WOW!!..gulp...sheeze...
Wonderful NEW EE'S from LARI ANN at AROIDIA RESEARCH
I have one of your Alocasia 'Portora' growing but nothin' like the one in the picture.
WOW and I do mean WOW
MAGNIFICENT!!! (eyes bulging, hand over mouth saving keyboard)
The last two to three days I have been placing a thick towel over my keyboard to soak up my drool.
And it is all LariAnn's fault!!!...teasing us with all this new stuff...
The size of that trunk!! Stem? Trunk? That alocasia has a trunk! I think we should wrap our keyboards with press and seal, just to be on the safe side.
"Well, it's teasin' time again, I know you missed me . . . ." (sung to the tune of "it's cryin' time again")
(stage curtains shake as announcer bellows,) "Ladies and Gentlemen, with greatest pleasure, I present to you, for the first time anywhere, the largest Alocasia robusta in the United States!"
(the crowd goes wild, people swoon, some are dialing 911 and trying CPR...)
This message was edited Oct 12, 2007 7:52 PM
Ah! Chin in lap. Eyeballs permanently duct taped in (vision holes-pre-cut).... That IS EEnormous! How long have you had it there? Do you protect it in winter? And it's growin' in a hoop house or a steeple house, what is that?! Special order pest protection? My cousin has an outdoor room/pool cover kind of like that, is it screening? - You do rock us with those pics! It IS The Champion - of the World -Queen 1977.
Check out the middle two pictures on the page below:
http://www.aroidiaresearch.org/robufern.htm
They are the same plant a few months ago, one without the fern together with it, and the next one about six weeks after I repotted it with the Macho fern. The pic I posted is about six weeks after that one. The A. robusta is about two years old and it is in a hoop house under shade cloth (screening).
Can I cook, or can't I?
AuntB, After i looked at Lari Anns ALO. ROBUSTA, I knew i had one of her little secrets but she showed it to us in her Hyperlink! Two of mine have out grown the my other two without the ferns! How did i know this i read her " AROIDIARESEARCH " some time ago! LariAnn you can cooooooook! You go girl! NO STOPPING YOU!!!!!!!! Jerry
Here's a view from another angle. (more people swoon; the odor of smelling salts permeates the auditorium, paramedics run up and down the aisles to help)
LOL...great picts!
I'm with Moodene...time for some cooking lessons in Texas!
I'll .see you at Jerrys friday Nadine! wonder if there will be any BIG EE there?
Rj
The knees.... so weak..... (collapsing to the floor)
AWESOME!
I sure hope so!! AS i sneek out with all of them EE's in my cotton sacks!!!!!! hahahaha, Texas bound with all them old big EARS!!!!!!!! singed "anonymmous "
Well. My goodness. I'm learning so much. Jerry, I never did do no good at readin' and comprehendin'.... we WILL be sendin' out the posse to collect them ears and return em to the rightful owner, boy. lol Seriously, so really, A.robusta should be sold w/Macho fern already planted with it, is that what you're saying LariAnn? ;) That IS truly amazing.... you are a Master Chef. I am soooooooooo enjoying the show.
Rj....mmm...I have no clue if he has any but he told me that he will have new stuff there...need to check his EE's in the back forty lot..See ya at Jerry's Jungle next friday!!
This will be a neverending post about these EE's...right... LariAnn???
Nadine, nice closing ;) (brought a chuckle to me) I know he's got stuff from LariAnn over there..... ( pics please, bring the night lens, he's prolly got his hoop house all set up and everything!..)
LOLOLOL..
Neverending, Nadine? Perhaps - if you saw how many baby Ears I have, babies whose destiny is to be Giant, you'd know! BTW, no pic today, the calm before the storm. The next pic I need to get just right because the EE I'm going to show is SO large with SO many leaves, I need to move a bunch of plants around just to get the whole thing in one pic. This is going to be one plant in the pot, no babies or suckers, just ONE - colossal ONE.
To prepare for this, tell me, what is the maximum number of leaves any EE you have grown has held at one time?
sadly, I've never counted
Lari Ann, how large can you grow Hilo Beauty ? I have only gotten mine about 10 inches tall this whole summer.
I feel like a failure--lol
Sandra
Sandra,
Personally I don't grow Hilo Beauty because it is not really an Alocasia, but either a Colocasia or a Xanthosoma. Besides, I've never seen it bloom and since breeding is what I do, if a plant doesn't bloom, I can't use it in my work.
I have seen Hilo Beauties over 2 feet tall, though, in this area. I know one nursery that has a few that large. They seem to do best in a bed rather than in a pot. Were I to grow one, I would plant it in a bed with nursery soil and use a fertilizer called "Dynamite", available at Home Depot, at least around here. Of course, in your zone, you'd need to do this in a greenhouse.
Don't think you are a failure; I'm sure you did the best with what you knew; you just need more knowledge!
Not sure it this link will work, these are a pict of mine posted on another thread.
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/p.php?pid=4073611
I have kept mine in a pot, waiting until I thought it was strong enough to put in the ground, still in the pot, it never happened.
Maybe I should have put it there early in the spring.
Thanks, great picture of yours rjuddharrison.
If it makes it through the winter, I will put it in the ground .
Sandra
Very nice bed, Rj! So full, the hilo draws attention to the area, makes me want to investigate further.. Sandra, you're not a failure, your a student like me! I put one in the ground in June.... it sat there all summer, too, but I'm blaming my dirt not being as well draining as I'd liked and it didn't get much sun, to I'll place it better next spring. I don't have anything in the basement for winter yet, and I'm already planning for next spring!
I started out with the pot too, only I had set it on the ground last summer and the roots grew through and the plant grew as big as I've seen them get, so...I put them in the ground, and despite a freeze and generally longer cold winter last year, they came back up, and brought friends with them, several little pups. Even still, the pups stay pretty small the first year..here anyway.. They seem to be particular about just the right light...
I was really surprised they came back this year.
Thanks AuntB!
I have two EE's that I got from Brian and did transplant them to a larger pot and have them sitting in the yard. I went out to move them the other day and they have roots growing into the ground about the size of my fingers. I need to do something with them, but it is almost time to start thinking about putting everything in the GH. I really dislike this time of the year, getting to where there isn't much blooming at least in my zone. I better stop complaining I am starting to get zone envy. We will be going to Houston for Thanksgiving, and if you don't think I won't be getting zone envy down there.
I hear ya, Linda... it's drudgery, getting it all in..... but, we'll love it next summer ... Zone envy, INDEED... Rj's in 9A - That sounds like a high zone I could grow anything year round, I would expect ears to come back in zone 9 .. no? Where do I need to move to always have warm and sunny with moderate rainfall year round??
Cool, how long are you going to be here?
Yes, now that I review the past few years, Every EE has come back. Especially the Plumbeas..They are doing very well. I hope that varigate ee comes back.
These were a bit of a surprise too, they are popping up everywhere. One of these in the pots were kicking the bucket last summer, so I upturned the pot on the flower bed...voilla...they liked it. I pulled them up last year and put them in the green house, but I think I'm going to leave all the ones in the ground this year. I forget the name of these...not amazonica..but something else..
They look like Alocasia 'Polly', which is a selection of Alocasia amazonica.
RJ is rubbing again, he said his ee's were popping up everywhere. I have one of those in the house and I am doing good to keep it alive. It puts on a new leaf then it looses a leaf. Oh will. In my next life time I hope I come back in zone 9 or 10. But I don't want any of those darn hurricanes.
Uh, Oh, you used the "H" word. I believe there is no profanity allowed on these forums. Govern yourself accordingly!
Then I don't want to hear the T word either.
Aunt B, we can sure make all the right excuses about what happened, can't we. I was just about to think it was a dwarf or something--lol--I am wondering now if I might get by with leaving my hilo beauty outside, but I only have one of them, so I guess I better take it inside.
Sandra
aah..okay..thanks for that I.D. - I've stopped trying to figure those out, I just ignore them and let them do their thing.
I don't have a hilo beauty. What is your zone Sandra? If it is going to get down below 40 you may want to consider bringing it in for the night.
I believe Alocasia Hilo Beauty is a caladium or possibly a Colocasia X Caladium cross. Only looking at it's DNA will they probably ever really figure out what it is. As for how large they get. I have grown them to 3 maybe 4 feet here. But recently I have seen a new form aparently a tetraploid or hexiploid form. I am not sure where this form is from but it can get 5 to 6 feet tall. If the genes are a even number maybe it will start producing flowers now. Perhaps it was a tetraploid Caladium to start off and now its chromosomes have been doubled if so giving a even number and a chance for breeding. Here is the new beast I am not sure what they are calling it at the moment. But from the stems and leaves you can tell it is different than the regular form. This form in the picture was pulled because it was variegated.
That's cool looking.
Come by and pick one up while your in town!
Brian how odd, I think I like it! Looks like someone got tired of painting the "dots" on. 5-6 ft? Will you have them next spring??? I'm not going clear to Miami and not stop by to see what you're up to. I think I probably need at least one.. ;) Rj, I love your A.Polly story... guess it pays to dump the pot and forget about it sometimes! Mine usually always die from too much TLC, I should neglect more, I guess. lol
I am in Northeast MS--I think we are 7B now--not sure though, they confused me when they changed the zones.
We will have some 20's and it has been -8 here several years ago.
Since I only have the one-I will bring it inside.
Brian, that one looks like it has a split personality, doesn't know if it wants to be a yellow splash or Hilo Beauty. I really like it though, that is my problem, I like everything.
I was recently gifted with one of your plants, Brian--a friend of mine gave me A Gigantica. she said it came from you.
Sandra