tropic..u mentioned your potting mix breaking down after a growing season..i found same with mine couple yrs ago..
i made my own..was a high quality mix..reason i went on search what others were using as potted plant potting mix.. on container forum here..much discussion on gritty mix .
using pine bark,and other additions..
i was concerned about using such a draining mix on my amorphs.. but.this is my 2nd yr with it..and my amorphs.. tropical..and konjac,various species.. have done really well.. i use pine bark,pumice,and add fine mineral mix..
i get great root developement,nice firm white roots. and good corm growth.. i know i would get bigger konjac corms if they had another couple months growing.. for me here..im lucky if i get beginning of oct before nite temps are low 50sF..
the tropicals all come inside before that though..
sure could use that front ender then!!! :)
?? is the most tropical area of australia up in york peninsula? from my searching..its pretty remote too??

Dave,

The Atherton Tablelands is at the base of the Cape York Peninsula just inland from the northern most Queensland city of Cairns. Tropicbreezent is even more tropically inclined then me. The coastal city of Darwin gets pretty steamy when the monsoons start coming around. I believe Darwin is the source of the famous Oz expression "mango madness" which relates to the intense build up of the wet season and its effect on people's tempers.

I'm interested in the details of your mix. Right now I'm just using water leeched (in case of salt) coconut coir mixed with perlite and a "tad" of fine sand. I did add a bit of pine bark, but I wound up putting most of it in the bottom of the pot as a drainage material instead of rock (local volcanic scoria). My titanums seem to be doing well, but I still wonder if my combo is optimum for my conditions. I'd be curious to see what our mate up in the N.T. is using.

Also, I'd really love to see what those mature petioles you all are getting look like from top to pot (photos?). As of this moment, all I have are an assortment of juveniles in different states. Cairns Botanical Gardens has removed all their mature titanums from the public eye while they re-develope the old facility. Come on guys, I need some visual stimulation! (big grin)

thanks for thoughts rob..
i have some of my titanums pics on earlier posts..here are some..and as i said..this yr..a bit dissapointing..its been a coolish summer here..:(

and one of the larger corms..really like the roots!! :)

Dave, All I have to say is WOW!!!!

Beautiful "mature" form petiole. I recognize your porch cover in the background from one of your earlier posted photos. I actually copied that image and had it on my desktop for awhile. I may "officially" be in the tropics, but I'm amazed at what you are accomplishing with some pretty tough winter conditions.

Beautiful corm with very healthy roots! I can't wait for my larger juvenile to go dormant so I can check out the corm. How many years did it take for your first titanum to produce a mature form petiole?

Yes, our Dry Season is really dry. My last rain was about 6 mm at the beginning of May. Since then it's been over 30C each day, often with wind, and always with blazing blue skies. Usually late August temps are getting high 30's to 40C with humidity rising. But this year the humidity is right down, except nights when it gets back up over 90%. We get overhead sun on the 28th October and again 10th February. Our UV index in late winter is 11. The hottest humid months are October and November, but December it depends on when the monsoon arrives. The rains cool things down.

I mix my own medium for pots, but also use some bought potting soil in it. For the titanums I put a layer of limestone rocks, then some African Mahogany bark, then a mix of the bark with charcoal and the bought potting soil.

This is a link to a thread I started mainly about the felling of African Mahoganys at my place a few weeks ago. But it shows a little bit of the garden as well (those Mahoganys were in the garden).

www.au.gardenweb.com/forums/load/gallery/msg07044551942.html?12

By the way Dave, that last photo of yours is a good one showing why it's a tuber and not a corm. Corms have a basal plate with a swollen storage stem above from which the new shoot/s grow. The roots come out of the basal plate. The roots of a tuber come from the top, where the above ground stem shoots. They can also produce "eyes" on the sides where secondary growths can start.

Here's my modest little collection of titanums, except for the cuttings. They're up near the house. 2 on the right are the seedlings, on the left is the newly emerging older one. The leaflet cutting from January came from the seedling on the right, the recent 3 cuttings came from the one on the left.

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tropicbreezent, I'll never winge about the local weather again. Those are some hot temps and particularly dry winters. Cooktown sounds better and better all the time! "grin"

With the titanums you grew from seed, did you find that the first petiole produce was somewhat "anemic" looking. Almost all my seedlings have light, "blotchy" petioles. They appear healthy enough, but they don't have a nice even, rich green colouration. I've tried more nitrogen and chelated iron, but the light colour still persists. I don't think it's a mosaic virus.

How old are they? When they age they get a bit like that. These were mine at about 4 to 6 weeks old. (You'll probably recognise my Bowenia spectabilis seedlings in that pic too.)

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tropic..u sure r gonna have a forest of titanums in a few yrs!! :)

Tropicbreezent, My seedlings have virtually been like that since the petiole first opened. Plenty of light and fertilizer, but not a nice healthy green like yours.

Tropicbreezent, My seedlings have virtually been like that since the petiole first opened. Plenty of light and fertilizer, but not a nice healthy green like yours.

I started mine in a mix with a lot of sand. Otherwise, nothing special. I had about a dozen but while away for a while the automatic irrigation played up and I lost all but 2.

heres pics of this yrs..stunted titanum..this one was just
over 7 ft tall last growing season..sigh..:( its 41 inches tall over the pot..

pic of last for this season titanum tubers to be potted up from last yr.. its been dormant for little over a month.. old roots have rotted away..nice new ones now.potted it up today..put it in a 60 gal ( 230L ) fabric pot.. these big pots r gonna break my back in a month when they all have to come in..sigh.. this one is just over 7 inches ( 18 cm) wide

That's a dramatic change from one year to the next. Something like half, is it? But it's a real "fatso" (don't tell it I said so). You're going to have to get that greenhouse going. It's that or a crippled back.

Interesting photos... "Stunted" it may be, but it still looks very healthy. I have seen photos of a titanums that produce smaller petioles and flowers then those usually seen. I've wonder if this might be a result of genetics or environment?

ya..the petiole is very healthy..great colour,leaves are firm..
it has really been a lousy summer here for true tropicals..
mmm..i do live in utah..LOL :).. but most years end of june thru early sept are good for my tropicals..
the nite temps though have been coolish.. and im sure my titanums havent appreciated it..
i hope that during this vegetative growth period..with good care from me over the winter (inside)..i can get the tubers to put on some good size..

My larger titanum seems to be coming along quite well. But it looks a bit different to previous years. The past few years have seen a number of major disasters befall it. Such as petiole being broken by the wind, partly decapitated by falling branches, and then last season shortened by being cooked out in the sun during hot dry windy weather. It looks thicker than usual, and there's a 'flappy bit' on the edge of one of the leaf sheaths.

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looks good to me tropic!! my larger titanums always
get those side parts of the petiole..they eventually dry up..while the petiole keeps growing and the leaf unfurls..
?? how big is this tuber??
hope it doesnt hook up with any falling tree limbs this yr!!

NOT like any leaf I've seen before!

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mm..i see what ya mean tropic..
doesnt look like flower ..have you checked the tuber..its not rotting anywhere?
in the pic..it looks pale green/yellow..is that the colour?
mmmm...a puzzlement..

It seems these titanum all have "individual" personalities. From the last photo it almost looks like a spadix (!!??). I'm bloody curious to see what eventuates. Keep us posted.

that is true rob.. couple yrs ago..i got the thought i could
grow out my tropical amorphs..mostly titanums..during spring,summer,fall.then get them to go dormant..then repeat the next yr. LOL..right..thats worked out..lol :)
my own experience..i have a couple titanums that are like clockwork..8 months vegetative growth. 2 months dormant..then a new petiole pops up.. another titanum..it was in leaf for almost 14 months..was dormant for maybe 3 weeks..and pow..a new petiole is shooting up again..
i have a small titanum ive had 2 yrs now.. puts on ok tuber growth..but leafs out two times each vegetative growth.then goes dormant.its been dormant now for almost 3 months.. is just starting to send roots out..so im guessing a petiole is soon to come..
they truely dance to their own drummer.. :) makes them facinating plants..

I'm glad someone other than me has finally noticed the "elephant in the room". Right from when the new shoot started I knew there was something strange about it, but didn't want to say in case I jinxed it. Was waiting for someone else to say something first. Now it's become all too obvious. And also obvious that it's an imposter. That's not a titanum!

The bloke I bought it off grew a few different Amorphs but assured me what I got was a genuine titanum. I now suspect it's a gigas. Should have a better idea when it fully opens. On the one hand I feel ripped off, on the other I'm happy to have an A. 'Whatever' flowering. Maybe I should save the pollen and try crossing it with paeoniifolius if one flowers this year. Would be quite interesting if it took.

That now puts me back to waiting for my seedlings to be the first to flower, which won't happen any time soon. Had been secretly hoping I had at least a dwarfed titanum flower (after all the accidents). Now not sure whether to cheer or cry.

tropic..the petiole stalk is very speckled ..unlike titanums ive seen..and i for sure am not any kind of good source of what variations happen with titanum..
?? how big is the tuber tropic?? if it is as u suspect gigas.. my understanding gigas flowers with a significantly smaller
tuber compared to titanum..
so.. you might get a flower next season with this..
a friend of mine gets gigas to flower around 12 pounds
( 5.5 kg )
also..i believe gigas has the tallest petiole of the "tropical" amorphs.. or up there with decus-silvae..
one thing for you..you are growing them outdoors.. so you have the whole sky for the petiole to grow up..
:)
im anxious as im sure you are.. to see how this develops.. keep us posted.. :)

A. gigas... Hey, that's pretty exciting too! Isn't that one of the parents of the famous Singapore titanum cross?

This thing is growing rapidly. 2 days ago I measured it from soil level to tip of spathe/spadix at 130 cms. Today it's 160 cms. Length of the spathe is 49 cms, circumference of stalk at soil level is 26 cms. And it's still not ready to open up. If it keeps going like that I'm going to have to use a ladder to measure it.

I haven't heard of any crosses with either titanum or gigas. Are there any images around anywhere?

Todays photo.
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tropic..if this is a gigas..it makes sense.. unlike titanum..the flower is on a relatively short petiole ..gigas has i believe the tallest flower of the "tropical" amorphs..
im willing to bet..u will be getting a flower from your plant
to me thats a flower ..not a leaf forming ..
yea !!! on aroid.org they have pics of gigas..also just google A.gigas..and alot of pics come up..
im jealous man.. :)
?? do you remember how big the tuber was on this one??
its my desire to raise tubers where i get flowering "tropical" amorphs.. they all have their own unique challenges..
titanum..size of the tuber, gigas and decus-salvae the height of the flower, and hewettii ..just getting a tuber to flowering size..
its what makes all this so fun.. :)
looking foward to seeing the flower tropic..

I just checked; it wasn't titanum X gigas, but titanum X variabilis that resulted in Amorphophallus "Jon Tan"
( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DIW6-zCPbuQ#t=70 ).

It may not be A. titanum, but A. gigas is still a pretty impressive Amoph. to bring to flowering. Can't wait to see more photos. Hopefully any hot, dry weather you might be getting up that way won't be causing any problems.

Well, this morning it was 193 cms and still seems to be powering on. Looks like it's trying to out grow the bamboo beside it (bamboo's about 18 metres tall, so good luck to it). I'm still leaning towards it being gigas, but the other option is decus-silvae.

Dave, end of last season the tuber was 3.265 kg. I think it was the season before that when it actually shrunk following those accidents and the sunburn. Height shouldn't be an issue. There's a large Ficus on one side and the tall bamboo on the other. The Ficus does have a dead limb sort of over the amorph and off to the side. Going to have to get rid of that without damaging the inflorescence.

Rob, that video was interesting. Unfortunately I don't have a "cloud forest greenhouse" to put mine into, but at least it won't have that number of people milling around it. The weather's not really the best but this amorph seems to be coping with it quite well. The air is still too dry so we're still getting a bigger temperature range than normal. It's mainly the nights that are staying low, a few degrees below average for this time of year. The days are around 37 - 38C, have even had 39C. So if that humidity doesn't improve it's not looking good for October.

Tropic,

We're getting warm dry days with wind, but pretty cool nights. I'm still not game to leave my titanums out at night for fear of a freak frost. I've got my eye on a nice postion for the titanums in my lower rainforest when the weather stabilizes. I'll just have to work out a way of excluding the bloody bandicoots, swamp hens and scrub fowl from access to the pots. Are there any Oz insects that bother your titanums?

Rob, have never had any problems from bandicoots in relation to any Amorph, although they often dig around the garden. I think they're more interested in insects. And the scrub fowl (jungle fowl) only ever emptied out a pot of seedlings on me. You'd also have scrub/brush turkeys, no doubt much the same sort of problem as the jungle fowl. I've never had any insect problem. A couple of years ago when the wind broke the gigas stem some insects did get inside through the break, that's the only time.

This afternoon the gigas was up to 246 cms. Spadix is showing more above the spathe. I thought growth was slowing, but doesn't seem to be the case. Where the spathe has loosened up a Northern Laughing Frog (Litoria rothii) has taken up residence. I bet it vacates when that smell starts up.

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u have some very cool pics there tropic!!
one with frog..sweet!! :)
flower petiole..wow.. fantastic!
if u r like me..id be thinkin of what could snap that
petiole.. sigh..
last yr when my 2 biggest titanums got really tall..i didnt give it a thought.. until neighbour kid said.."wow,you dont worry someone will come over and cut that down?"
what the (#&$()# .. not until now..LOL
so..this yr when they were outside..they were in backyard..very protected..lol :)
i cant wait to see the flower open man..
what do u think..maybe a week away still??
keep us posted!! very cool..

I've noticed around here that L. rothii have a handle on all the good locations. When the pong starts I'm sure that "fly magnet" will prove a good location for any hungry amphib.

Nice photos, keep 'em coming.

This evening it was 279 cms, and the spathe still hasn't unfurled. It seems to have grown 15 cms just from morning to this evening. But I gave it about 5 litres of water (no fertiliser) this morning. It was only getting trickle irrigation because earlier on in the year I noticed the soil was very soggy so I turned the water right down. Checking it again, the soil was getting dry. Maybe that's why it put on that extra fast burst of growth today. I'll give it some more water in the morning again. The nights have warmed up, 21.8C minimum last night, todays maximum was 37C. I've stopped guessing when it'll fully open up.

I'm starting to become overwhelmed by the size of the thing. Seeing it close up is just mind boggling. I've had to extend the ladder to keep measuring it. Lucky I put it near the bamboo, that can take the weight of the ladder leaning against it with me.

I'm over run with frogs at the moment, particularly L. rothii. I lift up things and there's usually one sleeping underneath. They're in the house, and the car. The other day in the supermarket I handed the check-out-chick one of my re-useable shopping bags and out jumped a L. rothii. I'll be glad when the rains start, then they'll move towards the dam and the swamp and away from the house.

i too am amazed at what agressive growers amorphs are.. last yrs biggest titanums supprised me too at how much daily growth they put on..
?? tropic..do you have a video cam where u could set up.when flower looks like it might be days away from opening? that would be a major cool vid for youtube..!!
i know you would get major hits on it..
ive been unpotting some of my konjac with early petiole dying off.. this yr for the konjac..has been a good one..
some of my small side fingers off the mother tubers..put on 4X size..went from maybe 2 cm to 9 cm..ive only unpotted 4 pots..i have alot more..im anxious to see how the larger ones did.. it would be cool to see a MONSTER tuber.:)
all my larger titanums are now shooting up petioles.. they are showing the appreciation of warmer nites(they are inside the house now) by petiole growth.. :)
keep us posted on your gigas bloom man!!!!

lomodor:
I'm just curious... what sort of low temperatures have your titanums been directly exposed to at your location? I'm keen to find out how low one can go before the plants start having problems. Although I do live in the tropical region of Oz, my altitude means that it is possible to get the odd frost. Our "dead of winter" temps can dip below 10C. Your titanums look so healthy!

Tropic:
The N.T. gets much hotter then the Tablelands. Has too much heat (even with shade and humidity) ever been a problem?

Finally broken the 3 metre barrier, this evening it measured 304.5 cms. Dave, you'd better start raising that ceiling of yours. You're going to need a lot of head room soon.

Rob, they do tend to wilt a bit when it gets very hot. Even on hot days when the sea breeze starts to kick in the extra wind, even though a little cooler, doesn't help much. But it doesn't seem to leave any long lasting negative affects.

Took a photo tonight, the night time shot makes the plant stand out a bit more from the background.

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3 metres and it's not even open yet!!! What a treat. You're going to need a crane or abseiling gear to get that next photo.(grin)

Seems to have peaked at 310 cms. Today the spathe opened out and there are flies around it. Down wind there's a distinct stench of putrescent flesh. I guess now I'll have to get out my 'surgical instruments' and perform the operation. At our temperatures I don't think the pollen will last long, but then, when do I have to get it to the female flowers?

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This post was edited by tropicbreezent on Tue, Sep 30, 14 at 0:13

Fantastic!

Good luck with the pollination.

Thanks Rob, but I think the pollination will be very difficult. The female flowers mature and become receptive before the male flowers release the pollen. It's a strategy to prevent self pollination common amongst a lot of aroids. All I can do really is to save the pollen and store it possibly 2 to 3 years when it flowers again and hope that the pollen is still viable. Need to dry it and find out what the best storage temps are.

my good friend tropic.. hows the gigas doing??
did you save any pollen? try selfing it?
i figure youve been away at work..bet its hard to be away..:) our plants huh..lol
update here.. 12 titanum seeds i got from indonesia..have all sprouted and have tiny white new roots comming out from the seed.. YEA !! also 4 of my leaf cuttings have taken.. omg..titanums galore..LOL well..not quite yet..:)
i'll take some pics of the seedlings when petioles show above the spaghnum moss..
i like this new method of sprouting seed.. i got from good man on fb.. i have a bunch of gigas and hewettii seed comming too.. they should arrive this week..
i think with all these seeds..if they do all germinate..i will need to set up another "inside greenhouse"..LOL
or move to darwin.. :)

The gigas looks a bit sad now, or definitely sagging anyway. Didn't collect any pollen, never saw any. Am wondering whether the heat affected it. It does to tomatoes here, heat "kills" the pollen. Tomatoes are only a winter crop here. Spring/summer is just too hot for them. Average max temp. for September was 37.2C, and for October it's running about 38.4C. Not ideal for rain/cloud forest plants. Maybe have to put it in airconditioning next time. That would be drier air though. And the stench in a confined space would be something else.

Dave, I'm amazed where you get all these plants/seeds from. Indonesia? How did you find them? That's right next door to me, and I've never found any sources there. Where are your gigas and hewettii coming from?

One of my (larger) seedling titanums is going dormant now, the other is still going well, only been growing 3 to 4 months so far this time.

The leaflet cuttings are looking bad, especially the oldest (January 2014) but still hanging on. The tuber on that first one is getting really big (for a leaflet). The 3 done more recently only have small indications of tubers forming.

hey tropic!! guess your gigas flower has long gone now?? it is super u got such a flower of that tuber!!
yea..i got referred to 3 sources in singapore,java,and borneo.. ebay had some of the gigas seed show up for sale..but i got directly from guy that collected the seed..
ive found facebook a great resource..both plant/seeds
and good info on culture.. theres an amorphophallus forum there..:) super people !!! just like here..:)
my titanum seeds have lots of white roots on the seeds..and couple are already sending up petioles..yea!
now i just better not kill them..LOL im thiinking of taking a few more leaf cuttings from one of my titanums.. now that i think i have a good method to getting them to root..
lol..like i need more plants..:) its an addiction!!!! :)

Dave, How low a temperatures have you exposed your A. titanums to without any noticeable problems? Bonn says they don't like anything below 25 degrees C.

hi rob.. my titanums probably take the lowest they really should.. range of 19 C..thats the lowest.. and thats when they are outside..and early morning..coldest part of the day..
currently they are all inside ..and they get 23 C nites.. around 27 C days. they do just fine..im sure the tubers
dont grow as fast and large as if they were grown in greenhouse with 28 C + conditions.. but i dont live in tropics..yet..LOL.. and no big greenhouse.. YET ..:)
from my reading.. the germans are very successful at growing titanums in slightly cooler temps.and gettting them to bloom at smaller sizes..than here in USA..
i read of european titanums blooming at 40-50 pounds
where in USA..most i read about are in 70 +pound range.. also..the europeans seem to grow there tubers in smaller pots than we "typically " do here in USA..
i use pretty big pots..but ive thought on this. obviously the europeans are VERY successful at growing titanum..
and with the other "tropical" "giant" amorphs.. decus-silvae and hewettii seem to have there own unique
quirks at growing well.. gigas no so much.. my gigas so far seem to be pretty tough ..:)
and..im certainly not as skilled.or experienced and knowledgable as others are.

Dave,

Thanks for the response on low temps. Your titanums look so bloody healthy even when reduced in size from a previous season!

I live in the tropics, but my altitude here on the Atherton Tablelands means that our temperatures (especially at night) can get well below that recommended by the Germans. Right now I'm doing pretty much the same thing you are... bringing the "babies" in at night. This coming summer should be ok for leaving them out all night, but I don't know how I'll handle the next winter. If they all survive, I'll probably have to "adopt" my small mob of titanums out to mates down on the Coral Sea Coast.

From the sounds of it mine are far from being pampered. Life's tough in the outback, LOL. In winter mine had average daily maximums of around 32C to 34C with minimums averaging around 14C. Average maximum for September was 37.2C, and for October so far it's 38.4C. Haven't had a 37C for the whole of October. And Unfortunately low relative humidity. The titanums, kept in the shade, seem to cope quite well with plenty of water. The gigas doesn't seem to like the heat as much as the titanums. But I don't pay attention, or fertilise, as much as I should. I'll see how one of the titanums is going shortly, it's just gone dormant so I'll be repotting it soon.

Tropic, it's excellent to get an idea of what the titanums can actually take and still thrive. I keep reading articles that state that if you can't give them specific conditions, don't bother even trying to grow them. I really enjoy the challenge of proving them wrong.