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jfr1107

Aroids from seed?

jfr1107
18 years ago

Greetings,

I was wondering how easy aroids are to grow from seed? I have come across a few sources, but there has not been any info on how readily they germinate, conditions etc.

Thanks.

Comments (83)

  • tropicbreezent
    9 years ago

    No, Callas are aroids, along with lots of other plants. What aroids have in common is the same general shape of flowers, similar to Callas.

  • petrushka (7b)
    9 years ago

    so i decided to try and sprout the ripe red berry too - from anthurium plowmanii monster may be 5'-6' high?
    they are quite small the 1st two years - so i should be ok for a while yet, provided they'll survive winter...
    out of 7 seeds 5 swelled up well, and 4 seemed to be starting to sprout in 3weeks..when they got knocked over ....:0!
    but at least 2 survived and made 1st leaves.
    they are still in perlite with LF sphag underneath.
    i kept them on a heat mat and domed from the start and 1 week later they sprouted. then i started opening the lid up and using heat mat only at nite.
    now it's 1 month after sprouting.
    i have the beginning of the 2nd leaf. and they are in bright light with just a little dappled sun. they kept leaning and i kept moving them until they stopped - which was a foot from the window under other plants so in dappled shade.

    This post was edited by petrushka on Mon, Jul 28, 14 at 10:22

  • asleep_in_the_garden
    9 years ago

    Anthurium plowmanii seedlings!

    OOOOH I'm so jealous!

    I love the variety of shapes and textures available in anthuriums but haven't seen anything but the typical flamingo sort available for years. Had a bird'snest anth like fifteen years ago or so but lost it in a move.

    Nice work Petrushka!

    Here's an update on my latest batch of ags...

  • petrushka (7b)
    9 years ago

    it's only thanks to your posts about ag that i got an idea!
    so are these the 1st batch or the 2nd?
    i am thinking of getting an aquarium and setting up closed terrarium for these babies - 'cause i'll be going on vacation inevitably.... i also sprouted a cycad (zamia furfuraceae) and lignum vitae tree from seeds i picked up on a street sidewalk :)))...
    for now they are sitting under a cut-off 2qt plastic bottle with an opening on top.

  • asleep_in_the_garden
    9 years ago

    ARGH...I just lost one of those sago nuts under glass not so long ago...the darned thing rotted on me when I had had success with these before.

    Purp sent it to me and I really wanted to show it off too.

    Awesome that yours popped for you though...they really are amazing critters,aren't they?

    I'm honored to have been your inspiration,Petrushka. It's cool feeling like your part of something. :)

    Get the aquarium.
    It's worth it!

    Edited to say that these seedling are from the second batch. The first batch got smacked with bad weather,and what's left of it wasn't looking too good but we shall see what rises from the ashes,so to speak.

    This post was edited by asleep_in_the_garden on Wed, Jul 30, 14 at 13:14

  • petrushka (7b)
    9 years ago

    wow, i don't put my babies out, i coddle them to the max!
    last year i got an idea from grab about alocasia bulbils (did you see my posts about that?) - it's not seeds, but pretty close, since you can't really propagate hybrid from seeds.
    most of bulbils except for 2 went dormant in jan when i was away. but i woke them up again with the same technique.
    they have grown quite a bit since.
    here's my brood sunning in the window :).
    i think i'll go and update that thread with more recent pics. this forum is so-o slow, might as well indulge myself.

    Here is a link that might be useful: how i woke up my african mask bulbils

    This post was edited by petrushka on Wed, Jul 30, 14 at 20:30

  • asleep_in_the_garden
    9 years ago

    Hi Petrushka!

    Sorry I've been away so long.

    Your collection of growing bulbils is just incredible...look at them GO!

    My poly decided to go dormant on me again and in frustration I put it in a box and sent it to Purpleinopp. I have high hopes that it will perform better for her down in lower alabama. The growing season up here just isn't that long so at least down there it will have more of a chance to thrive.
    I have had such a horrible history with these...it was the humane thing to do! lol

  • slofwnd
    9 years ago

    Currently growing Monstera plants from seed. Hard part is to find fresh seeds, after that it's easy. I had 20 of somewhat old seeds, out of 20 4 gave me baby monstera sprouts in 2 weeks or so. Lately we have rather cold days, so they develop slower than expected.
    I also received fresh batch of seeds this Friday, not sure how those perform yet.

  • asleep_in_the_garden
    9 years ago

    Would love to see pics and updates here and there. Documenting that would be really cool. :)

  • casagrande
    9 years ago

    asleep in the garden...............just to inform you my calla lily seeds are still asleep in the garden...

  • asleep_in_the_garden
    9 years ago

    Still?

    Oh man...that's a bummer.

    My first thought was omg fall is upon us...they'll never make it..!

    ...Then I looked at your info there and saw you were in zone 10. lol

    Personally,i'd have started them indoors in a terrarium,but where you are at,I imagine it's about the same thing to sow outside. :)

  • casagrande
    9 years ago

    asleep in the garden...........actually in zone 7....I am thinking they may surprise me in the spring....stay tuned...

  • asleep_in_the_garden
    9 years ago

    Oh my...7 is a little chillier,but from what I've read,established callas with a secure root system should have no problem getting through the winter. Question is,will seeds that haven't germinated yet make it?

    Hard to say,but up here in minnesota,a couple years back,I had tomatoes that were flattened under a couple feet of snow,which to my amazement,after the entirety of the cold season,actually had viable(and germinating)seeds within.

    Color me hopeful! :)

    LOL now I have one more reason to wish spring would hurry up and get here...and it's not even winter yet! ;)

  • petrushka (7b)
    9 years ago

    my flowering anthurium andreanum 'alabama' had thrips, and apparently they serve as pollinators. there are 2 stems/plants in the pot - and they are blooming at the same time too. so, to my surprise i can see seed berries forming! i saw a post somewhere (plants are the strangest?) that they sprout very easily, like in 2 weeks if fresh, in moist LF sphag. but the question is, how long will it take for berries to ripen? prolly a few months or more?

  • casagrande
    9 years ago

    petrushka...........may I please ask you. what is the word "prolly"? what does it mean?

  • asleep_in_the_garden
    9 years ago

    Short for "probably". :)

    Petrushka!
    For heaven's sake,I hope you're willing to document/share! =)

  • petrushka (7b)
    9 years ago

    hey, i've been documenting quite a bit, but there's hardly any response or interest: why bother? i always take pics for myself though, there's a chance i'll post 5 years from now when my a. plowmanii becomes a 4' monster and i plop it in the ground someplace in FL ;). or my african mask seedlings become my ground cover! that will be the day.
    a.plowmanii is on a 4th leaf and it is about an inch now. i'm going to get a plastic critter cage for use as a small terrarium and see if i can completely close them off in it for the winter.

  • petrushka (7b)
    9 years ago

    found the seed post.
    it takes 5-6 mo for seeds to ripen! and then 3-5 years for the seedling to bloom - way OVER my head. but i sprouted cyclamen from my very own seed-pods (much harder! to sprout) and grew seedlings enclosed in an egg-crate for a year! and out of a dozen got 2 plants that survived - which i kept going strong and flowering profusely for 5 years, overwintering indoors of course. that was just a whim..
    so, it could be that i can sprout and grow anthuriums too...
    actually there are many-many lengthy posts about seedlings and hydrids and how they develop,etc - lots of good reads, but you have to pop open each calendar entry to see if it's about anthuriums. there's often interesting commentary too.

    Here is a link that might be useful: anthurium andreanum seed propagation

    This post was edited by petrushka on Sat, Sep 6, 14 at 13:56

  • petrushka (7b)
    9 years ago

    so i decided it was time to pot up my anthuriums plowmanii sprouts into 3" pots. Lined with coco-fiber 'net' with yarn wick inserted inside for self-watering, then a thin layer of lava rock to absorb extra water and get more air down at the bottom. and then i layered LF NZ moss with a little perlite mixed with reg canadian sphag, then lifted the root ball undisturbed from the original 'tub' and tucked in more LF NZ sphag on top and around, pretty loosely. so it's 50% LF sphag and the rest perlite.
    they will be covered with very tall domes made from clear plastic 2qt bottles, with top open for ventilation - until i set up a terrarium for them.
    one is double the size of the other. here's a pic

  • asleep_in_the_garden
    9 years ago

    Petrushka,
    by no means did I mean to imply that you haven't been an awe inspiring contributor(you really are,you know!). Sorry if it seemed that way. I agree that things are pretty slow around here all things considered,and I know I would participate more regularly myself if I wasn't constantly distracted by one thing or another.

    Thanks for the link. PATSP is a great blog,and I haven't looked into it much lately so it's great to look into it again.

    The seedlings are looking great!
    Really impressive stuff going on over there!

    Still haven't gotten around to acquiring long fiber sphag yet. The more I see your successes,the more I realize that it's crucial that I get some.

    I know I'm hardly alone in appreciating your contributions here at GW. The experience and creativity that you so willingly share are priceless...and while I can totally relate to the "why bother?" mentality,I hope the general lack of participation doesn't slow you down too much. You're input would be missed more than you know!

  • petrushka (7b)
    9 years ago

    thanks for kind words, asleep! my plants keep me going, so to speak ;).
    you got me started on berries, who knows whom i will start on bulbils?
    the more the merrier.
    i read somewhere that LF sphag stimulates root development and has also anti-bacterial properties, which is good for young plants. there's an interesting experiment going on in orchid forum about growing phals in various mediums to see what works best. LF shag is of course in many mixes. interesting info about it, go check it out.
    i supplement with reading other online forums, since i find that houseplants turned into 'plant-killers' parade for most part - i find it more and more depressing. it's like a giant tsunami wave that never stops. i like talking with more experienced growers - not many of which are posting regularly, unfortunately.
    but i make do. i found a post on ATP about exoticrainforest site archived at IAS site. it's not very active there either, but there are sev growers posting - which is more then here. seen a few people from here too.

  • asleep_in_the_garden
    9 years ago

    I've been a member of GW for quite a while now,and somehow I am not really able to find the energy reserves to participate much in much else,forum-wise. A few months ago, Purp turned me on to ATP,and I made a profile there and even took part in a discussion or two. It's a pretty cool place,and yes..I too have noticed a few of the regulars from around here as well. If/when the day comes that I can pull myself out of the rut I'm in,I'm pretty sure that's where the over-spill will run. A creature of habit...to a fault. *sigh*

    Oh by the way...the other day I mixed up some plant food without measuring...just kinda eyeballed it,right? Something tells me I should have been a bit more exact in my method because I used it to dribble my seedlings with and thankfully only one of them is yellowing,but something tells me I burned them a bit. Sometimes it really is like I'm sleepwalking around here only to wake up later wondering wth I did this time. Gets pretty frustrating. lol

  • casagrande
    9 years ago

    asleep in the garden............do you suppose that the slowing down of posts may be due to the time of year..

  • petrushka (7b)
    9 years ago

    bad-bad-bad! i hope you're not planning to finish your 2nd batch BEFORE winter? so you can lazy for a few months :)?
    see, LF shag has nutrients enough for orchids to grow for sev years. with minimal supplementation of micros. that's a big plus. i read about aroids that nursery people use fertilizer with high (60%?) urea vs high nitrates - for initial fast growth. urea is utilized much faster.
    i use kelp in the very beginning and after a couple of months AV fertilizer 7:7:7 - with reg dilution of 7 drops per qt. and i water with a squeeze bottle just on the perimeter (small sauce/mustard bottles with nozzle are great), not near the stems...most aroid seedlings grow rather slow - so they don't really need that much fertilizer, especially with some sphag and peat in the mix.
    think i should be able to switch to wick watering with liquid ferts for a.plowmanii in a few months. then it's easy!
    i find energy by switching focus: var silly propagation projects and new plants mostly.
    some successes counter-weigh inevitable problems. but this year the greenhouse thrips wore me out to the bone. but i'm gaining on them. i HAVE TO be clean for winter, it's like a packed greenhouse here - one stumble, and then it's months of spraying...by the way PATSP has a big problem with thrips too. and of course i do AV's too - which are a total feast for them! more like banquet eternal ...
    i found a solution: bag and fumigate with mothball flakes for about a month to be sure. works like a charm on all plants, except begonias (don't even ask!). that's what they do for gladiolus bulbs - to kill off thrips in the bulbs over storage period. of course, my amaryllis were a breeding ground too...sigh
    paraphrasing m jackson:
    You Wanna Be Tough, Better Bag What You Can,
    beat it-beat it ... bag it - bag it !!!

  • asleep_in_the_garden
    9 years ago

    Very interesting that you should mention mothballs as a fumigation for thrips...I remember finding similar info regarding scale. When I mentioned it on a scale thread a year or two ago,nobody (that I noticed) said anything about it,either to the good or to the bad,..so naturally I've wondered about that.

    Last year's indoor sentence for my plants was strangely lucky and I saw no outbreaks,but now that I see you state that the mothball approach is safe I'll have less fear in implementing it in the future should the need arise.

    LOL when you say don't even ask (concerning begonias),you KNOW you only make us all the more curious,right? ;)

    So far it's only one leaf on one seedling that went yellow on me. Funny thing is that it would likely have been chalked up to some other issue had I not remembered what I'd done on the day just previous. So far it looks like any damage was minor. Needless to say that in the future I'll have to be more careful when mixing up feed solutions...I can be pretty brain-dead sometimes. heh

  • petrushka (7b)
    9 years ago

    it's safe, but when you unbag them - do it in a well ventilated space.
    i crush/bag outside or in the bathroom, where exhaust will pull it out fast. gladioli people put moth balls/flakes in sealed paper bags with bulbs, since bulbs can't be in plastic directly and need to breathe and will rot from condensation.
    i think you can do paper-bags and then plastic. that's what i'll try.
    i use 1 moth ball crushed per large dry-cleaners bag and put flakes in two bottle caps, not directly on soil. so i see if it needs refilling. and i won't be dealing with after fumes when i unbag and remove the caps. i've had no smell whatsoever in the apt - so was sealed OK.
    and of course, it has to be air-tight to work. i seal dry-cleaning bags on top with clear postal tape and gather up the bottom tight around the pot and wrap an elastic around to keep it tight. anything stretchy will do, so long as it's air-tight.
    but it didn't bother mites! - and i had high hopes! scale? so smbody said it worked on them? that would be handy! last year i did sev sprays with fish emulsion (citrus forum recommendation) on outdoor plants before bringing them in. and i did not have scale in winter -1st time ever! but i still use bonide indoor systemic too, since i can't monitor for long stretches at a time. gotta do what you gotta do.
    don't even ask ..- indicates extreme frustration and anguish...yah, it could be relieved somewhat by venting. glad you asked :)))!
    my biggest tuberous begonia monitored closely after a week was fine, after 10 days many leaves/stems just dropped off, rotted. and i did spray with antifungal prior to bagging. it's surviving outside now and started regrowing - but it was awesome looking before 'treatment'. now 2/3 of foliage is gone!
    sorry, it's a bit of a side-line conversation. sigh. sniff...
    need to bag african mask seedlings too - same problem: thrips. almost eradicated them, but without bagging can't be sure.
    see pock-marks on the left leaf - could be even worse.that's thrips and they live inside the leaf sheath - so for aroids it's impossible to get rid of them by just spraying, you can't get inside the rolled up young leaf!
    the leaves can come out totally clean, and then they hatch a week later...

  • petrushka (7b)
    9 years ago

    you prolly can't see it well, but on a.plowmanii right seedling there are white spots on leaf-edges: thrips again.
    and here's the flower anthurium leaf thrip damage -spots and squiggly lines. and on the spathe you get this ugly brown lines. you can see them on a lot of spathes at PATSP.

  • asleep_in_the_garden
    9 years ago

    No dice on spider mites,eh? That's too bad...makes me wonder about the scale,which I've never had much luck fighting over the winter,but once outside nature remedies it pretty quickly. It's like the predators are just waiting with forks and knives in hand. lol

    So the leaf loss of the begonia was brought about by the mothball? If not,then what?

    Of COURSE I welcome venting! Let it all out! :D

    Here's a shot of my yellowing leaf...

  • petrushka (7b)
    9 years ago

    so these are 2-3" ? looking nice.
    as far as tuberous begonia goes - it's not the mothballs, it's bagging. stagnant air i'd guess, too hi humidity. the large one is hairy like rex - they are very sensitive to all kinds of molds. i think that's what got it.
    i was weary - sprayed anti-fungal, but even that was not enough. probably if i'd unbagged it after 1 week for a day or so then it would've been at least better? who knows...
    some gain, some loss. i am not THAT fond of it, it drops buds constantly, but it was just monstrously impressively HUGE....
    it's already shooting 4 new stalks from the base!
    where is your homalomena?

  • asleep_in_the_garden
    9 years ago

    I had an escargo many years ago but lost it in a move. Much as I loved it back then,I really haven't paid much attention to beggies in general. I'm sure I'll get the bug again one day...they are way too beautiful to ignore forever.

    Got the homalomena(emerald gem) late last year and took a teeny weeny division from it to keep a little journal with. You may have seen the post. It surfaced now and again as I updated it. Meanwhile later in the winter(I know...worst time to do this) I ended up dividing the rest of the plant up. A while back I sent the one form the journal and a slightly larger one to Purp,and they've been doing great for her(I'm so pleased!) The largest of my divisions is in a terrarium in the front window. I really wish I got more light in this location.

    Anyhoo...here's a shot of the ter out front...

  • petrushka (7b)
    9 years ago

    it'd looking good. the leaves remind me a lot of tulip anthuriums (a. amnicola). i've seen some pics of a grown plant and leaves get much bigger. does it require very high humidity always?

  • asleep_in_the_garden
    9 years ago

    From what I've read it's tolerant of conditions with less than perfect humidity,but if and when I can,I spoil them with terrariums Last winter I had the plant in the open air in my bedroom and it started to decline on me. That's when I decided to tear it apart and re-start the divisions.

    Personally,I think they need it more than some indicate out there on the web.

  • petrushka (7b)
    8 years ago

    so here'a my Anthurium plowmanii that is sprouted last year. It was growing rather slowly until i put it outside in the shade, in 90F. i suddenly grew 2 very large leaves. but only one of them the 2nd is much smaller, but new leaves are also bigger, but nowhere near the size of 'the giant'. these are 4" by 8" long!

    and here you the 2nd plant with 1" by 4" leaves at the most. both still in 3" pots.

  • tropicbreezent
    8 years ago

    My A. plowmanii is flowering now. Unfortunately something has been eating the leaves.

  • petrushka (7b)
    7 years ago

    an update - my Anthurium Plowmanii woke up and produced 1st leaf of a year . It grew to 12" by 5" wide, petiole at 10". that's the largest so far - total 6 leaves large. But it still keeps even the very first tiny baby leaf.

    so, that's almost 2years since germination (1yr +11mo)

  • Russ1023 (central Fla)
    7 years ago

    Asleep in the Garden, regarding your photo 5 pictures up, those seedlings look like aglaonemas. Are they? If so, what species or variety?

    Petrushka, did your plowmanii seeds come from your own plants, or did you order them? Just wondering if it could be a hybrid.

    Russ

  • petrushka (7b)
    7 years ago
    last modified: 7 years ago

    they came fresh from a labeled plant. they need to be very fresh to sprout (within 2 weeks) , so ordering is futile.

    h-m, i thought hybrids have sterile seeds..is that not always true?

    i have a Q for asleep myself, but he disappeared from the radar.

    @asleep_in_the_garden ? this prolly won't work...

    i got seeds from ag that is not commutatum (his seedlings are - those are the pics you're asking about, russ? his last pic is of Homalomena) and i have sprouted a few, but they are so-o slow...that i might get a 1st leaf by New Year!...

    aren't you <the ag guy> :), russ?

    may be you can help me ID my ag? it looks like 'Mary Ann' cultivar by image comparison. that's the closest i got so far. but then if only Ag commutatum seeds sprout - does it mean IT IS a cultivar of commutatum?

    i only got an inch root so far - is it possible the leaf will never come? i am new to this :)...this is the leaf pattern, the stems top left are whitish-gray and berries are bright red.

    got a better shot of stem - definitely on the white side and a berry

  • Russ1023 (central Fla)
    7 years ago
    last modified: 7 years ago

    Hi Petrushka, finally got over here and I read most of this entire thread.

    Yes, I guess you might say I'm 'the ag guy'.

    I was interested in those commutatum seedlings, wanting to know which variety of commutatum. Over the years I've been successful in growing many commutatums from seeds produced by some of my own plants, I think it's called Elegans... A. commutatum v. commutatum f. Elegans according to my old ag book by Roy Jervis. All of my seedlings have looked like the parents, no variation that I can see.

    Hybrids can produce viable seeds. I rarely seem them and I have lots of hybrids, but it is possible. I've had two different episodes of seeds in the last two years on two different plants, but of the same hybrid. None of my Thai ags have produced seeds although they are constantly blooming.

    I have 2 seeds right now that germinated last fall and are just now showing a little spike of a plant from the ends of the seeds. Very slow but a little faster now that it's June and temps are consistently in the 90s. These are from a hybrid.

    Regarding an ID of the ag in the 2 pics above, it isn't Mary Ann. In top left of the pic showing the petioles, they look light pink, are they?? If they are, I know what this ag is.

    Russ

  • petrushka (7b)
    7 years ago

    so you think that the berry photo is a different hybrid 'cause the stems appear white? it's in the same naturalized bed - i think it's just the lighting. it's all in the rather dark understory - so lighting is very tricky. i shoot with auxiliary weak flash which might change colors on close-ups...

    from further shots the stems appear pinkish definitely. here's another one of the same. the younger leaves appear to have a yellow central vein, but then they darken to gray.

  • Russ1023 (central Fla)
    7 years ago

    Petrushka, I'm trying to understand the photos as to what they are. Are all three of the pics just above of the same plants? Yes, the petioles in the top pic and this pic just above appear light pink in the photos. Are they pinkish on the plants?

    Below is a link to a thread I started on some of my ags. Scroll down to the 3rd pic. Does that ag look like yours??

    http://forums.gardenweb.com/discussions/2881353/aglaonema?n=32

    The petioles on my plant are pinkish. It also has the yellow color on the midrib and, as you can see, the same colors and patterns on the leaves as your ags. The seeds in the pic germinated but I lost them. I have two more seeds from a different plant but same hybrid that are growing well now. Anxious to see what they look like.

    I've determined this ag is an old hybrid that a fellow named Nat DeLeon crossed in the very early 70s.... A. Tricolor X A. Manila. I've seen it for sale a time or two in nurseries in the last couple of years, it's not very common. I got mine from the renowned Dr. Frank Brown about 18 years ago. Oddly, I just found out that my brother Roger knows Nat DeLeon, they're both in south Fla.

    There is an 'almost twin' of this hybrid, it has russet-brown petioles rather than light pink. Leaves are the same other than lacking the yellow midrib color. My pink petioled plants sometimes produce the russet petioled one as offsets, but my russets have never produced the pink ones.

    I'll wait for your opinion on the pics being the same plants.

    Russ


  • petrushka (7b)
    7 years ago

    oh, i think 'mine' are just like yours (A. Tricolor x A. Manila)! i have looked at yout posts sev times, of course for the clue to mine :). i thought it resembled 'mine', but wanted to be sure or close to sure ;).

    all three of my pics are from the same patch of naturalized ag's - it's perhaps 10' wide growth. some patches in this old park have mixed ags. i can't say for sure if whitish looking stems are the same plants. but pretty sure :). it's the former site of Parrot Jungle in Pinecrest (south of Coral Gables) that was relocated to Watson island in Biscayne Bay (between Miami and South beach) - these are very old plantings. so it's possible timewise that these are old hybrids.

  • Russ1023 (central Fla)
    7 years ago

    I get it now Petrushka, those pics were not your plants, but you got the seeds from that planting at the old Parrot Jungle.

    I can send you the ag in question if it's something you want. Also have extras of most of the ags on my ag thread with the pics. I have many more than those pics though, if interested I can send my list.

    I remember when Parrot Jungle went under. My brother was a professional naturalist for Dade County Parks and had access, so we walked thru there. We assumed the property would be bulldozed, I'm surprised it's not a shopping mall or housing development by now. Amazing there are still plants there.

    Russ


  • petrushka (7b)
    7 years ago

    actually Pinecrest has a lot of profs from UofM - it's almost a college town now :) and real estate around Pinecrest gardens is going thru the roof - there is a very handsome library next to it and quite an active greenmarket on w-ends. The community is shaping nicely and botanical gardens are maintained still and are doing quite well. It is like a real jungle, almost - not as manicured as Fairchild, but a lot of very good specimens. In some ares it's so-o overgrown as to be almost magical...but the ponds that were laid in long time ago just overgrew completely and are full of koi. And it is not very touristy, as it is a bit farther then Fairchild - well worth a visit for plant lovers!

    am a bit off topic, so just want to add that my one seed is finally showing a stem sprout about 1/2 inch...i sprouted some cycads, and they were almost as slow as these ags! but since it's similar for you - now i am not worried. i do this for fun, you know :). I have a very limited space in the apt and close to 100 plants !?!... Though as far as apts go it's quite large, especially for NYC (i am across the river in Jersey City actually, but just one stop across). thanks for the offer, i saw your list in another thread, i'll go look at it carefully. I only have one big ag - pink thai Anyamanee that i picked up at the Fairchild greenmarket a few years back. It's done phenomenally well for me. I just love it, it is growing quite large too :). I usually bring some plants from Miami ev year - too tempting ..can't resist it....

    you posted that PHOE relocated to Redlands - we go to spice park ev 2nd year , perhaps, so i'll make sure to visit their new location next door. But it's a pity that South Miami nursery closed - it was a magical place. I learned about it in Begonia forum from hcmc - and was visiting there for 3 years in a row....it was obvious that they were going to close - the place was overgrown and kind of falling apart - but plants there were just STUPENDOUS!...i just adored the place! at least i have lotsa pics ;)...

  • Russ1023 (central Fla)
    7 years ago

    Interesting about Pinecrest. I don't know south Florida at all but my brother lives in Homestead, lived in Goulds for a long time as well. I visited in 2000 and a few years prior to that, went to the International Aroid Society show and sale which is in September. I love my aroids.

    My two ag seed growths are probably a half inch high as well. If I'm not mistaken, my two seeds are from the russet-petioled variety. The seeds I lost came from a pink-petioled one, the one in the pic on my ag thread. Anyway, it'll be interesting to see what they look like when mature, I hope they're different in some way than the parent. I'm assuming both were 'selfed'.

    Last summer I spread a bunch of Zamia furfuracea seeds I got from a neighbor's plants on a bed of sand behind my shadehouse and covered with the same. They sat there the rest of the year and thru winter, then this spring they were coming up all over the place. They're still very slow, most are about 6" tall. They're magnificent cycads when full-grown, commonly used as landscape plants here as I'm sure you know.

    My ag list is in this thread which I posted above.

    http://forums.gardenweb.com/discussions/2881353/aglaonema?n=32

    Let me know if you see any that you can't live without and I'll try to provide them.

    Russ






  • petrushka (7b)
    5 years ago

    well, my Anthurium plowmanii from seed is gaining more leaves and it finally produced 2 inflorescences. the leaves are over 20" long :).

    the petioles are even longer :O.. i have to tie it up to keep it from occupying the whole window!

  • petrushka (7b)
    5 years ago

    and my 3 ag seeds all growing into little seedlings and now i have a little ag-pot!

    interesting that 2 have pink stems, and one is dark-green. so may be not true from seed. i of course like the pinkish stems better. They are SO SLOW! unbelievable!

  • petrushka (7b)
    5 years ago

    i've sprouted zamia furfurecea too: got sev pots going. my oldest sprouted in jul 2014, this winter it dropped leaves for the first time and now i'm waiting for the fresh set.

    i also sprouted Dioon spinulosum :)! it's 3 yrs old now with sev fronds. quite long, like 3' at least and VERY spiny!

  • Russ1023 (central Fla)
    5 years ago
    last modified: 5 years ago

    Petrushka, I have the same pink and russet petioled ags that you show in your pic, mine came from Dr Frank Brown about 20 years ago with no name. I'm convinced they are Nat DeLeon's hybrid Pink Goddess, circa 1960. The pink petioled one will occasionally offset a brown petioled plant, like the one you have from seed. Roy Jervis in his ag book calls this brown color 'russet', which is caused by the pink color being overlaid with green, producing the brown color.

    I've grown many pinks and russets from seed but they've always come true, pink from pink and russet from russet. If you gathered your seeds from the wild stand of ags in South Fla which you've mentioned before, is it possible your russet seed came from a russet plant??

    Pink petioled plants sometimes offset a russet plant, but I've never had a russet produce a pink. I probably have a hundred plants of this hybrid, mostly with pink petioles. The pinks have more variegation in their leaves, often with some yellow down the main vein. Russet leaves are wider and darker green, with less creamy variegation.

    I got two seedlings last year that were different, basically the leaves were switched... wider, dark green leaves on the one with pink petioles, and lighter green, narrower leaves on the russet petioled one. So keep growing from seeds as there can be some variation in seedlings and you might get something different. Less likely with species but hybrids have a mixed bag of genes.

    Russ

  • petrushka (7b)
    5 years ago
    last modified: 5 years ago

    i took 4 seeds from the same plant - took a pic of it and then took seeds. so i know for sure it's from the same one.

    interesting - i guess it's a mutation of some sort, reversion to russet/plain green.

    i took a pic of 3 leaves side by side, the middle is clearly lacking yellow, so it's more blue-green. the petioles on one side which got more light are pinkish, on the other just white, as i don't rotate them ;( .

    each has 4 leaves total from the beginning (about 1.5 years) and now the oldest leaves are beginnig to decline. so these are still juvie leaves, not full mature variegation (as on pics of full grown plants at Pinecrest).

    they look sort of pathetic ;), small and the leaves are curling under a bit.

  • petrushka (7b)
    5 years ago

    oh, by the way, i went to Pinecrest and it's been quite devastated by the hurricane last sep - the undergrowth plantings mostly cleared, the giant crotons in some places down to the ground. some ag's survived, begonias gone too - i guess it all rotted in the aftermath, covered by debris. It's a pity!

    Do you know how Homestead/Redlands fared in hurricane? there are so many nurseries there..

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