Having read about this
“giant” A. paeoniifolius, I was intrigued, until I came to realize that
what I have, and the only form I have ever known, must be the giant !
Here are 2 photos I
just took of a specimen in my garden. Leaning near it is a regular sized
wooden palette as used for the shipping of goods by sea.
I am 6 foot 2 ½ inches
(189.23 cm.) tall and I just stood next to the trunk and the canopy was about
an inch above my head.
This specimen receives
full sun for much of the day, and I have taller specimens growing in shade.
None received any fertilizer and they volunteered where they are.
I obtained my corms
from the late John Brudy (John Brudy’s Rare Plant House) in Cocoa Beach, Florida
in the 1970s.
The flowers are of
course very sizeable, approaching 2 feet across. The corms are about 18 inches
across.
The trunk of this
specimen is 4 ½ inches near the base .
John.
From:
aroid-l-bounces@gizmoworks.com [mailto:aroid-l-bounces@gizmoworks.com] On Behalf Of ju-bo@msn.com
Sent: Wednesday, September 30,
2009 9:47 AM
To: aroid-l@gizmoworks.com
Subject: Re: [Aroid-l] giant form
A. paeoniifolius
Dear Derek and Friends,
I recall a photo taken at Fairchild Gardens in Miami in an EARLY
"Aroideana'' of our old friend Craig Phillips standing under the canopy of
a leaf of what was labeled then as A. titanum, this was later corrected,
it was A. paeoniifolius. Craig stood at LEAST 6' tall, and the canopy
began to spread a little OVER his head, so the petiole MUST have been
about 6' 4" tall, maybe 5" in dia. at its base?
A couple/three years ago, at the Sept. aroid show and sale, I assisted Ron
Weeks and others in hauling a HUGE tub with a GIANT plant of A. paeoniifolius
from the rare plant house at Fairchild up and into the ''display hall'', this
plant easily rivaled in size the one in the old photo, and, who knows, might
even have been the SAME plant as was shown in the photo!
So--we know that a giant exists/used to exist at Fairchild, Scott USED to have
a couple, and there were a few more hanging around in collections a few years
ago.
I don`t know about the blooming of these giant plants, I`ll ask my buddy Bobby,
he just MIGHT know, or maybe our resident expert Wilbert may chime in?
I USED to be able to purchase soft-ball sized A. paeon. corms at an Indian
Grocery on Okeechobee Blvd. here in W.P.B. (I still get eddoes, Colocasia
esculenta ''antiquorom'' there!), but I have not seen them available in a
couple of years, I must ask the owner where he used to obtain them, they were
VERY popular with folks from the S. India/Cylon areas, used seasonally at
weddings/feasts, called ''suran'', also available cooked and in cans.
I hope that this helps!
Good Growing, all.
Julius
From: derek@horticulturist.com
To: aroid-l@gizmoworks.com
Date: Tue, 29 Sep 2009 13:19:38 -0400
Subject: Re: [Aroid-l] giant form A. paeoniifolius
Hello Julius and everyone,
I wonder if these giant corms are the
result of the breeding program in the Indian subcontinent. Please see back
issues of Aroideana on this. If so, I suspect that one of the side results of
the program has been to minimize the likelihood of flowering of these corms. I
know this to be the case for some of the named cultivars.
I find this size corm in UK greengrocers
in the summer, and I am told that the general name is suran – perhaps one
of many names in various parts of the subcontinent. I have had no luck so far
in finding them in South Florida grocers. To
be honest, I don’t think that 24” diameter is particularly unusual
or “giant” – mine go at least 18” and that is with my
appalling growing skills.
Derek
From:
aroid-l-bounces@gizmoworks.com [mailto:aroid-l-bounces@gizmoworks.com] On Behalf Of ju-bo@msn.com
Sent: Tuesday, September 29, 2009
8:53 AM
To: aroid-l@gizmoworks.com
Subject: Re: [Aroid-l] giant form
A. paeoniifolius
Dear All,
This giant form of A. paeoniifolius is available in S.
Florida, so there should not be a need to import it.
I'll wait to see if and when the owners/growers shake the dust off their shoes
and the sand out of their eyes and reply to this forum!!
I saw a tuber that must have measured close to 24" in dia. some years
ago. I THINK Scott had and may have sold some plants of this giant
clone??
Julius
W.P.B., FLORIDA
Date: Sun, 27 Sep 2009 13:18:40
-0500
From: LLmen@wi.rr.com
To: aroid-l@gizmoworks.com
Subject: Re: [Aroid-l] giant form A. paeoniifolius
If anyone else would be interested in obtaining tubers or seed, perhaps
a group order could be initiated, depending upon the costs.
Just a thought,
Don Martinson
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Mailto:llmen@wi.rr.com
On 9/27/09 8:48 AM, "Raj Shekhar Misra"
<rajshekharmisra@yahoo.com> wrote:
HELLO
I HAVE GIANT AMORPHOPHALLUS PAEONIFOLIUS WHICH PRODUCES EDIBLE CORMS WEIGHING
15 TO 20KG.
Kindly visit my webpage for more information.
www.geocities.com/rsmisra2000 <http://www.geocities.com/rsmisra2000>
regards
RSMisra
Dr.Raj Shekhar Misra
Principal Scientist & Head
Crop Protection Division
Central Tuber Crops Research Institute
Sreekariyam, Trivandrum-695017(India)
Mobile Phone No. 91-9446557657
Fax-0471-2590063
Phone-0471-2598551 to 2598554
From: Dan Jackson
<rupert68@gmail.com>
To: aroid-l@gizmoworks.com
Sent: Thursday, 24 September, 2009
11:03:49 AM
Subject: [Aroid-l] giant form A.
paeoniifolius
hello to the group.
I am looking for a source for the large, tall
growing form of or "giant" form of A. paeoniifolius.
can anyone advise?
Thanks
Rupert
rupert68@gmail.com
Now, send attachments up to 25MB with Yahoo! India Mail.
Learn how <http://in.rd.yahoo.com/tagline_galaxy_2/*http://in.overview.mail.yahoo.com/photos>
.
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