeous plants!

For now I agree with @CrazedHoosier and will live vicariously through your wonderful pics! Thanks for sharing!!

Well thank you! Arizona would be a tough state for them unless they were grown in the house and given the benefit of a humidifier. Some people actually build these huge almost walk in terrariums with wet walls, automatic misting and all sorts of expensive supplemental lighting to grow stuff like this. Florida is a fortunate state for trying to grow humidity lovers, its uncomfortable for the humans a lot of the year here but plants like these love it. Even up here in North Central 9A our winters are not humid but fortunately they are very short, and you can kind of make up for it by misting everything yourself. I have hose end sprayers that have great misting settings and I can douse every thing at least once a day in winter. Having a greenhouse with water features (20 foot stream and a pond) also adds extra humidity to the air. It also helps keep things warmer at night because the air is more humid in there so you use less heat. The heater is never utilized in the day because of heat concentration inside from the sun heating up an enclosed space. Its not perfect and disaster can strike (it did to me) but some things are remarkably resilient.

Gina, it sounds like you have a great system in place. I use mini fogers for my orchids. And for some of my water and submerged floral arrangements .

You must have quite a collection of tropicals. I do love to make floral arrangements with tropical flowers. They last a long time and many do excellent for submergable water arrangements.

The bird of paradise I have had for years 30 yrs),but never enough sun light or warmth for blooms. It's a tough plant . I have separated it and potting new ones up and generally do well in the spring yearly plant sale .

I grow ALpinia purpurata (again) after about 10 years of not growing it. I had 7 ft tall huge plots of it which was the problem its a spreader. I learned to keep it contained in big tubs. I will probably have it blooming again next year. Heliconias also I love them.

Gina,

Many of the tropicals in my floral arrangements always bring lots of looks loos at flower shows.

Red ginger is a huge spreader & kind of reminds me of bamboo. My bamboo follows the gophers & mole tunnels and can start shoots 50' away from original site. But hey can't blame them to much after all they were responsible for starting new plant growth at the volcano site at St. Helens in the 80's.

Switched to clump bamboo much tamer.

Newest emergent leaf on the Queen