I am looking for any amorpho nuts out there like myself. Want to talk, maybe trade, and discuss the beautiful amorphophallus plant. I have two types of konjac, some bulbifers, a peonifilus (probably spelled that wrong off the top of my head), and a titanium. Looking to discuss with all people interested.
here are some pictures
This is the big konjac I have and the titanium is in the bottom left. sorry that is is rotated
here are some of the bulbifers that I started from seeds.
also have more. Talk to you then.
I'm into arums in general and the amorphophalli are a favorite. I remember going to "The Dime Store" as we called it (Woolworth's, Eagles, and Kress') when I was a wee lad and marvelling at the vividly illustrated boxes of "Voodoo" lilies (prolly were A. konjak). I bought one, it didn't flower and I have no idea what I did with it! I don't remember potting it up, so I just don't know......
For the last few years I've just grown a few Sauromatum venosums, but have recently purchase an A. titanum, A. bulbifer, a couple konjacs, an A. paeoniifolius, and a few Arum dracunculus. I am so ready for spring!
The last time I had any konjak was 1979. I bought it from "The International Grower's Exchange" for only $20 and it was a huge bulb that bloomed not long after I got it. I kept it for a few months and (I could kick myself) I left it with some neighbors when I moved. When I came to get it, they gave me some story or other: it was GONE. They had moved too, and I guess they had the same "transportation" problems I had (it was 5'+ tall with the pot.
I've had the S. venosums in the ground till last fall. I dug them up to enrich their bed and get them all in one place. I will pot them if I don't get the bed done in time and plant them in the ground later.
In 2004, I got a good-sized seed head and now I a bunch of babies. I grew them all potted.
More later.
Robert.
Robert,
Do you ever get any of your plants through plant delights nursery out there. I have had nothing but good things since I have dealt with them. I have also got a few konjacs, some bulbifers, a titanium, and recently bought a paeoniifolius that I am still waiting to arrive in the mail. I have been growing them for a few years and love what I have been seeing. I have not had one bloom yet though and hopefully my big konjac will bloom this year or next.
Do you have any tips for growing them of hints on good places to purchase them or trade. Let me know.
It is good to see that there are more nuts out here that are into this stinky plant. I will talk to you later.
ben
Robert,
I forgot to ask about those seed babies you have. What kind of plant is that (venousum)? Are they like an amorpho? Do you have any pictures of them?
Ben
Souromatum guttatum (venosum)
http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/2055/index.html
Naturalizable and perfectly funny little aroids.
berhardt~
As JamesCO (Hi J!) responded, they are Sauromatum guttatum ssp. venosum as they are called now. Were once considered as an amorpho. as A. konjac was once Hydrosme rivieri (and several other names).
I don't have any pics, but J's link shows it all. One thing about the babies is that many produced more than one leaf and I think that they may have even offset themselves as well. Some of the smaller ones didn't want to go dormant last fall, but the larger ones responded to drying out the pot towards the end of summer. I finally just let them go all the way dry despite worrying that the 'bulbs' might possibly dry out too much in storage. So, I haven't lost any.
I haven't ordered from Plant Delights as I try to shop around for better value, on Ebay for example. Tony (Avent) has a wonderful act going but the prices are way too high for me in nearly all cases. I can search the web and find larger specimens for a fraction of Tony's cost. I realize he has a big preration to maintain, but I have to budget! I feel the same about "Wayside Gardens" and their very small pots at hight prices (hosta for example). I practice patience and wait for the plants to show up somewhere else, maybe get a start from a friend, etc. I splurge when I want to, but I really have to have it NOW to pay certain prices.
As I was saying about the "vivid" illustrations on the "Voodoo Lily" boxes of yore, the flower was a painting, quite bright yellow with bright red spots, almost lurid in effect. It matches up with the real thing minus all the splashy colors and hype.
I like the way Tony at PD pushes hardiness zones. However, I'm not taking any chances with my bulbifer or paeoniifolius. He says one or both should survive 7b but at a depth of 12". I'm thinking I'll lift most of my dracunculus (if I even put them in soil) as I read that they are iffy in their hardiness in our cold wet winters. Maybe, I'll leave one in the ground to test it. Konjak should be ok in the ground here but I prefer to pot them anyhow, so I can control conditions better (watering and exposure, etc.).
Do you grow in the ground or in pots? What is your zone?
Have you enjoyed the Amorpho pics and info at The International Aroid Society?
http://aroid.org/genera/amorphophallus/ is a starting place, if not.
Earlier I said I was into "arums in general", but I meant to say aroids (araceae). Tropical and weird group full of wonders.
Later,
Robert.
(Hi Robert)
As I understand, drainage is good for Dracunculus overwintering. Some places say that sand-based soils are best. Winters here are very dry, so that is not a problem for mine. They do not have a dip in the corm, either, to collect water. Just leave one out and see what happens, they are not too horribly expensive, and will naturalize well if established. Perhaps the will-not-survive thing is a farse? (I dug my Amorphophallus konjac, however...) I actually plant Drac. at about 5" deep and mulch a bit. I could be wrong, but last spring, it seemed like the early folaige might have been slightly frost-hardy. In fact, I have a spike of one begining to poke up right now.
Don't forget good 'ol Arum maculatum and Arum italicum, etc...
K. James
Robert,
I live here in southern Cali. I am not sure what zone that is since I have never really bought or planted anything due to my zone. I plant everything in pots since I rent an apartment right now. I am still in school but will be graduating in the summer so then I will be looking for a place with a yard. I do agree, and not just because of my situation, that planting in pots does give you more control of the fetilizing and watering and such. Here in California, I rarely, if ever have to worry about frost so that helps out alot.
I have looked at the pictures from the International Aroid Society many times. I would agree with you. They have many beautiful amorpho pictures. And I would have to agree with you also in saying that aroids are an amazing group of plants.
Ben
hey all.
For me in Seattle washington, the worry isnt my zone as much as it is the long wet soil conditions. But, the wonderful thing about A. Konjac or Typhonium venosum is that they reproduce like weeds so all you have to do is wait a year or two and you have a nice sized little test crop. Even with that idea in mind I would still dig mine up... for no other reason than I like to play with my plants.. seeing a big tuber come out of the ground is pretty cool !
As far as where to get these guys I have found two really good sources. First is a guy ive been talking to for a while now who has a website www.treasuredbotanicals.com. He is a great guy and has great bulbs with good prices. Another web site is www.dragocactoid.com ..The owner of that one also seems very nice and has nice bulbs. Another is ebay.. but as always you have to be a smart shopper..If something sounds fishy then it probly is. I have gotten ripped off once or twice and have known some people who have experienced worse.
Chris
Thanks for the links, Chris. Both sites have some good bulbs, nice variety.
Smart shopping is always called for. As far as ebay is concerned, ebay itself can sometimes help to resolve diputes or perhaps bar unscrupulous sellers. I always check out how long they've been a seller and what kind of feedback they have gotten. I haven't bought anything from very new sellers, and that might be where you take a chance.
So, is Typhonium the latest "true" botanical designation for what have just gotten into the habit of calling venosum and not guttatum? And now there's this! ;-0 At least it's not as bad as a coupla-3 years ago when all the chrysanthemums had their names changed.
Are you referring to offsets on the main tuber re: fast increasing of konjak? Have you ever gotten any seed? I made sure to get two of them so I could try to get some seed when they bloom.
JamesCO~ Yes to one of the arums I love, the "Italian Arum", which are growing right now in my lower back yard and have multiplied yearly for me. Love the foliage and red seed heads, and their being out of syc with most everything else.
My dracunculus is from the half-price sale at Brent and Becky's so it wouldn't be a huge loss. I have a nice shady-dry area that should be perfect for one. I'll give it a try. I put the ones I got in a moderately cool fridge as the tips were about 1 1/2" up and I read that they prefer full sun and I didn't want them to struggle with window light part of the day. They seem to be holding quite well.
I would loove to have an A. hewittii but I'm already worried about my titanum outgrowing my space......I really must get a greenhouse.
Robert.
Yeah.. I was mainly talking about Konjac offsetting like crazy. I have had two bloom at the same time(my family was NOT happylol) .. but It didnt seem worth the trouble to germinate seed and further waste the bulbs energy when they offset so freely from the main tuber.. I did,however, buy some seed from ebay but got no germination. I guess there is always the chance with getting some mutations from a large batch of seed that you wouldnt get from geneticly identical offsets,but how many flats of seeds would you have to plant before you got one interesting mutated variety ? there are people who are trying to do hybrids..Taking konjac for example and pollinating it with pollen from bulbifer or paeoniifolious etc... I still havent heard if anyone has gotten anything interesting from this yet .. but it sounds cool!
Chris~
I'm so looking forward to multiple konjaks!
Did you receive the konjak seeds dry or moist? That could be part of the problem you had.
T. Venosum has a fleshy aril and must be kept moist if not planted immediately. Some aril-possessing seeds take longer to germinate and some just die if they dry out. Don't know how about Amorphs and this issue. You might look it up.
I hope you didn't throw the seeds away without checking to see if they had rotted or not. If the drying out killed them, seems as though you could take it up with the seller.
Robert.
I did keep the seeds moist ... I remember from germinating Amorphophallus Titanum seed that they cant dry out... I forgot to mention that i neglected to take care of them ... they dont grow well without water heh.
Chris,
Where did you get the titanium seeds that you were trying to germinate. Just a question I guess. I have a bulb but am a bit intimidated by it and was just curious about some seeds as a second resource.
Also, the bulbifer seeds that I started were all a bit moist when I recieved them. They were not in anything to keep them wet though. The only thing was that I needed to plant them immediately. I did so and they all sprouted. many of them will be with me this summer. I just have to wait a few more weeks and get them into their pots.
Ben
I got mine from a friend who orderd them from bali orchid gardens...
Id keep an eye on ebay for some.. or surf the net. I am not sure where a good place to get them from now is .
Anyone know a good place to get a decent sized healthy tuber of Draculcus vulgaris ... Also .. other species of Arum other than Italicum?
Thanks all this post has been neat..
Chris
Chris,
I went to one of the sites that you gave a bit higher on the list here and I got myself one of those venousum bulbs. He did have pretty good prices and he even threw in an extra bulb on the side. Thanks for the info on him. I will try this bulb as well as my others this summer. I also finally recived the paenoifulious in the mail the other day only to find that it was quite rotten in the middle. I emailed them to return it and the nice guy there said he would take care of it and sent me a new one. Also a good recommendation from you so thank you again. A few weeks more and I will be able to plant all of them and hopefully give you all a few pictures of some young leaves.
Ben
Picture of A. bulbifer and A. Konjac
from last season
Chris
Typhonium Venosum
A. Albus
A. Henryi .. not the best pic sorry
Yall im bored and just killin time postin pics .. hope you like them
This Is typhonium roxburghi
Why do I save and replant my konjac offsets ???
I have no clue
Because you are under a voodoo spell! ;-)
Thanks for posting the pix.
Robert.
chris,
Wow, you have quite a collection there. You have got some pretty nice ones. I wish that I had all that space on a patio that size. I agree, you are under a "voodoo" spell. Great pics. Love to see them, keep um coming!
ben
