Dan, your cardiocrinum is blooming? How fantastic! I have had one in my garden for 4 years now, and it hasn't bloomed yet. This year, 3 much larger leaves, but that is all. I don't think I planted it in very good soil. Do you think it would be worth it to dig it up in the fall and transplant into better, more friable soil? I think it's mostly in clay.

I will have to look up your plants that your friend is sending you. I am not familiar with them.

Susan

Hi Susan,

I actually posted a pic of my Cardiocrinum flowers on the bulb forum if you care to take a peak!! I've got them both in pots (the one in flower) and in the ground (all they are in is pure leaf compost in the ground). I think it might be the most amazing plant in the world for the woodland garden, but maybe that is just me :o)

The Dracontium are virtually unavailable in this country unfortunately as I think they are perhaps more stunning than the Amorphs. I even contacted MOBOT as the guy there did his thesis on the genus and described many of the species, but since he left they have gone down hill. Such a shame as these guys can grow to 4 meters or more in height and can produce multiple reptilian skin-like petioles at the same time.....truly amazing and I've only got a few small ones :o) Dan

Dan, sorry to hear about the weather and vermin troubles youve had up there. It has been the same exact thing down here. We had a huge storm pop up about 2 weeks ago and did lots of damage to the landscape/plants. A large white variegated Chinaberry that was looking SO good this year lost all of its branches, (thats Chinaberry for you). Banana leaves shredded, Tetrapanax Steroidal Giant leaves shredded, the winds pushed large Colocasia esculenta forms onto a small konjac bed and now they are all bent up looking. Not to mention GRUBS are having there way with alot of my Colocasia gigantea.
On another note..awesome that you got the Dracs...They really are a fascinating genus.
Michael M.

Sorry to hear that Dan. If you're having a problem with squirrels, bloodmeal really works at keeping them away from plants. They hate the stuff.

On a more positive note. We had a bad storm and the top of one of my Amorphs was broken. It was just hanging there by a few strands. For the heck of it, I taped it back in place. That was over a month ago. The leaves never even wilted and it's continued to grow.

Kevin

Arggghh! I love to watch the squirrels, but they dig holes in my garden, especially where I have planted bulbs they like. They forget where they planted their pecans, and I get tons of little pecan trees that are soo-ugh-soo-ugh [groaning sounds], hard to pull up! But, I couldn't stand to kill them. I even brake for them in the road.

However, I've never heard of using blood meal. My cats love it, so I have to put it up in a cabinet high high up, where they can't get it. It makes sense, though, since squirrels are not carnivorous, are they?

Kevin, you have a much more valuable plant in your amorph, but I had bought a lilium 'Flore Pleno' (double flowering tiger lily) this spring, and the exact thing happened. I think I'm pretty creative, so I propped it up against a stake and loosely taped it with my granddaughter's stickers! It still looks fine!

OT: Michael, can you tell me more about chinaberry? I have heard of them but haven't really looked into them. I have two Tetrapanax, but not the Steroidal Giant. Altho, one may be - it's leaves are already about 8" across, and it is only about 8" tall.

Dan, I'm so sorry about your amorph and arisaemas. I looked at your cardiocrinum pics, and they are beautiful! Alas, will mine ever bloom???? (rhetorically speaking)

Susan

Hi Michael, It is interesting about the China Berry. I really know nothing about them, but there was this nice lady in the bonsai club in Birmingham, AL where I used to live that used them to make small bonsai.....not typical to use vining plants, but of course, Wisteria is the classic plant to prove it can be done!! My Musa basjoo I've had in the front yard for 6 years now is being tortured by the Japanese beetles of course....as is everything else, including the Typhonium and Am. konjac!!

Kevin, interesting idea about the bloodmeal....perhaps I should try it, but I suppose if the squirrels run away with a few dozen or so it really isn't a major loss given how fast they offset. I can not believe you taped the petiole together and it continued to grow....amazing!

I suppose Susan is right.....I'd never hurt one, but sometimes I'd atleast like to send them to the neighbors patch of woods. I guess my dirt is easier digging :o) Dan

Dan

Here's the bandaged Amorph. Also forgot to say, for me squirrels won't dig in pots with lava rock or gravel on the top of the soil. I guess the sharp stones hurt their noses or something. It's very sad, but I've learned to think like a squirrel over the years. Very, very sad indeed. (sigh)

Kevin

{{gwi:389267}}

We will have to announce you as our resident plant paramedic, Kevin! Do you have a uniform?

Otherwise, it looks like a really healthy plant, with the new leaves emerging.

Susan

Sure do. I put on the white coat and grab the first aid kit after every storm. Haven't lost a plant yet.

K

Hi Dan,

Sorry to hear about the weather and vermin. Luckily the only vermin problem I have is the damn slugs. Frustrating things that they are...

I feel all of your pain !! ... Here in seattle things are STILL just coming up.. Ive got pots of konjacs just NOW leafing out... I have two pots of amorphs from Thailand that arent even poking out of the soil !!! We have been colder than normal .. rainer and cloudier than normal for july ... We have just recently had one or two days in the 80s...Windows will be full of plants way into the winter to get some more growth on them ... Things are so slow this year it makes me wanna cry

Crying over plants in seattle

Chris

Hey Kevin, Very cool.....not a real looker, but hey, I'll bet that one is telling real war stories to his neighbors!!

So Chris, why is everyone sooooo late this year?? Mine are very late as well, with huge numbers just poking through the soil now, including many huge tubers that are just too big a hassle to move around in fall...not sure what to do with those. We have had very warm weather though so that is different. We are also into our rainy season with rain virtually every day now for the past couple of weeks and temps in the high 80s and very high humidity. The problem is this leads to viscious thunder storms in the afternoon and high winds that aren't the best......go figure.

Sort of odd though.....as my Amorphs are just breaking dormancy, my Arisaema (atleast some of them) are now going dormant. My Helicodiceros finally went dormant as well, but my new imports from South Africa are just getting started and of course, I'm anticipating my latest ones from Australia in a couple of weeks so they will want to break dormancy this fall. I think the plants are running the house and I'm just there to be the water boy :o) Dan

Dan, the one longituberosus you sent me rooted and sprouted up really fast... But, even now that we are having warmer days the little purple shoot is doing nothing at all ... hasnt budged one bit! I Gues this year is a learning experience for me ...I will be able to know what species will work here and what ones wont.. Or at least what ones If I do want to try .. I must start very early in the house.

From what you have been saying about arisaema .. they are looking pretty attractive...There arent any very large arisaema that stink are there?
Chris

Hi Chris,

Be patient on the longituberosus and see what it does....none of mine are up yet!!

Arisaema.....the HUGE ones get 5 to 6 feet tall max and that is a monster Arisaema under perfect conditions. I've got some 4/5 foot tall Ar. tortuosum this year, but those were monster tubers straight from India. Consanguineum can very routinely get 4 feet tall, but again the flowers are not huge.....none of them stink in my opinion....maybe my nose is broken, but these are not Amorphs or helicodiceros or Typhonium. Think of Arisaema as elegant and Amoprhs as the brutish big brother :o) Dan

I've discovered that Japanese beetles love Musa Bajoo and A. Konjac. Happily my son also discovered that when I forgot to turn off the light in the swimming pool it acted as a giant Japanese beetle trap. He said there was one beetle every square foot or so.

MacDaddy, they also love my Arisaema erubescens. Left the konjac and all others alone..... makes me wish I had a pool with some lights to leave on.... bast@rds!

Well, for me the Musa and Typhonium are Japanese Beetle food for sure. They only munch a tad on the konjacs. Since my Arisaema are out back in a shadier position they get totally left alone thankfully!! This has been a horrible year for them though as I have some Typhonium with almost no leaf material left and they eat the flowers totally off my Crinum and Hymenocallis so you really do not get to enjoy these flowers at all. Could be worse I suppose.....If deer liked these guys I'd have nothing left at all with as many as there are behind my house :o) Dan

Thank god I dont have problems with those beetles! .. I know we have them somewhere in washington but never been a problem here

Chris

Why did I have to say anything? Now these *%$#@ beetles are eating my A. asterostigmatus! I reduce them to pulp and their friends just keep coming back for more! They have been on the knojac too but haven't damaged it (yet). ARGHhhh!