Re: Cast Iron plant

Hi Jim, NO, I've never seen it bloom.  Oh this is MOST interesting!  This 
plant is over used in landscaping here too for shade.....and considered "out".  
Most "re-dos" call for ripping it all out.  I have and use the Apidistra elator 
variegata a lot.  There are several varieties of this.  I personally like a 
bit of variegation in a shaded area, so this serves two purposes.....no-fuss 
evergreen lush foliage in a shaded area, plus the added bonus of the white.  To 
know that it might actually bloom, and be even more attractive plus scent is 
just amazing.  I do so hope mine blooms.  You mentioned you didn't know the 
conditions for blooming???  Hm.  

I don't indoor garden much, except for my life long window sill cactus 
collection......but visited a friend recently that has a Corn plant which is 
blooming inside his house.  It's a lovely two story with huge windows, so gets ample 
lighting.  The bloom is quite pretty, and very fragrant also.  I had never 
heard of this plant blooming before either, and was pleasantly surprised.   Jim, 
or anyone grow this plant, if so....has it bloomed???   My friend's blooms 
yearly now.  He was told that it has to have a min. 5 inch stalk to do so.

Brazilian Cherry??  Have been busy, so haven't been keeping up with my list 
email much at all.  
Noreen
zone 9
Texas Gulf Coast

In a message dated 3/5/2004 8:05:36 PM Central Standard Time, 
gardenchat-owner@hort.net writes:

Hi. Has anyone seen the cast iron plant [Aspidistra elator] bloom? 
Smelled the flowers? I've always considered then funeral parlor plants. 
Somber. Dark green, erect spear-like leaves. Put them in pots and 
forget about them--they'll take all sorts of neglect and abuse.

Down here they are used in landscaping in shady areas. And today I 
discovered three things about them. First they bloom, given the right 
conditions [which I haven't figured out yet]; the flower looks a lot 
like a small crinum lily flower, actually a cluster of small tubular 
flowers.

Second, the fragrance of the flower is fantastic, quite jasmine-like. 
It is reported to be most fragrant at night, but my source says even 
during the day one can smell them from 8 feet. The dead one he brought 
into the office--it had been riding in his truck most of the day--had 
plenty of fragrance.

And three, their pollinators are [hope you're ready for this] snails 
and slugs. No wonder they never set seed in funeral parlors.

Guess I'm going to have to plant one of those. But not tomorrow. 
Tomorrow, I'm going down to ECHO to buy a couple of Brazilian cherries 
to add to the orchard.

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