My Lasia spinosa flowered this season, a rather strange flower/inflorescence. Very thin with a twirl. A bit hard to see in this photo, it's not very photogenic. It's almost black.


But I don't think it's produced any viable seed. The spent flower stalks have what look like seed/berries, but they seem too small. It's just that the stalks haven't withered yet, after a couple of months since the flowers withered. Maybe a couple of months more and I'll know for sure.

Tropic, I think the inflorescence is so unique on this plant and I am looking forward to seeing one on mine but for now, mine needs to be repotted and I'm wondering what type of soil mixture would be best.

Any thoughts/suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Rachel, mine was given to me and I never changed the soil. But other plants this person has given me were in very ordinary (poor) soil. I put the whole pot down on the soil in my new pond. That soil was a mainly clay mix and organic matter (what I thought would suit swamp plants). The Lasia has sent its roots down through the pot as well as over the side and into the mud. I've just moved it into another pond that isn't subject to the same amount of flooding. But the roots looked like they were revelling in the mud.

I've heard that it's a plant that grows on the edge of water and floats out over it. So it might be more a matter of lots of water rather than type of soil.

Thanks Tropic. What I find interesting is the type of soil that is used for us "home growers" vs. you with the perfect tropical environment to grow such plants at ease. In other words, I need to be schooled on what is the best available conditions I can find for making some of my plants thrive vs. just surviving;) In all reality and thus far, my Lasia seems to be a pretty easy keeper but then again I've not had mine for very long.

I plan to use an organic type of soil and adding sand along with aged horse manure for it as I did for the C. johnstonii but then again after reading that your plant has been placed in with a soil that contains "clay", I may change my mind. Clay soil, has it's positives and negatives.

Sand is good for drainage and for easy root penetration. But it doesn't hold nutrients. Clay is far better for that, but bad for drainage. However, for a bog type of plant I don't think drainage is an issue so would guess clay is better.

There are some plants that like it wet with moving water so good drainage would be important for them. One species of Utricularia here grows on sandy banks near water level with water constantly on the move. You don't see it in the lowland areas where the water is just standing.

I don't know about "the perfect tropical environment " being here. There's still a lot of challenges. It's just that low temperatures isn't one of them. Have a look at this thread:

I agree with you concerning your response on clay and sandy soils and it does not sound like your Lasia has been slowed down at all with a clay mix. I've read that it spreads via underground runners and if they can penetrate through a clay base quickly, I will definitely be adding clay for mine as well.

Thanks for the link on D.G., I will read it and I as well have a lot of challenges trying to grow some of my Aroids but if we did not have the passion for them, then we would not be trying to grow them;o)

Just noticed todat that the Lasia is flowering again, two flowers. I moved it from the last spot because of the fluctuating water levels during the wet season.

One of the flowers is the usual 'closed' twirled structure (spathe).


What I never saw in any of the earlier flowerings was the spathe opening. The lower one is still twirled for most of the top part but opened right out at the bottom.


A close up.

When I got back to my place yesterday the Lasia flowers had withered. But there were still the same type of clusters of small berry-looking things at the ends of the old flower stalks. The original ones that had flowered earlier in the year were all withered. So I expect that in time these will as well.

Do you have more than one species of Lasia? Also, are your specimens of Lasia spinosa clones or are they seedlings? If seedlings and if two different ones bloom near the same time, you might be able to get seed set. If clones, maybe not.

LariAnn

I'd assume they're clones. The person I got mine from just divides them so I've assumed where she got them from they were also divided. I don't know of any other Lasia species, must check it out. I don't even know where the L. spinosa originates.

My plant has another new flower which is bigger than the earlier ones, otherwise same appearance/shape. It seems to like the cooler nights and the new position I placed it in.

It's late September and this plant is still continuously putting out flowers. No viable seeds yet but the fruits are getting larger.

The fruits are getting quite large but still not looking like ripening. We're in the wet season now and the plant seems to have stopped flowering. Just curious to see how the seeds turn out and whether they'll be viable.

Thanks for the update - I'm curious as well concerning the ripening and viability of these berries/seeds.

The fruit fell over (stem bent down) and ended up in the water. I know some plants let their fruits go under water but don't know anything about these. So ended up pulling it out of the water and letting it rest higher up. The 'berries' are swelling quite a bit now, but still green. The rest of the plant is putting on some growth. Hope it doesn't take over the pond, they're harder to handle than Bougainvillea.

Thought I'd try resurrect this forum with an update on the Lasia. The fruit/seed cluster has grown but no sign of getting ripe any time soon. Not really sure how old this one is, probably around 6 months, maybe more. The plant itself is getting larger. I can see it becoming a bit of a problem because of all the spikes. It still looks really great. The stem on the left is a more recent flower that didn't successfully pollinate so it's yellowing and withering.

Those berries have grown quite a bit - it will be interesting to see how long they take to ripen up. My guess is they'll fall into the water and the seeds will sprout there.

BTW, I have a nice robust C. merkusii growing now and perhaps it will bloom this summer. If so, I'll be looking around for a blooming C. johnstonii to cross it with.

LariAnn

I won't be holding my breath waiting or those berries to ripen. They're still green and hard.

My C. merkusii is doing better now. I raised it up so that it floods less now. Besides that, this wet season has been very poor and rainfall is right down. This February I got 129 millimetres, last February I got 781 millimetres. My second merkusii is going into a large tub sunk into the ground. Water level there will be low and constant. It will be in mostly shade for a lot of the day. The johnstonii has been getting knocked around by falling palm fronds. I've finally found a better spot so it's coming good now. Maybe it'll flower soon.

Are you sure your merkusii flowers in the summer? My C cupidispathum flowered end of autumn and most of winter. Photos I took of C johnstonii in Cairns were during early winter. I just wonder whether they all flower around that time. We're early autumn here now so I'm hoping to get flowering soon.

My thought is that if your merkusii blooms in autumn/winter "down under", that would correspond to spring/summer up here. Assuming the bloom timing doesn't change with the difference in hemisphere, I would expect blooming in late spring or summer here. I'm just hoping for blooms this year as my plant will just be reaching the size where it may bloom.

I keep mine sitting in a shallow bowl with water and I give it soluble fertilizer feeds at least once per week with warm water. I also let it drain out to aerate the root zone at least once per week. The warm water, with fert or not, seems to really boost the growth speed of the plant.

LariAnn

tropicbreeze said:It's late September and this plant is still continuously putting out flowers. No viable seeds yet but the fruits are getting larger.

Zig, Are the fruits you're talking about here the same that are still ripening now?

Evan, I've tended to lose track, but pretty sure this is the one that has been going since back in November. At this stage I'm beginning to think it might do the full seasonal cycle and ripen in time for the next wet season. It's possible they wait until conditions are optimum for dispersal and germination.