Re: Monstera bloom and eating.

From: "Julius Boos" ju-bo at msn.com> on 2002.07.31 at 02:22:23(9148) Dear Friends, Michael is correct as it will take about a full year to mature! I have a large clump of this wonderful plant covering an old tree-stump in my front yard, I grew it from a seed collected at Jim Enck`s home here in WPB a few years ago when we visited Jim and his collection during 'Lord Phallus'" (Wilbert Hetterschied`s) visit to S. Florida, great memories! The fruit on my plant occur in clusters, the eldest at the base ripens first, and I generally 'give' this to the bugs and critters, but it is a sign that the next in line will ripen in about a week, so when upon checking on a daily basis I see the very first layer of scales at the top of the peduncle (or the base of the spadix/fruit) begin to 'lift', I cut this fruit off at the base of the peduncle, wrap the entire fruit in saran (plastic) wrap, and put it on the kitchen counter. The saran wrap causes the entire spadix to ripen at the same time (in about a couple/three of days, I keep a close watch on it!) , thus providing a substantial amount of substance to savor all at the same time. Look out for the few large seeds concealed in the soft, mushy flesh, they are about the size of a large pea, don`t bite into one! Some clones have these seeds, some do not. Good luck! Julius +More >>It will take approx one year to ripen ! When it starts to drop down from the vertical , keep an eye on it . Pick only when the scales at the base start to lift away .Then only eat about a half inch at a time . Only as much as is exposed by the scales falling away by them selves . Place standing up in a large jar or glass coverd by a paperbag . I used to have over a dozen all lined up , yum yum . Michael Pascall, WHYANBEEL ARBORETUM,F.N.Q,AUSTRALIA _________________________________________________________________ Send and receive Hotmail on your mobile device: http://mobile.msn.com

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