I first obtained a cutting of Philodendron 'Pink Princess' close to 20 years
ago from my friend, Peter Randall, in Australia. I don't know his source,
but I'll bet he got it from someone directly or indirectly in the USA.
Cuttings from my plant were then sold for years at the "Plant Shop's
Botanical Garden" by Bob Cole and Bill Cook in Reseda, CA. When I left
Southern California in 1995, my plants were all donated to the Huntington
Botanical Garden. I imagine they have continued selling cuttings.
Thirty or so years ago, there were a number of hybridizers/enthusiasts both
in Florida and in California. I am guessing that due to distances and lack
of the internet, they rarely communicated. Evans, who had a nursery in
Hollywood, developed an aborescent philodendron, a hybrid of P. speciosum
called P. 'evansii,' which is now so prevalent in Southern California.
Hummel was another southern California enthusiast, who developed hybrids and
sports. The variegated P. 'Minnie Bell' was named after his wife.
Anderson, just north of San Diego, developed a philodendron sport called
'Anderson's red,' which is similar though not variegated. The same was true
in Florida, where Bob McCauley at Fantastic Gardens and others developed
hybrids and sports of philodendron. There was no central registrar for the
naming of aroid cultivars, so everyone just gave them their own name. So
the same or very similar cultivars will have different names, depending on
where they came from. I know that there was an attempt some ten or fifteen
years to have an official aroid registrar, but I don't know if that ever
really happened. Maybe someone on the list can enlighten us as to the
status of this endeavor.
I was always fascinated with a red and white variegated Monstera deliciosa,
which was reportedly being grown in Canada, although I never have seen the
actual plant (I did see a photograph). Maybe someone on the list knows of
this?
David Leedy
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