Re: Amorphophallus titanum flowering at Selby Gardens

From: SelbyHort at aol.com on 1999.05.28 at 20:49:10(3405) Les, The first inflorescence's smell was really undescribably potent during the opening, but the second one was downright dainty by comparison....Both started opening late in the afternoon, beginning at almost the same time. The first started opening on Thursday, May 20 at about 3 PM, and continued expanding til about midnight. The second started opening about 3:30-4 PM on Monday, May 24 and was fully expanded by about 11 PM. We pollinated this second inflor. late on the night of the 24th, when the females were most receptive. +More I will send an update posting after I have had some sleep and can gather my thoughts. We are all terribly sleep deprived here and just moved both titanums back into the greenhouses this morning and tucked them into bed. Now we are all going home to crash. Two Titanums flowering at the same time is almost more than a person can endure! I guess now I know what its like to have twins! More soon, Donna In a message dated 99-05-21 17:27:42 EDT, you write: << Donna, I find this description of the stench interesting. The folks in Miami & Atlanta both described their bloom's odor to be disappointingly mild. Do you have any idea what accounts for the overwhelming nature of the odor in the Selby inflorescence? (Actually, I find the draw to the odor much like the Saturday Night Live skit that showed a family passing a jug of milk around so that all could experience how foul it had become.) Les >>

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