Re: Typhonodorum

From: "Julius Boos" ju-bo at msn.com> on 2002.07.04 at 23:47:16(9077) Dear Arno, Nice letter! Yes, Typhonodorum is a magnificent giant Aroid, I first saw thia at the home of the late Dr. Birdsey in Miami, Florida. His plants looked like huge compact banana 'trees'! His bore fruit profously, and he was very generous with visitors in giving these seeds away. I found that if you tried planting the quickly germinating seeds in soil BEFORE all the seed had been absorbed by the growing plantlet, the seed would rot on contact with soil and the plantlet would die (the large seeds of the neotropical giant aroid Montrichardia were very much alike in this manner). I let the seeds float untill almost all the visible seed had been absorbed, by this time there was a very well developed root system and a nice little plant floating around, and I then planted them in a VERY sandy mix. I saw a wonderful plant of this in bloom at a friends home, he had carefully peeled away the straw-like covering of old petioles from around the 'trunk' to expose a brilliantly colored inner live layer, shiny purple and cream stripes!! Good luck with all your aroids, and also with your trip to South America! Julius +More Boos West Palm Beach, Florida U.S.A. >>Typhonodorums must be one of my favourite plants. I think they look fantastic the way they rise up out of a pond or lake. I really got hooked on them when I saw them used in the landscapes created by Roberto Burle -Marx in Brasilia, Brazil. Luckily these plants seem to have been grown in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia (approximately USDA zone 11) for many years and I had no problem sourcing plants. For the last 3 years I cut the old flowers off my large (2 metre tall, 7 foot) Typhonodorum which grows in a pot in my pond. I was under the assumption that cross pollination between different plants was needed for seed. 2 years ago I purchased 2 more plants which will probably start flowering next summer. The idea was to have flowers to cross pollinate. After reading some comments on the list about self pollination on these plants, I left the flowers on my older plant. On Sunday I noted the spath of one flower had opened a little and the fruit were loose. It is now the heart of winter and really cold for us Brisbanites. The days are warm and sunny in the mid 20's but the temperatures are diving down to 6 and 8 degrees C at night, with frosts in inland areas. Also my pond is in an area shaded by trees during winter, and the water doesn't get warmed by the sun. Given the season and the brown mush of fruit and seed in the bract, I didn't expect to find viable seed. However on cleaning I found 9 large seeds. I placed the cleaned seeds in a pan of water Sunday night. Inspecting them on Tuesday afternoon I found two had shoots 2 cm long (an inch), and others were sprouting. I find this amazing given current temperatures in my house. For a tropical plant, this plant does well in our subtropical climate. I'm looking forward to raising the next generation, however it looks like I'll need to find homes for some of these plants, or dig a bigger pond. I find the root systems of the plant amazing. I repot my big plant every 2 or so years. most of the roots seem to be outside the pot and its a major struggle repotting. Maybe I'll have to look at putting in a permanent sand bed at the bottom of my pond. ===== Arno arnoking@yahoo.com __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Sign up for SBC Yahoo! Dial - First Month Free http://sbc.yahoo.com

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