Aroids to keep the orchids company

[smweaver]

Your Anthurium warocqueanums look like they're doing very well for you--although that little one enjoying its life in the vase will one day need to be evicted. I have made a number of discoveries over the last couple of months, some good and some not so good. The worst discovery was learning that my Philodendron rubrijuvenile 'El Choco' does not like a lot of sunshine, or anything cooler than 60 F at night. It demonstrated its displeasure at the changing seasons (and with the changing angle of the sun, which now bathes the sunroom with around eight to ten hours of direct sunshine a day) within a very short period of time.

On the other hand, and much to my surprise, both the Anthurium crystallinum and clarinervium are taking the changing seasons like champs. I do try to keep them out of the direct sunshine, but it's not really all that easy to do at certain times of the day when the large alocasias aren't providing complete shade. But the additional sunlight doesn't appear to be bothering them, and the night temperatures dipping down to close to 55 F are also not proving to be a problem (so far, at least). My Philodendron martianum is also proving to be a tough customer, and appears to be thriving in the additional sunshine (again, so far). Only time will tell if they are this adaptable over the next four to five months of winter, but their performance so far is encouraging.

Good luck with the warocqueanums. They look very good.

[piping plover]

Thank you. The anthuriums you mentioned have been trouble free for me as well, they handled 50s in the sunroom last winter.

I was unfamiliar with Philodendron martianum and had to look it up. They do look tough. The photos of young ones reminded me of my cattleya trianae with fat pseudobulbs.

Good to know about the El Chocos. I’d like to try those and P. verrucosum when I get a proper greenhouse.

Sun angle has been appreciated and also annoying. The single pane glass windows in my other unheated sunroom caused leaf burn on some cattleyas I’ve been babying along.

Originally Posted by smweaver

Your Anthurium warocqueanums look like they're doing very well for you--although that little one enjoying its life in the vase will one day need to be evicted. I have made a number of discoveries over the last couple of months, some good and some not so good. The worst discovery was learning that my Philodendron rubrijuvenile 'El Choco' does not like a lot of sunshine, or anything cooler than 60 F at night. It demonstrated its displeasure at the changing seasons (and with the changing angle of the sun, which now bathes the sunroom with around eight to ten hours of direct sunshine a day) within a very short period of time.

On the other hand, and much to my surprise, both the Anthurium crystallinum and clarinervium are taking the changing seasons like champs. I do try to keep them out of the direct sunshine, but it's not really all that easy to do at certain times of the day when the large alocasias aren't providing complete shade. But the additional sunlight doesn't appear to be bothering them, and the night temperatures dipping down to close to 55 F are also not proving to be a problem (so far, at least). My Philodendron martianum is also proving to be a tough customer, and appears to be thriving in the additional sunshine (again, so far). Only time will tell if they are this adaptable over the next four to five months of winter, but their performance so far is encouraging.

Good luck with the warocqueanums. They look very good.

[smweaver]

You're right. Philodendron martianum does bear a superficial resemblance to a cattleya, especially on the younger plants. And I hadn't heard of this species either until a local grower told me about it and said that it's not quite as popular as some of the other species of the genus, but well worth growing. So far, it's been a great plant.

[piping plover]

Ecuagenera visit in FL - Anthurium wendlingeri.

I drove up to Apopka from Weston, FL to finally visit this place and see if I could purchase an Anthurium wendlingeri. Such a worthwhile visit. I went through the whole retail greenhouse with some friends I was visiting and didn’t find any wendlingeri; website was showing out of stock. I figured it was worth a shot.

The staff member was amazing; she brought me into the back greenhouse and found me one that was finishing its acclimation from Ecuador. I purchased that one. There were smaller ones that just arrived and still needed to adjust.

A perfect place for those who love aroids and orchids. Upon leaving I told my friends they had just witnessed a collection of tropical plants that most would never see in their lifetime.

In case you’re unfamiliar with this species, it’s known for its puckered strap leaves and that amazing long pigtail like inflorescence. Photos below of a mature one I found online and the little guy I purchased.

[smweaver]

Good find! And it just proves how invaluable it is to befriend one of the growers at any given nursery. They're usually expert at locating many items that you might not otherwise know were on hand.

[PuiPuiMolcar]

Moss! (and ferns)

[piping plover]

Added another Alocasia. A cuprea from ecuagenera. Really like the bold markings and under the purple plant light it’s cold, metallic sheen really shows itself.

[smweaver]

I do like those markings also. Do you have experience with the smaller alocasias? The three I have are now to a size where I think they qualify as small trees or respectably sized shrubs. But I do like that they're also rather care free plants. I'm not certain if the smaller-growing alocasias like this one are as easy of care. Was your plant potted when it arrived, or was it shipped bare root? I don't know if all of Ecuagenera's products are shipped bare root, so just a little curious.

[piping plover]

This is my first experience growing these. My understanding is that they easily succumb to root rot with overwatering so I keep them on the drier side with chunky aroid mix. Also hear that they can go into dormancy with cool indoor temperatures; so far they haven’t dipped below 57 degrees F in my sun room and the plant lights keep a 12 hour day. That said, they haven’t produced new leaves at all and I think they are waiting for the warm humid summer.

Ecuagenera in FL ships in pots within US; that’s my experience and observation when visiting them weeks ago. Their South American location will most likely ship bare root.

Originally Posted by smweaver

I do like those markings also. Do you have experience with the smaller alocasias? The three I have are now to a size where I think they qualify as small trees or respectably sized shrubs. But I do like that they're also rather care free plants. I'm not certain if the smaller-growing alocasias like this one are as easy of care. Was your plant potted when it arrived, or was it shipped bare root? I don't know if all of Ecuagenera's products are shipped bare root, so just a little curious.

[Lil Duck]

Originally Posted by smweaver

Philodendron El Choco Red (if anyone knows the actual species name for this--assuming it's not a hybrid--please let me know)

Philodendron sp. nov. 'El Chocó Red' is currently a undescribed species which closely matches the written description of a species described in 1892 known as Philodendron triumphans, however this description did not include a illustration or any illustration included was lost. It is not confirmable that Philodendron sp. nov. 'El Chocó Red' is equivalent to Philodendron triumphans but it is very likely they are the same. It is sometimes known as Philodendron rubrijuvinile however I can find no evidence that this name has ever been published or described so I have no idea as to where it came from.

I hope this helps