[Aroid-l] Helicodicerous question

From: Deni at yaxhampark.co.uk (Deni Bown) on 2007.09.26 at 17:48:37(16340) Hi Leo, My experience of growing Helicodiceros is almost the opposite of yours. For a start, I live in E England so growing conditions are very different. I keep my plants under glass, min. 45F in winter, and we have cool summers, though the greenhouse easily reaches 80-90F on sunny days. I use a very gritty potting mix based on John Innes No. 3 (i.e. a loam-based medium) and the smallest pot - a 2-inch tuber might be lucky and get a 6-inch pot. I repot them every year in September and they come into growth Oct-Nov, dying down by May-June, after which I keep the tubers in the pots and bone dry. After repotting I don't water until I'm sure they are sprouting and rooting as I reckon there is enough moisture in the new compost to get them going. Even when they are up & running, I go easy on water as I reckon that most tuberous aroids in pots tend to rot very easily unless temperatures are consistently high and they are in active growth. (From what you say though, this may not be the case for Helicodiceros as it sounds like you water plenty even when there's no sign of growth.) I don't fertilise much either, just the occasional general liquid feed dispensed unscientifically to one & all when I remember. My problem is that they grow very well - like weeds - but spend most of their energy offsetting instead of getting big and blooming. Every year I chuck away dozens of pea-sized offsets. The largest leaves I get are maybe 7-8" tall with 5" blades. They always look a bit weedy, not with the kind of muscle to produce an inflorescence. I have pots and pots of Helicodiceros now but we're talking quantity not quality. All I want is one whopper that blooms so I can surprise/delight/amuse all who pass by. Perhaps there's someone out there who can advise us both! Deni Bown +More -----Original Message----- From: aroid-l-bounces at gizmoworks.com [mailto:aroid-l-bounces at gizmoworks.com] On Behalf Of Leo A. Martin Sent: 25 September 2007 02:41 To: aroid-l at gizmoworks.com Subject: [Aroid-l] Helicodicerous question Hello All, I live in Phoenix, Arizona, USA, where it's really hot in the summer and winters are mild with occasional overnight frost. Excellent winter weather for mediterranean climate plants. We get some summer rain. I have (still, I hope) a Helicodicerous muscivorous in a pot. I bought a small tuber four summers ago and, that fall, potted it into a glazed ceramic container holding about 6 liters/1.5 gallons of soil. I used local soil dug from a dry wash, which is fairly heavy and almost all mineral. I put the tuber about 2 inches / 5cm below the soil surface. The first growing season it did nothing all winter even though I watered it regularly. It then produced two or three small leaves in late April, when it was already good and warm here (upper 80s F / 20s C). I kept watering it until the leaves died down in July. The next growing season I again watered all winter, but it waited until early May to produce only one or two smallish leaves. Temperatures then are normally in the 90s to 110 F / 30C-45C. It remained in leaf about a month, then went dormant. The next growing season I watered all winter. It produced about 10 nice, lush leaves, though not as big as I read they are supposed to be. It waited until late April. It went dormant in June. Last growing season I watered all winter. It made 2 small leaves in late April, and went dormant in about a month. Obviously the plant isn't happy about something. I don't understand why it waits so long to grow, why it made such good growth one year, then such poor growth last year. It's just turning fall here. Any suggestions? Should I repot the tuber now? Should I try a different soil mix? Should I fertilize a lot more? Thanks, Leo Martin Phoenix Arizona USA _______________________________________________ Aroid-L mailing list Aroid-L at www.gizmoworks.com http://www.gizmoworks.com/mailman/listinfo/aroid-l ________________________________________________________________________ This e-mail has been scanned for all viruses by Star. The service is powered by MessageLabs. For more information on a proactive anti-virus service working around the clock, around the globe, visit: http://www.star.net.uk ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ This e-mail has been scanned for all viruses by Star. The service is powered by MessageLabs. For more information on a proactive anti-virus service working around the clock, around the globe, visit: http://www.star.net.uk ________________________________________________________________________

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