Got this cool large leaf climbing adroid a few weeks ago from bwilliams (circled in red). It's doing well, curious to see how small the first new leaf is. Misting goes on hourly in this whole area from 6 foot high between 8a - 6p and I'm putting up shade cloth on this area in a few weeks depending on the weather.
Good luck on IDing that one. I believe it is a old hybrid probably one that has never been named. I have seen it many times and no one can give me any info.
I'll have to make up a name then! :)
Nice one, whatever the name! Hope you post pic's as it grows!
Lin
I don't know much about growing in arid places like Arizona.
While misting obviously raises the humidity and lowers the temperature, when the water evaporates it will leave behind all the dissolved solids such as calcium, magnesium, iron, etc. This can cause problems if the mist continuously evaporates from the leaf surface, which will cause the leaves to be coated with the solids.
Dave.
I will post pics for sure! I'm totally into 'before and after' pics! :)
Digital_dave, good point, as I have seen a little of that solid coating, but overall it's not that bad, and not only misting but just regular drip sprayers will contribute, so I don't have much choice. But the only new plants in that pic are the devil's ivy, the climbing adroid, and the two crotons - the palm, the EE, the gold dust aucuba, the hawaiian elf, and the Arum Italicum 'Marmoratum' have all been in there since last summer, and out of the frame of the pic I have containered peace lilys, philidendron tree, and fatsia japonica, all of which have been getting the mist, and I have noticed a *little* white on some of the older leaves. But I also am pretty diligent about cleaning / spraying all the glossy plant leaves in this garden with neem oil, so I'm sure that helps prevent the solid minerals from sticking.
Updated pic 8 weeks later - zoom in for new leaves circled in red. And i just realized i spelled Aroid 'Adroid'... doh!
It's looking good. At least you didn't spell it Android!
Growing tropicals in Arizona has got to be challenging, maintaining humidity. Do you threat the municipal water?
I suppose a water spray wouldn't have to be directed directly on the plants leaves to be effective. Evaporation on the ground on concrete or tiles would also keep the temps down and the humidity up. I remember visiting New Mexico for a job interview many (many) years ago when everyone had swamp coolers but I'm told they are not as effective as they once were due to the human influences.
I wish, but can't treat the water because softening would create too much salt in the water and the plants would not like it. The electronic units that clamp onto the pipes that are supposed to remove the minerals or convert them into something else don't work either. So I'm left with hard water, but using shade and frequent, but mainly short duration waterings to cool the area and maintain some humidity.
Your comment about not directly spraying the plants is right on - most of the mist hits the rock and gets absorbed and does cool off this area quite a bit. This particular garden being in a relatively enclosed north / east side helps as well, but I have other tropicals in other areas facing N/E and S/W that is use shade from large palms and companion plants to let the young tropicals get a head start and develop good root systems so they can survive the heat.
Come july/august when the monsoons hit the humidity will be much higher, but so will the winds, and that's another issue!
Did you even get an ID on that plant? It sure has grown and is really looking good. I have one that looks similar that I don't have an ID on either, someone thought it might be Philodendron 'Emerald Prince' but wasn't sure. I have no clue if it's even a Philodendron. I've had it for about 6 or 7 years and probably got it at Home Depot or Wal-Mart or Lowes since that's the only place locally I can find house plants! We have only 2 nurseries left in town and they mostly just carry Annuals, Perennials and Trees for the yard with a few common houseplants.
That's a very nice plant! And the leave shape is very similar.
I'm hoping my climber is a Philodendron smithii aka 'Madaianum'
http://www.exoticrainforest.com/Philodendron%20smithii%20pc.html
But without a spathe and some bigger leaves it's hard to tell, as that smithii has bigger leaves, and looks a little ruffley, so it's hard to tell.
Thanks for that link ... That's a nice plant! I have no clue as to which plant I have, it doesn't have ruffly leaves like that gorgeous 'Smithii'! Hope yours turns out to be that one!
