Callopsis

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The Great Julius recommended Callopsis as a good small aroid for carol to grow. Where would I find a Callopsis?

Well Hello right back at you, good Ms. Carol!

SIZE is the difficulty here, most of the aroids grown by aroid-lovers are pretty large, but let`s see what we can do---the problem will be in you obtaining some of these plants, a note to this self-same list may bring some folks out of the shadows who may have specimens to offer for sale or trade.
The first that comes to my mind is Callopsis volkensii (African), which loves a 5" pot and produces blooms which in my opinion are one of THE most interesting and beautiful in this family, a lily-white spathe with an egg-yolk yellow spadix, blooms regularly and LOVES the extra TLC and fertilizer, etc. you guys should be able to give to it.
The second in a S. American, will also do well in a smaller pot, say 5"-6", it is Spathicarpa, any species which may be available.  This one will be easier to obtain.  Negative points are a non-typical spadix which is attached along the center of the spathe, but is again one of my favorites.  The bloom reminds me of a woman`s diamond tennis bracelet.
Spathiphyllum floribundum, the smallest of the species in this genus would be great, a 6" pot should do the trick, nice typical blooms. Sometimes available at Home Depot type stores.
Several dwarf Anubias species should be available from Aquarium/fish stores, most are usually grown UNDER water, but will do well/better if re-planted as an ABOVE water plant and grown ''wet'' (with the sand mix, in a 5" pot standing in a in a saucer of water), all the underwater leaves will die off, but new leaves will be produced for the now above-water plant.
I`m certain that others may add to this discussion, but good luck and GREAT growing.

Julius
WPB, FLORIDA

> Date: Thu, 8 Jan 2009 14:50:50 -0500
> From: Carol.McCarthy@mail.wvu.edu
> To: aroid-l@gizmoworks.com
> Subject: [Aroid-l] aroid recommendations
>
> Hello Good People,
>
> I work at a university greenhouse that supports, among other things, the teaching of a plant taxonomy class. Can you please recommend some species in the Araceae family that I could grow for the class?
>
> Requirements: 1) Tropical or subtropical, a year round greenhouse grower. 2) Can be kept to about a 6 inch pot size or smaller and be a blooming size plant. 3) Ideally the plant would bloom fairly often or could be convinced to bloom around the second half of September in a greenhouse in the USA, West Virginia. 4) flower structure, fairly typical spathe and spadix.
>
> I have lurked on this list a while so I am somewhat familiar with the family. I can supply dry and or cool resting periods or extra heat and or light to encourage the plant at the needed time of the year. I would prefer a true species but an example is much better than no example. Between this greenhouse and another on campus we have several examples of species in the family but they are mostly philodendrons and Dieffenbachia that either don't bloom very often or only bloom when they are larger plants than we are usually able to accommodate.
>
> If you suggest something out of the ordinary, which I personally would prefer, please include some hints on where to obtain plants.
> Feel free to reply publicly or privately.
>
> Thanks for any help on this.
>
> Carol McCarthy
>
> carol.mccarthy@mail.wvu.edu
> West Virginia University - Dept. of Biology
> Greenhouse Manager
>
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