Amorphophallus Konjac in Bloom

This tuber is about six years old.  The bloom stands 40 inches tall, and has a smell that is bad enough to attract flies.  The bloom lasted about one week, the smell was at it's worst for about two days.

Amorphophallus konjac Blooming!

It looks like my largest konjac is going to bloom this spring!  Updates to follow!!
It Bloomed!  Check out this post HERE!

Cephallotus follicularis (updated pics)

This plant has come a long way since I bought it in August 2010. (pic here)

Typhonium venosum blooming (video)

I decided to make a time lapse video of my Typhonium venosum blooming, which was previously detailed here.  Enjoy!

Amorphophallus konjac

In 2007 I was lucky enough to see an Amorphophallus titanum bloom in person here.  I immediately decided that I had to have one.  Unfortunately I was quickly forced to realize that that wasn't realistic.  Even small tubers are relatively expensive, they grow huge, and require conditions not easily met in a cold climate unless of course you have a greenhouse.  So, instead I convinced my wife to buy me several A. konjac tubers for Christmas.  Little did she know how many Amorphophallus I would end up with over the next few years.  I received seven tubers from a seller on eBay.  One turned out to be the Typhonium venosum shown here.  All seven tubers grew quite well (below).

Over the years I gave three away.  On the left are the remaining three in summer 2010, along with a few venosum planted in the same pot.  Konjacs produce offshoots every year that will grow into their own separate plants.  In the fall of each year the tubers are dug up, after the leaves die, revealing several small new tubers.  On the right is my largest tuber (early summer 2011) planted along with several offshoots from a previous year.

Finally here is my largest tuber (seen above right) after being dug up mid September 2011.  This tuber weighed in at 1.379Kg (3lbs 0.6oz).  Hopefully this tuber will bloom next spring.

Growing African Baobabs (Adonsonia digitata) in a cold climate (zone 5B).

In June 2010 I purchased 10 seeds on ebay.   Five of the seeds were lightly filed and then soaked overnight in warm water.  The other five seeds were simply placed in near boiling water and then soaked overnight.  Three of the ten seeds germinated, two that were filed, and one that was not.  Germination took 7-10 days.  The seeds were planted in a mix of 2/3 potting soil and 1/3 sand.  The plants were placed on my back deck.  They received several hours of bright sun daily, and were watered regularly.  As you can see in the pics below, they grew quite well.

 In August I replanted the two larger plants, and sold the third.  The plants were once again planted in a mix of potting soil and fine play sand.

Once temperatures began to drop into the low 50's at night, both plants were moved indoors.  My plan was not to water them all winter, as they are highly susceptible to root rot.  Unfortunately in a moment of weakness, I watered them both in November.  Within a few weeks, both began to loose their leaves.  Unfortunately the pots that I was using didn't allow for much drainage.  The sand also acted like a sponge, keeping the roots wet.  Once the plants went dormant in my cool house, the roots rotted, and neither plant showed any growth in the spring.

2011

Since I killed last years plants over the winter, I decided to try again this spring.  This time I thoroughly filed two seeds, soaked them overnight, and they both germinated.  As you can see in the picture below, they both grew, but one much more than the other.  These plants were potted in a mix of potting soil and perelite.  NO SAND.  The pots were also modified to allow for better drainage.  They will be moved indoors in the next few weeks.  One plant will be watered sparingly throughout the winter, the other will not be watered at all.  Stay tuned for updates to see how they fair over the winter.

Typhonium venosum (aka Sauromatum venosum)

For the second straight year this bulb flowered for me.  Growth started in early March and took about 26 days to bloom.  The flower smells pretty bad for about 24 hrs.  After 3-4 days, the bloom collapses.  A time lapse video of the blooming can be found here.

Cephallotus follicularis (Albany or Australian pitcher plant)

It opened!!

Cephallotus follicularis (Albany or Australian pitcher plant)

Taken 24 MAR 11.  The large pitcher grew in the last month.

Cephallotus follicularis (Albany or Australian pitcher plant)

Several years ago, I started to become interested in exotic plants.  One of my favorites was  Cephalotus follicularis.  At the time a plant cost more than I was willing to spend, so I bought some seeds from the UK and did my best to germinate them, with no luck.  In August 2010 I decided to buy a freshly divided plant from a seller on Ebay (see pic below).  For me the best place to keep the plant was in my office at work, because the temperature is in the low 70's year round.  Also my wife couldn't complain about my buying another plant, if it lived at work.  When I recieved the plant, it was in a plastic pot with a cover , which resulted in high humidity.  Once I repoted the plant, I covered it with plastic wrap.  Over a several week period I made  holes in the plastic wrap, then made them bigger to gradually acclimate the plant to lower humidity.  I eventually removed the plastic wrap and have been able to leave the plant uncovered ever since.    I have no windows in my office, so I hung a compact fluorescent bulb about eight inches above the plant on a timer so it recieves 12hrs of light a day (shown in the second pic).  I water twice a week with RO (reverse osmosis) water by placing the entire pot inside a plastic container that is filled with water, until it is thouroughly soaked, or until I remember to take it out.  The last pic I took this week, after being off on paternity leave for four weeks, I had a co-worker do the watering while I was gone.  The large pitcher has finally died, which I've been expecting to happen as a result of my repotting the plant when I got it.  My Cephalotus is doing quite well, and I can't wait to get some big pitchers on it.

Aug 2010

The cardboard in the above picture is there to block the light from shining in my eyes while at my computer.

Jan 2011