callas, Z. aethiopica in particular

From: "George R Stilwell, Jr." grsjr at juno.com> on 2000.11.10 at 15:25:07(5667) Tony, 'Tis a puzzlement! I'm growing Z. 'Green Goddess' and Z 'Marshmallow' but I haven't had the latter long enough to comment on it. The former is a yawn for me. I haven't found Z. aethiopica 'Childsiana' or 'Pink Mist' yet. But I have what is supposed to be Z. a. 'Hercules Brother' which I got from Dan Levin. But, the plants I have +More don't even remotely resemble the description of this selection. There certainly is no shortage of hybrids. One problem with Z. aethiopica here is that it insists on growing in winter even though the frost whacks it every year. I realize that winter is it's normal growing season in South Africa, but they don't have freezes. The other species are well behaved and go to bed in the winter. Perhaps that's why most of the hybrids are not of aethiopica origin. If you're interested in the hybrids, do check out the Oregon Coastal Bulb Co, a wholesale importer. I think http://www.flowersbulbs.com/product_display.asp?link=displayproduct&productpage=7 will get you there. Jeanne Hannah got a group order together for us and some of their hybrids are really spectacular. I've also been seeking a source for the less well known species. I've tried several nurseries in South Africa and Kirstenbosch with only one success. Rechel Saunders of Silver Hill Seeds did find some Z. pentlandii seed for me and Welland Cowley, Cape Flora, will supply Zantedeschia pentlandii tubers in August at $215.00 per 100 mature tubers http://ftp.iafrica.com/c/ca/capeflor/. However, not a sign of the more interesting species like Z. jucunda, Z. odorata, and Z. valida. Rechel did say the habitat for Z. odorata is being destroyed at a really rapid rate for farming. She has some plants growing, but not enough seed to sell yet. Ray GRSJr@Juno.com ________________________________________________________________ YOU'RE PAYING TOO MUCH FOR THE INTERNET! Juno now offers FREE Internet Access! Try it today - there's no risk! For your FREE software, visit: http://dl.www.juno.com/get/tagj.

From: Steve Marak samarak at arachne.uark.edu> on 2000.11.10 at 16:19:16(5671) Ray, I was about to mention Z. a. 'Hercules' myself; several of us obtained plants a year or so back (I'm at work, can't check the date) in a group order. I see you mention 'Hercules Brother' - is that the correct name for this cultivar, or another? And what is the description you have for it? So far my only experience with it is that it does seem more robust that the usual Z. a. It hasn't reached anything like the exceptional size it's said to be capable of, but that could be either youth or my zone 6 conditions. I generally leave all Zantedeschias outdoors here, and they seem quite hardy (Z. rehmannii is a bit iffy), but I did bring a couple in this year. As I feared, it looks like they will remain in active growth and the growth will be weak because of the lower light levels. The best here are about any of the large yellow-flowered hybrids. They come up when the weather warms up, flower well, are well-behaved about going dormant in the fall, and never try to resume growth during a warm spell in January. If you do find sources of any of the other species, please count me as interested. Steve +More -- Steve Marak -- samarak@arachne.uark.edu

From: "George R Stilwell, Jr." grsjr at juno.com> on 2000.11.10 at 20:27:18(5672) Steve, I looked up the notes and it was called 'Hercules Brother' because Dan wasn't positive that it was 'Hercules'. I was hoping for a 6' specimen, would settle for 4', but actually got 1.5'. I'll keep you in mind if I find sources for the species. I'd rather grow the species than the hybrids, but I must admit the ones we got from Oregon Bulbs are spectacular. All of my Zantedeschia are growing outdoors (N. Carolina) and, except for aethiopica insisting on growing in late fall/early winter, I've had no problems. They even seem to thrive in the heavy NC clay. +More The oldest patch of aethiopica is 4 years old. Every year it gets to looking like cooked spinach in mid-winter. I just cut it back and then it seems willing to wait for spring. However, this fall it's a bit on the short side. We have been in the longest drought in NC recorded history. I don't expect it'll bloom this fall/winter. Hopefully it'll be back next spring in better shape. Ray GRSJr@Juno.com ________________________________________________________________ YOU'RE PAYING TOO MUCH FOR THE INTERNET! Juno now offers FREE Internet Access! Try it today - there's no risk! For your FREE software, visit: http://dl.www.juno.com/get/tagj.

From: Al Wootten awootten at NRAO.EDU> on 2000.11.11 at 19:09:09(5673) George R Stilwell, Jr. writes: > I looked up the notes and it was called 'Hercules Brother' because Dan > wasn't positive that it was 'Hercules'. I was hoping for a 6' specimen, > would settle for 4', but actually got 1.5'. I was among those getting a 'Hercules' a few years back. I wasn't sure it would do well outside so I kept it with my orchids the first year. It just got smaller and smaller. I guess it wanted more light than the fluorescents produced. Now it is outside by the Chesapeake and seems to be surviving but is still in the process of coming back--about a foot tall I guess. In the bed with it are a couple of Callas which are doing spectacularly well. The soil in Deltaville is very sandy. Clear skies, Al +More +---------------------------------------------------------+ |Al Wootten, Slacktide, Sturgeon Creek at the Rappahannock| |Astronomer (http://www.cv.nrao.edu/~awootten/) | |genealogy homepage http://members.tripod.com/~astral | |Deltaville, Virginia (804)776-6369 | +---------------------------------------------------------+

From: Dan Levin levin at pixar.com> on 2000.11.11 at 19:10:15(5675) Folks, The Z.a. 'Hercules' (or 'Hercules Brother') were acquired directly from Western Hills Nursery, in Occidental Calif. Since I was the closest list member (60 miles), I bought out their stock and did the distribution. However that quest really began in search of Z.a. 'Hercules' described as "gigantic in stature (6 ft.+) with white spotted leaves"; a plant described in the records of Strybing over in San Francisco; and credited to the founders of Western Hills who unfortunately are no longer around to shed any light on the matter. I was promised at the time by the current owners of Western Hills their plain leaved plants were in fact 'Hercules'- but without spotting. However I seriously suspect they goofed in their labeling somewhere along the line and we all ended up with generic aethiopica or perhaps some other selection. This initial doubt led to Ray tentatively penning the title Z.a. 'Hercules Brother' here on aroid_L I believe. --- +More Since that time I inadvertently discovered what I think might be the "real" Z.a. 'Hercules'. Happened to spy an old established clump growing up a gulch on the property of another nursery in the immediate area of Western Hills. This plant matches the original description with huge spotted leaves to approx. 3 ft. in length and a total height of at least 7 ft. (!) At first glance it looked like a large Colocasia or Alocasia and it made for a most imposing, spectacular sight to be sure. It seems credible that the true 'Hercules' could've changed hands between local nursery owners once upon a time. I'm still trying to acquire as much of this plant as I can. But silly me: I told the present owners of this nursery it was likely a rare plant before attempting to purchase any (I had just stopped one of their workers from clearing it out with a machete when first sighted, so had explained it's potential value). Bad move. They were then only willing to sell me one small piece for very much money! I'm still trying to acquire as much of it as I can for my own yard and as trade fodder. On a parallel note, I distinctly recall that in Tony Avent's entertaining talk at VIII IAC mention was made of a trip to Calif. and finding someone's driveway lined with these same huge spotted leaved Zantedeschias. According to my notes, Tony said he'd already acquired a bunch of the plants and had taken them back to his place for propagation. Sure sounded like the same plant, in any case. Did I get this right Tony? Is this plant something you've got coming out soon? For my part, I'll propagate as much as I can but I'm no businessman (obviously) and my only interest would be in circulating this puppy around to fellow enthusiasts by way of trades or what have you. -Dan Levin

From: Tony Avent tony at plantdel.com> on 2000.11.14 at 03:55:24(5681) Dan, Ray: Okay, let see if I can add two cents worth to the zantedeschia aethiopica fray. The plant that Dan sent was solid green, but seems to be larger than our typical Z. aethiopica. When we visited San Francisco, a friend had a row of Z. aethiopica named Z. White Giant' that had foliage to 3' tall, speckled, and typical Z. aethiopica flowers to 7' tall. We were able to aquire this plant, which will be listed in our 2001 catalog. We later aquired another plant at Strybing Botanical Garden named Z. 'Hercules'. The leaves are much larger than our Z. White Giant', but they have only been in the ground here for two years. We have not started to propagate Z. 'Herculues' yet, but probably will do so next year. For us Z. aethiopica gets burned back in the winter, but starts growing again at each warm spell. It flowers heaviest in spring, sporadically in summer, then again in fall. Plantsman Sean Hogan of Portland tells me that he found a giant Z. aethiopica seedling when he was curator at Berkley Botanic Gardens in CA. More than likely, his plant is one of these two giants, but as of now, we do not know which one. I hope this helps. Tony Avent +More Plant Delights Nursery @ Juniper Level Botanic Garden 9241 Sauls Road Raleigh, NC 27603 USA Minimum Winter Temps 0-5 F Maximum Summer Temps 95-105F USDA Hardiness Zone 7b email tony@plantdel.com website http://www.plantdel.com phone 919 772-4794 fax 919 662-0370 "I consider every plant hardy until I have killed it myself...at least three times" - Avent

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