[aroid-l] Tuber pricing questions

Hi folks!

I was looking through the bulb catalog of a company called "Van
Bourgondien," and noticed two aroid listings with what seemed to be fairly
high prices - I called the company to confirm that the price in each case
was for a tuber, and not for a plant.  The two listings are:

Arisaema candidissimun - "Cobra Lily" - 1 tuber for $49.95 - the catalog
says the bulb is a "#1 bulb".
http://www.dutchbulbs.com/spring/z32880.76824.html

Alocasia macrorrhiza "Variegata" - Tuber is 7" - 11" in diameter - 1 tuber
for $24.95.
http://www.dutchbulbs.com/spring/z32880.71862.html

Here's my questions:

1) Are these prices at all reasonable?  Are the plants that rare or
difficult to obtain to justify the prices?

2)  Assuming the prices are somewhat reasonable, how hard are these plants
to grow from tubers? - I would hate to risk that amount of money on
something that was extremely difficult to grow.

Finally, on a slightly different topic, I'm seeing lots of great looking
calla lilies that are being offered by various catalogs.  If I get a bulb
that's about 2" and grow a plant from it, approximately how many blooms will
I get in one season?  I'm just trying to figure out if one bulb really means
only one or two blooms - my apologies for how basic of a question this is -
I seem to have lent out all of my gardening books to friends lately.

Thanks!

-Roz, in Southern California
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