It's new Rachel. Who would you call it? Alocasia watsonii is how it was sold. I'm wondering if it's watsoniana or something else? The leaf is around 15" x 7" estimating.

There is an Alocasia watsoniana! One of the parents of some popular hybrids. Check out this link: http://www.exoticrainforest.co...

MOBOT does indeed have Philodendron goeldii and one of the world experts on the species, my friend Joep Moonen, will be at the "party". Joep lives in French Guiana where the plant grows naturally. He told me just last week he is sending a baby specimen for my collection!

Kids are welcome! Just form a car pool and follow Rachel! She and I spent one entire afternoon last summer talking about aroids and who knows, maybe she'll lead you on down to my house after the meeting.

Now, let's talk about some aroids!!

I would be more than happy to lead/take anyone to view the ExoticRainforest in Siloam Springs on my way as well;-) I promise the visit there will leave anyone in a state of "awe" and wanting to re-visit time and time again. That's a fact!

Hi LariAnn, I dropped by to say hi!


Steve- I'm quite excited your here at cubits. I discovered your site when you lived (I think in Florida) Then rediscovered your new location. I'm a fan! In fact, I list your link in several of my resource blogs. I mainly go there to dream, and admire your innovations, and stunning plants.

Good job and welcome

I'll be re-grouping on aroids, alocasias and philodendrons. They were victims of our freeze. I sadly did not have time uproot them and put them in the green house. At least I don't have the overcrowding problems any more.

LariAnn, did you get to test the freezpruf? It did okay for an overnight freeze for me, but it's difficult to plan the application in accordance with recommended temps.

Rj

Steve, I just have to thank you for your contradicting information on the care of zz plant. I was watering more often than the recommendations at large, but after dividing, repotting, and prowling through the plants underparts (I was so curious), I did more research and saw your input. It is putting on a bit of growth right now. Now I just want to know how often to feed it.

Has anyone started amorphophallus bulbifer from seed?

I can't be envious of the goeldii plants or the wonderful tours of aroid heavens. I bought too many plants to afford a trip and that's my own fault. Does this happen every year? I can save up for next time

Edited to say: I just went to look at Steve's link and realized I'd have a couple months, so maybe. I hate to ask this, but how much does it cost to go?

What kind of soil and water do these Alocasia need, I have two. One is hopefully dormant and the other is looking pretty good. But would like to know what kind of soil and How often do I water it. I have mine in the window, The leaves are turning. i need help!! Help!!!
I don't want it to die.
Charleen

Charleen, click the link steve provided Feb 5, 9:15 PM, read all you want but there is some cultural info near the bottom, don't let it dry out, but don't soak it. I notice that mine was declining when I had it in a cooler spot, so I thought it was going dormant. I moved it to a high (warmer) area to stop watering, and it sprouted, so now I keep it warm (75 to 85) and moist, letting the pot lose weight and the top inch dry before watering. I was wondering if they are heavy feeders, but I don't know yet. In the summer, I'll have to water more. Right now they dry in 1 to 3 days depending on sunlight. I am curious about repotting and how big I can safely go. When you repotted, did you find a bunch of little bulbs in the soil? Oooh, babies!!!

On my other one. It dried up and there was a baby leaf forming. I hope it comes out of it.
You can see, this one is sick, so I'm hopeing for it to be saved by me, with the help of my friends here.
Maybe I let it dry out too much.
Thanks Dawn.
Charleen

I would try giving the dormant plant a fairly warm spot and a light watering until you see growth, then worry about light. Mine that was dying off started to push leaves when I moved it from the cool area to the high (hot, we pull this air for home heating) and dry. I keep the room humid, so it was enough for the plant to restart. I didn't even realize until Rachel and Tropic straightened me out on it. When I got it down, it was growing. At DG, LariAnn has articles about jewel type alocasias.... I think a search like jewel alocasia should pull them up.

Thanks, Dawn.

Sorry for my tardiness.

Once a month we do our best to help a few local families that have lost jobs or can't afford enough food so today was our day.

The meeting at MOBOT is free, the only charge is admission to the garden which I believe is $8. Dr. Croat is providing everything else and a variety of IAS members are donating time to see the program works properly. The only cost would be your travel costs to St. Louis.

On the ZZ plant.... There are a variety of growing thoughts about the plant but my "theory" has always been to "listen to Mother Nature". Her advice is virtually always the best.

What I've outlined in my article is based on the top scientific text on aroids, The Genera of Araceae. I traded mail with two of the authors for some weeks while writing (and re-writing, and re-writing) the article. The ZZ grows in a part of Africa that has a heavy period of near flooding rain followed by a very dry season. The plant completely looses the leaves during the dry season as a survival strategy. When the leaves drop many have a bublet formed at the point where the petiole (stalk of the leaf) joins the stem. That bulblet can grow a completely new plant as can A. bulbifer. This is a rare occurrence in aroids.

Lots of folks believe they should keep the plant dry but eventually the plant "believes" the dry season in nature has begun and goes into survival mode. It drops all the leaves to preserve itself but growers often think it is dead so they throw it in the trash.

I try to explain why it is important to keep it watered. It can survive for a very long time with no water but like every other plant in the world has to have water to survive. You can easily find the article.

LariAnn is the expert on Alocasia! I've just learned that Alocasia Amazonica at least appears to prefer brighter light, slightly damp soil and a soil temp that does not ever go below 60 degrees. I also try to explain the "whys" in the article I noted above but my methods may not work for everyone!

I get a kick out of hearing when anyone finds what I've learned useful, so thanks for your kindness but as I said earlier, I'm no expert. I just do a lot of research and do my best to duplicate Mother Nature's conditions. At least in my atrium it almost always works.

Steve

I read the recipe for the soil for a alocasia.
40% potting soil
20% peat
20%orchid mix
10% perlite
I missed out on the last 10% of something, Sometimes I am silly.
What is t???
Charleen

Looks like another great forum!

Hows'it everybody!

Welina me ke aloha!

You guys can "kick" me but the term bulb is not a good term when used with aroids.

Here's what I recently learned while doing some major research for an article that will be in the next issue of Aroideana. All of this info came about after nearly a month of discussions with some real experts.

A bulb is an underground storage structure that is a condensed stem usually with a basal plate and fleshy storage leaves surrounding the bud that will form the next plant. This type of stem occurs in many plant families but not in the Araceae (aroids).

The stem of a plant is the central axis or base of the plant and not the stalk that supports any single leaf. A stem is normally divided into nodes and internodes. The nodes often produce a complete leaf with a petiole as well as producing roots and buds which may grow into shoots of various forms. The stem's roots anchor the plant either to the ground, a tree or to a rock. As you can see from this definition the word "stem" is not applicable to the part of a leaf correctly known as the petiole.

A bulbil is a name used for reproductive structures such as those formed in the junction of veins in some Amorphophallus species. It is a useful word that can be used without defining it much more precisely.

A bulblet forms at the juncture of the petiole and the stem in only a very few aroids including the ZZ. That little bublet is just a very tiny stem which allows a leaf that falls to the ground to form an entirely new plant.

A corm is an underground stem to which the above-ground parts of the plant may die back in the dormant season. It often stores starch and when it regrows, foliage will come from the top, and roots from the base like a typical stem. There are no true examples of a corm in the aroid family.

A tuber is an underground structure which is almost entirely a starch storage organ. The buds for future growth and the roots all develop at the apex (“top”) when the tuber forms as the tip of a stolon which it often but not always does. In Amorphophallus, Arum and Typhonium the stem tissue is encased in the small bud at the top of the tuber full of stored food.. That bud grows upward into a leaf or two and outward into roots with the tuber beneath.

Based on info from Dr. Croat and other scientists tuber is the most applicable term for an aroid but bublet does apply in some genera. Tuber would therefore be the correct term for what we often like to call a "bulb".

I hope I've not just confused the blazes out of everyone! If I have then LariAnn can explain it to all of us!

Steve

Charlene, you posted at the same time I was trying to make sense out my last bit of long-windedness.

I always allow room for other components and my "mixtures" are not meant to be precise. In that one I likely left out things like granulated charcoal (the kind you buy in an aquarium store), vermiculite and all sorts of things I add such as organic compost. I'll try to go back and check that one out.

The point is to make the soil similar in composition to the floor of a rain forest. There are always trees falling, burning and leaves rotting so the rain forest floor is highly organic. Just mix th soil with that in mind.

I try to spend time learning about the area the plant originates and from then do my best to duplicate it.

Steve

So, would you call the little tiny offsets tubers, also? Just tiny tubers? Oh, that's kind of funny

It is my understanding that tubers are produced by plants such as Yams Dioscorea, Sweet Potatoes Ipomoea batatas, and Potatoes Solanum tuberosum</i>.

Aroids such as Amorphophalus, Arum, Typhonium, Colocasia, Alocasia, etc. have a corm-like rhizome.

Yes, the tiny offsets are just baby tubers. I'm not familiar with all plant forms since I spend my time trying to understand aroids Corm is just not a useful word when talking about aroids since it does not fit the definition. Certainly, tubers are corm-like but a tuber is different than a corm.

While working on my article my friend and scientist Christopher Rogers wrote the following, "a corm is composed entirely of stem tissue. It is literally just an underground stem. It has an epidermal layer, a vascular cylinder with phloem and xylem and central pith. A corm can also be a starch storage organ, but it still has true stem tissue. This is why a corm has the new foliage growth coming from the top and the roots coming from the base. Corm examples are Crocus, Cyclamen and Gladiolus. A cormel is just a diminutive corm.

A tuber is just parenchyma (with some vascular tissue). It has an epidermal layer with some subdermal vascular tissue, and all the rest is parenchyma. It is almost entirely a starch storage organ. This is why the foliage and the roots all come from the top. Most plants with tubers have them borne on stolons, but that is not necessary. In Amorphophallus, Arum and Typhonium for example, the stem tissue is all encased in the small bud at the top of the tuber. That bud grows upward into a leaf or two, and outward into roots, with the tuber beneath. Other tuber examples are potatoes and Sinningia."

A bulb is composed of thick modified leaves arranged in layers that are used for food storage. An onion is a perfect example. As you can easily understand an onion is not like the tubers that grow from an aroid.

Although many authors use bulb, corm and tuber interchangeably the only term that is truly applicable to an aroid is tuber. Bulb is used far more commonly in horticulture but never in relationship to an aroid, at least by a scientist.

I realize some of Christopher's terms are technical but I'm going to do to all of you what Dr. Croat does to me all the time. He makes me go look up the terms! I would strongly suggest all of you buy a copy of the Oxford Dictionary of Plant Sciences so you can learn what terms like these really mean. It is cheap on Amazon.com

I'll give you a bit of help and tell you the xylem is just a network of hollow cells found in a plant's vascular system that transports water and soluble nutrients collected by the roots. Look up the other words and you'll start learning a bunch more about the plants you love!

Dr. Croat who I consider my mentor followed up with this after reading Christopher's distinctions, "That is an excellent distinction that you made for the difference between tuber and corm. I have always assumed that the corm was non existent in Araceae since most storage organs called stems are just a big bag of starch."



Steve

Thank you, Steve . you gave me some very good info. I have been looking for charcoal for plants. That is ot to easy to do. Now I know I got to go to fish pet supply.
Wonderful.
Charleen

Charleen, if you only need a small quantity the aquarium store or Walmart is great. If you need more it is much cheaper here: http://www.calwesttropical.com...

LariAnn!!!!! Where are you? You need to be in here making sure I'm not spreading non-sense on all this stuff!

Steve