I have several climbers and the only thing I can find are these sphagnum moss stuffed mesh tubes that don't look like they'd hold any weight.

I have one plant that is mounted on a large bamboo pole but it doesn't climb it, I have to wrap and tie it on. I serveral smaller ones that are just hanging up but I want to have them growing up something instead.

Thanks
Dan

At the International aroid Society Show in Miami last month there were several large Philodendron specimens climbing 12 foot poles in large pots. These were just old pieces of rough timber that looked natural. I've also bought rolled cork and attached that to 2x4 wood to allow the plants to climb something that looks good with no problem but in 6 years or so the cork will begin to crumble and rot.

I'm about to order 2 dozen more from Mosser Lee and if you buy them by the box they are relatively cheap. Check the link below. The totems are on the 5th line but check the sizes to the right of the page.

The link is a couple of pics of the two philo's mentioned above. Click the photo for a larger view.

I'm not sure the second is P69686 either. There are also very similar species and this one doesn't look like my 5 year old P68686 with has climbed almost 6 feet on the stacked totems I recommended. You can easily tie the totems to the top of your chain and they'll hold nicely.

If you can take some good photos of of both sides of the blade so I can see the veins, the petiole that support the leaf, stem and any other detail shots I'll gladly compare them.

My plant came from Dr. Croat's plant at the Missouri Botanical Garden. The originals came from the collection of Roberto-Burle Marx in Brazil who originally located the plant.

If you've ever seen an inflorescence on the one you feel may be 69686 it should be about 3 inches tall and rarely opens. Dr. Croat isn't certain it ever opens but the Cyclocephala beetle that pollinates it may just force its way into the floral chamber. That one is still a bit of mystery.

He is also unsure if this is a species that hasn't been observed in the wild or is a natural hybrid. There is so much forest that has been destroyed in the area where the plant was likely originally collected it may well be extinct in the wild. My friend Leland Miyano who worked with Roberto for several years indicates Burle-Marx also loved to hybridize plants so it could be one of Roberto's creations. His collection is now owned by the country of Brazil and there are many plants that have no known origin. Dr. Croat recently allowed me to take cuttings of three more interesting plants that originated at the Marx sitio in Brazil and all are odd but still unknown to science.

If you don't mind please send me a note once you post them and I'll gladly check them against our own plants.

Steve@ExoticRainforest.com

It is my opinion the plant that looks like a Monstera is actually an Asia species known as Rhapidophora tetrasperma. Check the link I'm giving and tell me what you think.