My two 'buds' are getting taller every day!

Great, have a nice smell!

Ruud

Lol .. konjac is certainly not my first 'smelly' plant. I also grow Proboscidea and Ibecella which is so stinky you can't leave them in a wide open greenhouse when blooming even with a breeze blowing through it. The seed pods on both are the stuff of nightmares. I've not smelled konjac yet so it will be interesting to see which is worse.



However, Clathrus columnatus, a Stinkhorn Fungus is almost neck and neck with the Proboscidea and Ibecella for stinkyness. They tend to infest cypress mulch in the winter if it's kept warm and moist.

Well i never had the 'pleasure' of smelling any Proboscidea or Clathrus. I once took pics of Proboscidea fragans, but I did not notice any strange scents. Perhaps that one does not smell so bad? It may have been named fragans for a reason.

Ruud

@eclayne - Evan, when these guys start to open is it fairly fast or does it take days? I'm wondering if I should try and do a time lapse video if it's fairly fast.

A time lapse would be awesome. It takes about 3 to 4 days indoors up here from first unfurling to pollen production. The spathe opens quite a bit in the first day or two. I'd be interested to know if it's faster for you. Has it started?

Anne, it is interesting how the different species of Stinkhorn Fungus are now world wide thanks to the widespread practise of mulching. I just remembered there was a net one's fruiting body which I forgot to photograph two days ago.

Glen, I didn't know that the mulch had the spores until I opened up my greenhouse one morning and thought something died .. after 2 days I decided to go look for what died and found the Stinkhorn.

Evan, I'll get my Brinno ready and point one of the outdoor lights at the container. I'm thinking though it might be very slow because for the next 10 days the night time temps will be in the low 40s to mid 50s.

I got the camera set up and recording. The only problem I foresee is that it's very windy, causing the flower spikes to move back and forth a bit which makes one a bit sea sick when viewing the video. I won't know how bad it is til I see the video .. I'll have to stop the camera around dusk download the file then start up again in night mode.

After 7 hours of filming there is virtually no change .. it's happening too slowly.

I think it's really cool I hope mine get started I know they are alive but I want then to start growing up it should develop just have to be patient its only a small spikevand its April in zone 4 I cannot have it outside until may or June

I fished around in the soil and saw white roots coming out careful not to disturb them I put the soil back on


Here's a poem on voodoo Lillie's


Let me put this tuber in your hand maybe then you'll understand the ways of the aroid mind to be sightful not unkind


It starts small but longs to grow with careful tendings born of woe upon gladness it shall reap not ones jealousy

Voodoo dwells a fallen flower few do know the divine power one can have under its spell and to forsee its greatest tell
Heavy feeders in the spring we grow and wait to do its thing

Amorphallus in summers heat grow up high make it complete upon a whim a sparrows song till be woe yellowing leaf dormancy is long not breif
Til next spring the fallen raise with dark smells admitting flies

Great news Alex. Thanks for sharing the poem which brought on a smile.

Speaking of "dark smells admitting flies" D. vulgaris has woken up.

@RuuddeBlock I see you had a bloom in late March Ruud! Is this normal timing in The Netherlands?

My konjac are in full bloom and attracting flies from everywhere! In comparison, the stink is not nearly as bad as the Proboscidea and the Proboscidea flowers are tiny compared to these guys. I love the color! My next door neighbor asked what died in my back yard - lol. It's been very windy here and the smell apparently travels well.

Beautiful Anne!! Here's to understanding neighbors.

Lol ... well I showed them the flowers and they were able to overlook the stink .. they thought they were beautiful! Plant Delights has the A. titanum for sale .. a steal at $78.00.

http://www.plantdelights.com/A...

No thanks honestly I feel as plant of that size belongs in the wild I'll stick with konjac

@Evan: No March is not the normal timing, should be June or so. We had that year hardly a winter and a very early spring. The Dracunculus woke up far too early, flowered and, unfortunately, died. The trouble are our winters which may be cold (not the major problem) or very very wet. The latter kills much more plants than the cold. Especially alpine plants and Mediterranean plants wanting a dry hot rest are often difficult. They just cannot stand the temperatures up and down the freezing point with almost daily rains and rot away. Humans survive though, it is just the onset of another cold or flue epidemic

By the way: I checked the date as I do not recall it to flower that early. It was early indeed but end of may,certainly not March. The date in the database is the upload date, not the date the picture was actually taken. Unfortunately it died anyway, but I have a new one which, on a dry spot, is doing well.

Ruud

Dont get me wrong a titan arum would be great fun but I just don't have space for it. I think they belong in nature or in conservatories

eclayne said:Anchomanes difformis var. welwitschii, yes the spines are sharp. I was told to plant like a caudiciform, with the top exposed.

• Anchomanes difformis
• Uploaded by eclayne

Don't these try to grow roots from the "crown", similar to Amorphophsllus sp.? If so, doesn't high-planting somehow stunt their growth? How much of the bulb in your photo is underground?