I love that black beauty. Gotta have that plant. You are a bad influence Sway.

Let's do violet stem next!
I'm offering these for postage to anyone reading this!
$5 gets you somewhere between a few big beheaded ones to around a dozen small starts!
Consider yourselves warned, in z9 and up, theses are invasive...and run like crazy!

This runners 8 ft long and still going...
They are incredibly durable and reliable for us further north!
Just tree mail me if your interested, we can go from there
I'll have many others to offer in classifieds soon too!

So... From this...
And this...

These 2 pics were taken at the end of may, just over 8 weeks ago...

To THIS...

It's challenging the banana tree, in 2 months it's fully 8' tall!

Nice dark stems... And that's a bloom hiding in there!

Slightly more impressive upon closer inspection... The yellow portion of the bloom, just the spathe, is 13"...

The grey leaf backs are a nice contrast...
Lots more random pics of violet stem comin, my phones glitching out...

This was just 4 days ago

2 days ago


And today...

I think they may get bigger than they did last year!
I didn't think that was possible!

A. Yucatan princess leaf front and back, can it get any more glossy!
One of Brian's plants I recommend most!
They just look like a shinier crinklier version of plumbea, but it will out grow them by leaps and bounds and they pup... Unlike plumbea... I just love it!


A. Ivory Coast, the jury(me) is still out on these, they are tough and big for a jewel but I've yet to get a mature plant, or take it thru a full winter, small bulbs don't like to break dormancy... Imagine that...

C. Black beauty...lookin a little freaky...

A big monster

And a little friend
😄

Love being pummeled by all the Ears. That "big monster" pic looks like it's straight out of the rainforest. I just noticed it's bitty friends.

That runner is amazing. Before reading was wondering why a pic of an extension cord. Your garden mix of plants are fantastic.

Does this look like a baby Thai Giant? I grew one near the M. basjoo last year, raked the old mulch around basjoo, mulched with straw, over wintered and then chopped up that for use this years. The mulch in this pic.


Here's a petiole pic of an old Yellow Calla Lily (Zantedeschia elliottiana) which I've been meaning to take for a few years.

I'm going with... Yes it is a baby, I'm not 100% tho, the largest mature leaf there does really look like it tho, and the new leaf is much more broad...

I love banded stem, like I've said I'm growing to like callas better all the time!

That's a really pretty leaf melange there, Robert.

super.

Beautiful Robert!

Enjoyed my ATP EE garden walk this morning. Thanks to all who posted pics.

"Tropicals forum: I just wish somebody would talk to me about elephant ears..."

Swayback, your thread has over 2000 views! I think you got your wish!

Bubbles said:
"Tropicals forum: I just wish somebody would talk to me about elephant ears..."

Swayback, your thread has over 2000 views! I think you got your wish!

Never one to be satisfied...

Next goal: acquire the plants you all posted that I don't have!

Trades...
Anyone?

Sounds like a plan! We're at the lake to mow and water. Outside using Google Sky to look at the stars and constellations. Pretty cool. Had nice rain overnight in Austin, but missed the lake. Sprinklers are going and the deer are waiting patiently until they can get back in the yard. I will post pics of what I have for trading, but I'm afraid you probably have every ear known to the continents!

Just got in a big debate with a friend, he said something similar( while hoarding back atleast 4 of his own hybrids and several others he's weaseled out of people :grumbling:

He proclaimed he only has a few more colocasia to get and then he's done...I said done what, he says done! I'll have em all( he doesn't care for alocasias, and doesn't have/want any)
So I say no way! I have more than u and there's atleast 20 on my want list!
That list only really includes named varieties, ones available to order any time, no hunting involved!
There's numerous species/cultivars/varieties that aren't ready available for purchase as well, collector plants, these generally requires getting very lucky, or intense cross referencing on forums and boards, and lots of emails to old accounts.

It's rarely followed by a satisfactory outcome, but the hunts part of the fun, and trading's rewarding as well, it also gives me that much more reason to propogate my plants so furiously!

I do have a complete( sort of 😛) list of my collection, and what's available, tho much of it is not yet propagated or only available for special trades

2 years ago built a home made pond filter for the Koi pond, called a skippy filter. Water hyacinth originally but that didn't work out that well because it multiplied so fast it became a chore keeping it looking decent.



Stuck an elephant ear in it as just a test and I'm very pleased with it.







The plants absorb nutrients to keep out algae .

OMG, that looks like Alocasia plumbea. If so it's the healthiest, biggest I've ever seen a picture of.