From: "Julius Boos" ju-bo at email.msn.com> on 2000.04.02 at 18:23:51(4321)
Hello again Paul,
>Good morning Julius. I just received a telephone call from my friend on
St.
Croix. She is in her upper 80's and very vigorous, however, she no longer
remembers where her two corms came from. The other plant still comes up
every year and blooms on occasion. I have remembered that the three corms I
obtained in 1980 were ordered. They were labled A. titanum.<
You will note the posting of my friend Donna Atwood from Selby Bot. Garden
where she says that they also received a tuber of what was labled as being
Amorphophallus titanum, and that this event ALSO occured like yours in the
'80`s, same time frame. I`d BET they were from the same misinformed
source, and yes, the photo I remember was of the one that grew at Selby and
was published as A. titanum. We now know for sure all were A.
paoeniifolius, a much commoner and easier to cultivate species.
> I now suspect
that they could have been paeoniifolius. The instructions that came with
them said that the corms rotted after blooming. They said the only way to
grow new plants, after blooming, was to cut out the dark raised areas on the
underside of the corm and plant them. I did this with one of the corms and
did get a couple of new plants. The other plant, after blooming, came up
anyway.<
This too is a misconception that needs to be corrected, as several of the A.
titanums now in cultivation mainly from seed collected by the late Dr. Jim
Symon have continued to grow after blooming with no ill-effects.
> I guess its just as well I don't have A titanum. It would be
rather tight in my small apartment. Thanks ever so much for your help. The
local botanical society hs just received a gift of a large plot of land and
plans to put in a very large botanical garden. Considering the upscale
nature of Naples, it should be a good one. Thanks again, Paul<
Thanks again for going to all the trouble to obtain the information which
allowed us to come to the correct conclusion concerning the correct I.D. of
your plants as being Amorphophallus paeoniifolius, which as you recognise is
a good thing! A. titanum, with it`s up to 15 ft. tall leaf with a spread
of up to 21 ft., and 150 lb. tuber would indeed be a tight fit in you
apartment!!.
This conclusion prevents misinformation from spreading on this list
concerning this wonderful group of plants.
Write when time permits,
Good growing!!!
Sincerely,
Julius Boos
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