Thanks but no thanks. The description in Plant Delights says it smells like rotting flesh, so I don't think I'd like the real thing. LOL It is an amazing looking plant though.

Oh, I really want to see it, despite the rumored horrid smell. I see the pictures, and it just fascinates me. Wolflover, do you grow this, too? I have thought about getting one of the smaller ones, just for the experience. It's like fine dining, I'll try anything at least once. July 4th is on a Monday, so I'll be off work! YEAH!!!!

Thanks for letting us know about this fabulous event.

Susan

Susan,

I was very excited to hear about a Titanum blooming this close to home (100 miles away, but that's close enough)! I went to see the Titanum yesterday with a group of greenhouse growers in a "behind the scenes tour". To be honest, I was a little disappointed. The titanum was small, perhaps three feet tall at this stage. I was expecting a monster, maybe 6-10 feet tall. Even at four inches growth a day, this Titanum isn't going to be very large when it blooms. I think they said it was seven years old. Even though it was smaller than I expected, it was exciting to see one in person. I hope to go back to see it in full bloom. The brochure from the Myriad Gardens said it would only smell for eight hours. I hope to miss the smell of rotting flesh, LOL, but do want to see it bloom.

I do have an A. Titanum that I grew from seed. I love Voodoo lilies -- all of them. I really love A. 'Konjac'. It's common, but is still one of my favorites. I had six voodoo lilies bloom this year and they were all SOOO cool. Yes, they stink badly, but are worth it for their weird blooms. Only one of them bloomed in my house and it wasn't too bad. You'd really love any of the Amorphophallus.

For everyone who doesn't get a chance to see this Titanum bloom, try to watch the OKC news those couple of days around the 4th. This is such a rare event, I'd guess all the stations will be carrying footage of the bloom.

Does it really smell like rotting flesh? I'm not sure what that smell would be like having never hung around a decomposing body. Oh wait, there was the Thanksgiving Turkey forgotten in the trunk of our car for over a week. Now that was foul (pardon the pun)...If someone goes to see it, I wish they would report on the odor as I'm curious.

Maryl - LOL! Yes, one time our boxer stole a roast off the kitchen counter. We looked high and lo - didn't find it until it starting smelling "foul" in my daughter's room! What a hoot!

Wolflover - do you hang some on the Aroid Forum? I'm really getting into this. A. Titanum is kind of out of my budget for now, but I have seen others that I would really like to try. Are there any in particular that you have found fairly easy to grow, that bloom in a relatively short period of time. I'm already growing cardiocrinum and after 4 years, am still waiting for it to bloom.

Would love to see your plants - are you in the City?

Susan

I heard the Titanum bloomed today (Thursday). I didn't find out until this evening, too late to drive to the city to see it. I doubt I make it up there before the bloom dies, probably by tomorrow. I sure did want to see it.

Susan, yes I hang out on the Aroids forum. They are a knowledgeable bunch over there. I'm still an amateur. I'm only growing the easier voodoo lilies, except for the Titanum. I've already killed three Titanums. I was determined to grow them in my greenhouse last winter, and it was just too cool for them. I finally brought the last one into the house and it survived. The real test will be seeing if I can bring it back after it goes dormant.

The Sauromatum venosom was my first voodoo lily. They multiply like rabbits and are fully hardy here. Next I got the Amorphophallus Konjac. I really love it. Mine bloomed the first year (grapefruit sized tuber), and has produced quite a few offspring. I had a baby Konjac sprout up in the walkway of my tropical garden this spring, so I know they are hardy in the ground here. Last summer I bought the A. Titanic seeds, and spent a small fortune on them. This year I bought A. bulbifer and Dracunculus vulgaris, neither of which has bloomed, yet. I'm sure I will be acquiring more voodoo lilies because I really love them.

Hey, Wolflover - a friend of mine at work today (who knows what a gardening nut I am) came in and asked me if I had heard about this plant at the Myriad Botanical Gardens. I said, you mean the Amorphophallus Titanum? She said, yeah, that's it! She thought she was going to pull one over on me by being the first to hear about it. LOL. She said that it was still blooming today and they expected it to continue over the next 2 or 3 days????? For some reason, I DID think their blooms lasted longer than a day. I thought it was the SMELL that only lingered for a day, and after that, it was gone, but the bloom stays for a few days. Is that not right?

Wow, I wish I knew about the Thai Giant bulb - whether or not I'm one of the lucky ones. I don't know if PD just takes the first 50, or if they someone make "selections" based on zones, friends and local folk, or what. They could be fooling us all and not have any at all!

Not very trusting am I?

I'm happy to hear about the sauromatun venosum, because I ordered that as well (not from PD). I really like the jacks, but so far, I don't know about my luck with them. My first ones I planted late last year (June I think), and the foliage came up and then died down in either late August or the first of September. This year, they did not come up at all. However, and this is a BIG HOWEVER, I have had plants from small bulbs, rest 2 years before they actually do anything again. I got these tryphyllums from Wayside (dodo head me) and they were pretty tiny. Anyway, I'll see what happens next year. I got nepenthoides from Heronswood - they have really nice plants. It came in mid-April and had a HUGE leaf on it (about 2', and a nice little root system already developed. It has since gone dormant, but from what I understand, this is normal. I missed the flowering of it, but hopefully next year.

Question! If it took the Myriad Botanical Gardens titanum 7 years to flower, how long does it take to flower from seed? Do the seed germinate quickly? Do they require scarification or chilling for a certain amount of time? What do you grow them in?

I guess you have a greenhouse - ah, to dream.......Is your greenhouse not heated, or do you rely on the sun to warm it up for you? When I used to be into begonias from seed collected by botanists all over the world, a lot of my friends had greenhouses, but it seemed as though I had as much luck growing them in my basement under flourescent lights. And I think that many of the aroids deemed tender are hardier than we think.

I will have to grow any aroids I get outside. I have no room in my house right now (until daughter and granddaughter move out) - then I have a nice sunny room in the back with south facing sliding doors and a big window on the East, too. I though titanum was supposed to be hardy here. Some of the things I grow are only supposed to be hardy to 7b or 8, but as I mentioned, I have a microclimatic area in the backyard, and I mulch really well. Despite some rot, everything comes back.

Keep me posted on your aroidamania!

Susan (another one!)

Susan,

I hope you get one of the 'Thailand Giant' bulbs. I'll bet you did!! Surely they would have notified you with a "Sorry, you missed out" email if you hadn't been one of the lucky ones. Every time I have tried to buy one from PD, they've been sold out. It never dawned on me to order in advance of the next shipment. :-)

Something in the literature I read from the botanical garden made me think the Titanum would only bloom two days before collapsing. Now I can't find where I put that paper, but perhaps it's still blooming today. I saw it on the news yesterday but they didn't act like it was such a big deal. HaHa. I guess they're not plant geeks like me . . .

I've read the Titan can bloom in only five years from seed, in optimum conditions. Supposedly the hard part is bringing it back from dormancy the first year. The goal is to get the tuber as large as possible that first year so it has a better chance of coming back out of dormancy.

I experimented with different types of soil with my Titanum seeds. They need very good drainage. I used UC Davis' recipe of 60% potting soil, 40% pumice. I grew each seed in a different soil "recipe", but this is the plant still alive, LOL. I do heat my greenhouse, but not warm enough to keep the Titanums happy. They don't like the cold, and it seems will go dormant under 50 degrees. It got colder than that in my greenhouse last winter, and I lost three of my plants. I finally brought the last one inside and it did fine with only light from a window.

I bought my seeds already germinated for a better chance of survival. If you are interested in getting some, check with the people on the Aroids forum. You want to get in on an order with several people so you don't have to pay the import fees alone. My seeds came from Troy Davis at Bali Orchid Garden. He's a very honest guy and you can trust him to do right by you.

Here is a link that might be useful: Bali Orchid Garden

Did anyone go to see the flower in person?
See the link below for some more information. When you get to the page also click on the link Daily Photo Shoot. There are some good pictures there.

WindsurfGirl

Here is a link that might be useful: Myriad Gardens Titanum

Thanks for the link, WSG. That site has been down every time I've tried to pull it up, until now. I am so sorry I didn't get to see the Titanum in full bloom. It is such a cool flower, and so rare. The Myriad Botanical Garden is my favorite place in OKC. I can't get enough of those tropical plants!

Susan, here is another link in case you want to contact Troy. I think this is his new site. It has some great pictures of A. Titanums. Check out the size of that seed pod he's holding!

Here is a link that might be useful: Sumatra Flora

The picture is really good, thanks WindSurfGirl for sharing that link with us. Don't you think it's gorgeous?

Wolflover - do you live in or around the OKC area? I'd love to see your aroids and meet your wolves.

For some reason, I thought that A. Titanum was hardy in Oklahoma, but no - PD says it's tropical. And the pricetag for one of these is way out of my budget, without even considering that I'd have no place to grow it. I want to try A. paeonifolia and I think it can be wintered over in the ground here, and appears not to be as fussy as Titanum. The instructions for growing Titanum state that it loves "clayey soil". But that's probably if grown in the ground. Often soil used for pot grown plants differs. Love the photos at the Bali Orchid Garden! The seed pod is gorgeous!

I'm thinking about where I could put the Thai Giant in the ground - backyard of course. I just had some people come dig up most of my liriope back there, and that would be a good spot for it. Do you have any pinella tripartita? That's another one I'd really like to try.

Where do you buy most of your colacasias, alocasias, arisaemas, and other aroids?

Susan

Susan,

In the wild the Titanum grows in clay-ey type soils, but in captivity it must have WELL DRAINED soil. I believe in the wild it is usually found growing on a hillside or slope, thus it can take the clay because the slope provides the runoff. You can usually purchase seeds of Titanum for $10-$15 each. They are getting cheaper as the plant becomes more common.

I live about 100 miles south of the city. The wolves look best in the winter months but my gardens look best in fall. Tropicals take a while to look their best. My friends are usually surprised to come here in spring and see everything looking so small. I guess they think they will just sprout up huge overnight. LOL. As soon as the plants get more size to them, I will add new pictures to my website.

I trade for many of my plants. GW has been wonderful for acquiring new plants. I've done over 150 trades since I've been here, and it's became quite addictive. I have an obsessive personality so I want most ALL plants! I also buy quite a few plants on eBay. eBay is great for acquiring cool plants that aren't available in this area. But really, trading has been the best for me. I can find almost any plant I want on the Plant Exchange.