questions about Amorphophallus titanum

From: "Nancy Greig" <ngreig at hmns.org> on 2010.07.21 at 00:40:33(21209) Hello! I just joined the IAS and I am happy to know there is such a group. Currently we have an A. titanum about to bloom – perhaps tonight, finally! We also have a corm (about 20 lbs) of a second plant acquired in 2006 that just recently went dormant. It seems to be having some problems – some mushy areas and a bit of whitish fungal growth on/in the mushy areas. But it is not mushy throughout – the central portion where the growing tip emerges seems to be fine. Parts of the bottom of the corm are mushy, and there are some good-sized craters in the sides. When we unearthed it recently (when the leaf died back) we found many small snails in mushy areas and also some tiny white insects. There was an orangish mass of fungus, mushed up corm, and insects on the sides and bottom when we dug it up. Now it sort of looks like a tooth with cavities… Is there anything we can do? We would hate to lose this plant. David Hunt (orchids) told us to spray it with Consan triple action 20… Any thoughts? Should we keep it completely out of the soil (and at what temperature/humidity)? Normally we have left the tubers in soil in a pot but not watered them for several months while they are dormant… Are people familiar with the list of “publicised titan arum blooms” on wikipedia? I assume someone British (from Kew) puts this together? I see from the list that several institutions have plants that bloomed/are blooming this year. It seems that June/July is prime bloom time. However, as noted our second plant is on a totally different cycle. How common is this? Thank you – I look forward to being a member of this group! Nancy HTML +More Nancy Greig Director, Cockrell Butterfly Center Houston Museum of Natural Science 5555 Hermann Park Drive Houston, TX 77030-1799 Tel 713-639-4742 www.hmns.org ------_=_NextPart_001_01CB286D.53B69C41-- --==============(47615066798255927=

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