Neofinetia falcata Kaioumaru
 

I recently won another SE auction, one second left! I've asked for them to hold off on shipping until today due to our rotten weather, I also added a heat pack.

The Neo I won is a Kaioumaru with two growths and it appears to have a spike poking out. I've not found much information for this bean leaf, is it bean leaf? Most of the available info is for the Himekaioumaru which I understand is a selfing of Kaioumaru.

Anyone else have this awesome Neo? Any special advice? Orchid Web has Himekaioumaru and states medium light, cool to warm growing.

Thanks!

I don't have this awesome Neo. But I did have a few Neo. I treat them like phal and they are still surviving and blooming.

Good luck with your new Neo! :)

Tellmewhy, I am assuming this Neo will need the same conditions as my others and so far I've had no problems. I'm very new to growing these but I've really been bitten with the Neo bug!

I think that an exploration of Neos is my next project. I've always grown them, and can't remember not having one in my collection, but until recently I had no idea of the variety! They are fascinating plants.

Leafmite, thank you! I just hope as these plants wake up, they will thrive and bloom. Several of them have new root tips and new roots growing so I'm already excited about that. About half of them have tiny spikes showing!

I started with one beautiful Oonami seikai from Al's and told myself only one, just try one. Two weeks later I went back and picked up three more. I have 15 now and 1 on the way. There are just too many of these I want!

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Jkofferdahl, oh crap! You said it right there: the variety and the fascination! Just look at Orchid Web and New World Orchids plants, they have such a wonderful assortment and depending on your budget, you can find many to add to your collection.

When I found these at Al's, he had a table of them at 1/2 price and they are large, healthy plants. I compared his sale prices with online prices and I was amazed so I kept going back. I've picked up 7 plants from Al's and plan to visit him again soon. Lol

I have 2 that are tiny, one growth plants he had from remounting. Otherwise they have been big and gorgeous. Al's Neofinetia are from Seed Engei.

I think you need to explore the wonders of more Neos too!

Lets seee....Kaiomaru, 海皇丸, also known as 海王丸.

Kaiomaru was apparently the first bean leaf variety to be discovered out of the Amami Island local strain of plants.

It is a large variety, with wide, stout leaves and relatively fat roots (as is fairly usual with Amami varieties). It tends to retain its old leaves fairly well, developing into tall growths. While it is better grown in medium light, when grown in higher light, the leaves tend to develop an anthocyanin blush, typically starting from the edges and "corners" of the leaf. Flowers, as is often the case with other true "bean leaf" varieties, tend to be rounder and face upwards (aka heaven facing).

While there are many selfed seedlings of this variety in circulation right now, most of them do not grow quite as large as the original clone, and many of these seedlings bear the name, Hime-kaioumaru, 姫海皇丸, due to the smaller size. However, not all specimens traded under the original name are necessarily clones, some being larger seed grown plants.

Variegated versions of this variety include Sekirei, Tsukikage, Kaiseimaru, Kaioumaru-Shima and Kaioumaru-shiroshima.

Hakumin, thank you so much for your reply and interesting information. I realize it is not a small bean leaf, though it is interesting and very nice as a larger specimen. I've found a few pictures online of some nice mature plants, just not much information.

It will be a welcome addition to my small collection! Thanks again!

The Kaioumaru arrived today, very quickly. Satomi was wonderful in holding off on shipping until our weather warmed up. The plant is very nice and it looks to have a spike emerging. It is larger than my other bean leafs overall but I really like its form. Here the little guy is.

Sweet! :goodjob