I first got interested in the A. plants when I first "met" Mr. Stinky in Fairchild Tropical during his second bloom (and also went back for his third). It was shortly thereafter I got my own (a few kinds of which I can't recall the name of, and one bulbifer)... been growing them for some years now.

Anyway, I have a couple of questions/comments... so first thing's first: the bulbifer.

It's been leafing out for a while now, and after moving to a new place I realized it started growing again just last week. After it got to about a foot, it seemed to slow down in growth. I'm not really worried about that, but just wondering: Is there a way to tell if you're getting a leaf or a flower? It hasn't opened the second... um, sheath/covering yet, so I don't know what's coming out that last "cover." Just wondering if there's a way to know about what's coming ahead of time.

I've repotted it when I realized it was just starting to get out of dormancy, and the tuber was smaller than last year, probably by about a quarter to over half. Is that a sign of anything (I wonder heard sometimes the tuber shrinks a bit when it's producing a flower that year rather than a leaf).

The second question refers to titanums: Is there a good reliable place to get them. I want to grow one (I want my own Mr. Stinky ;D), even if it's a seedling or if it's just starting to grow, and hopefully not super expensive. Any recommendations? I've wanted one for some time, and was waiting for the right time where I knew I had time to dedicate myself to caring for it. Any leads to get one would be great! :)

Thanks, and hope to see you folks around.

As far as titanums, there is a seller on ebay that has very nice ones, his seller name is efgorchids. You can buy in lots of 10 or if you contact him he will send you one, I'm sure. He was selling single plants for $25. Some of his plants had more than one tuber in the pot. The plants are 2 ft tall or taller and very healthy, I bought several.
There's also another seller that is buying them from efgorchids for $15, dying back the leaf, and selling the tubers. People are paying a lot of money for the same plants they could get much more cheaply, but I guess it is their money to spend!
Good luck!

I'm in zone 10/11 down here in Miami, Florida... I figured it's pretty much the perfect place to grow these kinds of plants. The bulbifer is starting to swell somewhat (starting to look less like the usual spike and more like a bloated triangle), so I'm hoping it is indeed a flower as I haven't seen one from it for a few years now.

I already know about the titanum, but I was wondering about the bulbifer/carneous:

Do they self-polinate or do I need to have pollen from another plant in order to get seeds? I read somewhere (from the little info I could find) that both the carneous and bulbifer can self-pollinate, but I wanted to be sure.