Re: Synandrospadix

From: "Julius Boos" ju-bo at email.msn.com> on 2001.05.28 at 18:18:34(6588) Hello Geoff (and friends)! There is a word for life forms that do this 'delayed' act, and it is said to be a survival strategy for life forms that have to live in extreme habitats, of course I can not think of the word now! (maybe 'diapause'??) Several of the folks that I sent seed of this to gave up too early and threw the whole caboodle away after two months, but I am STILL getting reports from people MONTHS/a year later that a seed here and a seed there continue to germinate! Once they do germinate, they grow like weeds, the only thing that seems to really mess them up are nematodes which infect the tuber, they will appear as sometimes-necrotic'bulges' on the tuber when you dig it up at dormancy. All in all, this has been a really lovely plant to grow and observe, and like most of the South American tuberous genera such as Taccarum ( I am STILL looking for other species besides T. weddellianum, folks!!!!!!) it gives me a welcome 'break' from Amorphophallus! (sorry, Lord P!!!!) By the way, LOVE your use of the word 'cosseted', have not seen it in use in years! Sincerely, Julius +More WPB, FLORIDA >>Thanks to Susan and Lynn for their advice about growing Synandrospadix, they have been duly potted up and will be cosseted, pampered and probably talked to as well (I talk to all the rest, I am not above resorting to pleading, encouraging and even threatening my plants to grow for me.....!). Their germination was very strange: one seed germinated within a week of sowing, another 2 months after, and the rest several months after that; all seeds treated exactly the same. Anyway, I look forward to growing them on to large flowering plants if at all possible. Besy wishes to all, Geoffrey Kibby

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