Re: A. titanum ???

From: "Julius Boos" ju-bo at email.msn.com> on 2000.03.31 at 21:54:57(4289) Dear Paul, I read with MUCH interest your posting where you reported to the GREAT surprise of many growers of this normally difficult species your sucess in growing and flowering it under seemingly VERY adverse conditions, I even forwarded your posting to Donna Atwood at Selby who is keeping track of who has bloomed this monster. The opinions are that it is unlikely that 'true' A. titanum can or would grow and bloom under the conditions you describe, and that you may in fact NOT have A. titanum, but have A. paeoniifolius, a widly distrubited species which is even grown commercially in Jamaica, and the tubers exported to Florida where they are sold as a food item in Indian ethnic groceries. This (A. paeon.) is a species that can get huge, leaf up to 10 ft tall, and which can and will thrive under the conditions you describe, and could be easily mistaken for true A. titanum. Perhaps you could be so kind as to tell where you obtained the seed or small original plants of A. titanum, as all the ones in cultivation came from few sources, and also post a photo of the infloresence of your plant on the list for a positive I.D., as IF your plants are in fact A. titanum this additional info. would be very valuable to the growers who struggle to keep this tropical 'monster' alive!! Sincerely, Julius Boos +More ju-bo@msn.com >I have grown A. titanum outside in very dry, dusty conditions, in South Florida, since 1980. An Australian botanist friend of mine, had two growing outside in her nursery on St. Croix. The summers there can sometimes consist of a 6 months drought period. The plants I grew in Florida, without the benefit of good soil, supplemental water, of fertilizer, only reached about three feet in height before they bloomed. The two that bloomed had blooms about the size of dinner plates. When I dug up the plant in St. Croix, it too was about three feet in,height. The ground was very dusty and ,in spite of no visible roots, the plants were very beautiful. I did not bother taking my Florida plants with me, when I moved to St. Croix, because they were so easy to grow that there was no challenge. The plant from St. Croix is now about nine feet in height and growing in a pot of good soil in my living room. At this time it has begun going dormant.<<

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