RE: [Aroid-l] Helicodiceros potting

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Hi, Peter!

 

This is probably far more information than you wanted, but I figure I should tell as much as I can in the hopes that it will help some, and others can tell me if I am doing something wrong.

 

I have my plants as a very generous gift from a buddy. I live 30 minutes northwest of Sacramento on the west side of the California Central Valley at an altitude of about 20 m (65 ft). The USDA Plant Hardiness Map puts me in on the border of Zone 9a and 9b. We sometimes get a maritime influence from the Sacramento River Delta to the south west, keeping us from dropping below 0C (32F) and covering us with maritime fog. However, cold air coming down the valleys in the Interior Coast Ranges to the west will push us down to –2C (28F). This year was particularly cold, and we had two weeks with lows between –5C (22F) and 1C (33F). Normally we have a typical Mediterranean climate, with a hot, dry summer and a cool, wet winter, but this year it has been very dry. The lack of cloud cover has let us drop in temperature. (Although we finally got some rain last night!!!)

 

I have had the Helicodiceros muscivorus two years now, and in both years they started popping up in January. Last year was very wet, and we had very little frost at all. The small plants pop up first. The frost did not seem to bother them at all. The larger plants began pushing up at the end of January (both years). I have them under a very large, very old butterfly bush (Buddelia davidii), where they receive morning sun from 9 AM to a little after 12. Immediately to the west of them is my greenhouse, and they get light filtered through the greenhouse until 4 PM. Last year, the large plant produced two flowers in May, and I hope to get more flowers this year.

 

The plants are potted, and are sitting with (also potted) Arum italicum, A. dioscoridis dioscoridis, A. cyrenaicum, A. sintenesii, A. hygrophilum, A. palestinum, Arisarum simmorrhinum, and Dracunculus vulgaris, which are all up. The Dracunculus came up at the same time as the Helicodiceros, but the others have all been up since November. There are also several pots of Arisaema and Pinellia that have not come up yet, and I do not expect them for some time yet.

 

I pot the bulbs on a layer of sand, with a rich medium of peat, compost, pumice and sand around and on top. The bottom sand layer seems to help prevent rot.

 

I really hope this helps you Peter, and anyone else out there that enjoys these wonderful aroids!!

 

Happy days,

Christopher

 

D. Christopher Rogers

Invertebrate Ecologist/Taxonomist

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EcoAnalysts, Inc.

(530) 406-1178

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Woodland CA 95695 USA

 

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-----Original Message-----
From: aroid-l-bounces@gizmoworks.com [mailto:aroid-l-bounces@gizmoworks.com]On Behalf Of Baumfarn Webmaster
Sent: Wednesday, February 07, 2007 1:30 PM
To: Discussion of aroids
Subject: Re: [Aroid-l] Helicodiceros potting

 

Hi Christopher,
can you please be so kind and tell me at which time of the year Heli-mu starts to thrive and what kind of climate you have normally at that time.

thanks
Peter

D. Christopher Rogers wrote:

Hiyer!

Here in central California, we have had some unusually cold weather this year. We went for a whole week with lows between –5C (22F) and 1C (33F). We still are having some frost in any place shady most mornings, but my Helicodiceros (both new offsets and old plants) are coming up and looking great!