LariAnn, Just finished your article in the Aroideana. Can'nt wait for them to come available! Any more new pictures? Keep up the excellent work! Jerry
New Hybrid Alocasias for the 21st Century
Jerry,
Thanks! I think I might be releasing some of them in about a year, so watch for them! I do have new pictures and just have to take the time to post them!
LariAnn
LariAnn, Like i said before i can'nt wait!! Jerry
Great article. I am always excited to see what new cross you maybe working on. I have already tried to imagine what the robusta x odora would grow to look like. I would think that it could take out a few low flying planes if they are not careful. I know some places use the leaves of odora to cook with. You may find a whole new source for income in the food buisness. I would imagine they could just throw a cow in the leaf and cook it up with out all the hassle of cutting the meat off the bones. LOL.
More pictures sound good!!!
Wow, LariAnn! It has been a while since i have looked at the web site. All the hybrids look great, I especially love the Pterodactylian. Do you find that a "Jewel" alocasia, is still prone to rot if crossed with an odora or borneo giant? I just got seedlings from an A Calidora X A Corozon hybrid I did this spring, they are not big enough to see new features yet, but i want to know if it is something to look out for.
So far I have successful crosses with five of the Jewels (well, six, if you count the robusta!) and in every case the hybrids are far less prone to rot than the Jewel parents. That, of course is one of the reasons why I've done the crosses. I expect that the crosses involving the Borneo Giant will need to be watched a little more closely for rot than any of the odora-based crosses.
On your new cross - I hope you get real hybrid seedlings but you should know that sometimes the odora/calidoras will fool you and set seed that is not hybrid even though you did a cross on them. I did a cross with A. odora and A. reversa and got seeds, but on growing out, they turned out to be odoras, not hybrids! I imagine that this happens when your chosen pollen didn't work out, but the pistils got some odora or calidora pollen on them after you did your thing but still within the fertility window. Thus, that pollen is what causes the seed set. I've even had a group of seeds from a cross where most were hybrid and one or two were selfed (not hybrid). Lots of fun!