Amorphophallus under lights

From: <plantguy at zoominternet.net> on 2004.10.10 at 13:43:20(12276) Hello fellow Amorph-o-philes, I live in zone 6a and do not have a greenhouse. I have maybe 20-30 species of Amorphophallus (at some point I need to make a list) and until this year just nursed them along as long as possible in my cold climate until dormancy set in due to a lack of both sun and cold. Unfortunately, I had maybe 40 pots full decide to not break dormancy this year until August and so my usual plan of attack was out of the question. Thus, I now have quite a few under a 400W MH HID grow light and after 3 weeks they are doing wonderfully, except for the aphids which have already proven to be a pain in the backside! I was wondering if anyone could provide any additional thoughts on care as we move further into the fall/winter. These are sitting on a table, not on the floor and so I think there will likely be enough heat for them (no cold basement floor). I also have 2 separate fans continuously blowing to keep excellent air circulation. I have not bothered to mist them at all to date and no one seems to mind, although it has only been three weeks. Certainly I can not be the only one growing Amorphophallus through the winter under lights and so I would truly appreciate the thoughts of the long-term growers on this forum. Thanks in advance for any help you can provide, Dan +More Dan Devor Gibsonia, PA zone 6a _______________________________________________ Aroid-l mailing list Aroid-l@gizmoworks.com http://www.gizmoworks.com/mailman/listinfo/aroid-l

From: "Leo A. Martin" <leo1010 at attglobal.net> on 2004.10.11 at 16:54:57(12280) I can't address your question in detail, having just three winters' experience in the distant past, but you had better watch out for spider mites. They were by far my worst problem when wintering plants in my basement. Regular spritzing of all above-ground plant surfaces with plain water or rubbing alcohol (isopropyl alcohol 60% - 80% in water) will do the trick. You will have to be careful not to wet the soil if you are trying to keep it dry. And, do the spritzing when the high-pressure sodium lamp is off and cool unless you like explosions involving flying superheated glass. If I didn't spritz all my plants - cactus, leafy things, whatever - once a week, I had severe spider mite damage in a jiffy. The most susceptible plants, in order of severity, were aroids / Lobivia cacti (tie) jasmine Brugmansia Leo +More -- Leo A. Martin Phoenix, Arizona, USA Like cactus and succulents? Central Arizona Cactus and Succulent Society http://www.centralarizonacactus.org plantguy@zoominternet.net wrote: Hello fellow Amorph-o-philes, I live in zone 6a and do not have a greenhouse. I have maybe 20-30 species of Amorphophallus (at some point I need to make a list) and until this year just nursed them along as long as possible in my cold climate until dormancy set in due to a lack of both sun and cold. Unfortunately, I had maybe 40 pots full decide to not break dormancy this year until August and so my usual plan of attack was out of the question. Thus, I now have quite a few under a 400W MH HID grow light and after 3 weeks they are doing wonderfully, except for the aphids which have already proven to be a pain in the backside! I was wondering if anyone could provide any additional thoughts on care as we move further into the fall/winter. These are sitting on a table, not on the floor and so I think there will likely be enough heat for them (no cold basement floor). I also have 2 separate fans continuously blowing to keep excellent air circulation. I have not bothered to mist them at all to date an d no one seems to mind, although it has only been three weeks. Certainly I can not be the only one growing Amorphophallus through the winter under lights and so I would truly appreciate the thoughts of the long-term growers on this forum. Thanks in advance for any help you can provide, _______________________________________________ Aroid-l mailing list Aroid-l@gizmoworks.com http://www.gizmoworks.com/mailman/listinfo/aroid-l

From: <plantguy at zoominternet.net> on 2004.10.12 at 22:01:15(12285) Leo, Thanks so much for the info!! So far spider mites have stayed at bay, but it is early. I'll start a misting program. I got a glass shield for the HID light so that flying glass would not be a problem...for once I planned ahead. I allow my Brugmansia to go completely dormant for the winter as it is easier then allowing them to grow. Thanks also to Dean Cook for his earlier advice on the grow lights. I'll let any other northern growers know how it went in a few months when everybody should be dormant. Dan +More Dan Devor Gibsonia, PA zone 6a ----- Original Message ----- To: "Discussion of aroids" Sent: Monday, October 11, 2004 12:54 PM Subject: Re: [Aroid-l] Amorphophallus under lights > I can't address your question in detail, having just three winters' > experience in the distant past, but you had better watch out for spider > mites. They were by far my worst problem when wintering plants in my > basement. > > Regular spritzing of all above-ground plant surfaces with plain water or > rubbing alcohol (isopropyl alcohol 60% - 80% in water) will do the > trick. You will have to be careful not to wet the soil if you are trying > to keep it dry. And, do the spritzing when the high-pressure sodium lamp > is off and cool unless you like explosions involving flying superheated > glass. > > If I didn't spritz all my plants - cactus, leafy things, whatever - once > a week, I had severe spider mite damage in a jiffy. The most susceptible > plants, in order of severity, were > > aroids / Lobivia cacti (tie) > jasmine > Brugmansia > > Leo > -- > Leo A. Martin > Phoenix, Arizona, USA > > Like cactus and succulents? > Central Arizona Cactus and Succulent Society > http://www.centralarizonacactus.org > > > > plantguy@zoominternet.net wrote: > > Hello fellow Amorph-o-philes, > > > > I live in zone 6a and do not have a greenhouse. I have maybe 20-30 species of Amorphophallus (at some point I need to make a list) and until this year just nursed them along as long as possible in my cold climate until dormancy set in due to a lack of both sun and cold. Unfortunately, I had maybe 40 pots full decide to not break dormancy this year until August and so my usual plan of attack was out of the question. Thus, I now have quite a few under a 400W MH HID grow light and after 3 weeks they are doing wonderfully, except for the aphids which have already proven to be a pain in the backside! I was wondering if anyone could provide any additional thoughts on care as we move further into the fall/winter. These are sitting on a table, not on the floor and so I think there will likely be enough heat for them (no cold basement floor). I also have 2 separate fans continuously blowing to keep excellent air circulation. I have not bothered to mist them at all to date an > d no one seems to mind, although it has only been three weeks. Certainly I can not be the only one growing Amorphophallus through the winter under lights and so I would truly appreciate the thoughts of the long-term growers on this forum. Thanks in advance for any help you can provide, > _______________________________________________ > Aroid-l mailing list > Aroid-l@gizmoworks.com > http://www.gizmoworks.com/mailman/listinfo/aroid-l > _______________________________________________ Aroid-l mailing list Aroid-l@gizmoworks.com http://www.gizmoworks.com/mailman/listinfo/aroid-l

Note: this is a very old post, so no reply function is available.