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
