I've been trying to think of a way to give it a "tree" to climb.

Maybe an actual tree? I wonder if a ficus of some sort would be practical as a kickstand.

I was thinking metal rebar wrapped with sphagnum moss and cocoliner. I wouldn't know where to get rebar, I have some 4 coot tall 1"x1" wooden stakes. I could probably find a way to use that, or one of the triangular lattice thingies. "Thingies" = official word when you really have no idea what something is called. Syn. Doohickey

Oh, maybe a really old ficus that doesn't mind not a whole lot of light for a tree

Hi

Like most anthuriums they are semi epiphytic but don't see any aeial roots on it ?? They need warmth and high humidity constant moisture but need excellant drainage . I would suggest potting in orchid bark mix and using compressed tree fern fiber for support IF it develops aerial roots . Be sure to never allow it to dry out but don't drown it lol good luck gary

Just my two cents worth. Don't use wooden stakes, they will rot and then you will have a problem. The tree fern fiber and orchid bark would be great. How about a vaporizer, or even one of those little waterfall and fishpond things they sell in garden shops, with a pump to send the water downhill. I know how dry it gets in Okla.

Oh, I forgot to say, I would not cut the top off, wait til it's established and growing. Just too risky now. You might even try air layering eventually.

I top dressed it with a gritty mix that I use for my epiphytes. It's in my bathroom with a north facing window, so it's hot, humid and not too intense light.

I can see some green stuff poking out near the botom, I think those are the aerial roots you are talking about. This plant was kept very dry, I cut off the brown edges. I'm just going to baby it and figure out a way to steady it. I used the bamboo because that's just what I have and it's not intended to be permanent. I can also see dormant growth buds (that's not the right term is it?) around the top. I think the plant wants to live and hasn't been mistreated beyond repair.

I think with some good humidity, warmth, fish emulsion and seaweed will do it some good.

If I can't give it what it needs, I'll donate it to a botanical garden.

I've been spraying the leaves and the stem/trunk...someone PLEASE tell me the correct term for this part of the plant.

WHOA! EARTHQUAKE

NSGS said Guthrey Oklahoma had a 4.5 35 minuets ago any where near you?

Yes, it's about a 45 min drive. It felt like it was much more than a 4.5 if I felt it way over herre.

Wow, that's my old home town. Guthrie.

laticauda, I think stem or trunk sounds right.

Thanks Barb!

I know you don't miss it here lol.

How's your anthurium settling in to your home? Is she happy? And did the earthquakes finally settle down?

Hm...I didn't get a reminder for this one, how strange.

Anyway, I think it's settling in fine? It's in a bathroom and I see green stuff emerging from old, crusted brown stuff. It's very exciting.

I've also showered or sprayed the leaves quite a lot. Last time I watered, I poured a good concentrated fish emulsion over the....cane itself. I've also been trying to mist it, but admittedly, I've been falling behind. But there are several warm humid showers in the bathroom so I'm sure it loves it when people are showering lol.

It's so big though, I had a hard time being *indecent* in front of it. Its presence is also...kind of....i don't know, maybe I'm intimidated by the thing?

Laticauda,

I was just thinking, you might want to get some long, fluffy spagnum moss and top dress your plant. It may help develop some arial roots by bringing mosture up higher on the cane. Just an idea.

you can loosely wrap the cane with a bit of coir matting ans secure it with a string (i use butterfly hair clips) - and mist it often. my syngonium puts out aerial roots in it very fast. you can also put a bit of long-fibre sphag inside the wrap - like barb suggested.

I have been meaning to get some sphagnum moss and that coir mat I was just talking with someone about earlier.

I'm looking for ideas of how to keep it.....upright. can I just get part of an old, dead tree and put it in there? I've got lots of old, dead tree around.

So you don't think I should try to clean off the roots as best I can since it's a core of peaty nursery stuff and what looks like a good fast draining mix on the sides and what I know is a fast draining mix on top of that. I was also thinking of putting down some large bark mulch, maybe mix it with some cotton burr compost. You can see how long he's had it in how skinny the cane is up top. It needs nutes bad.

I worry about being able to water it properly. It probably can't root in all of the current soil because both types of soil can't be in the proper condition to support a root system.

I got my subscription to work again :)

Sounds like you have the right idea on potting it. It probably has those big white roots, the soil wil just fall away easily. I think I am going to repott my big anthurium this week. I have never figured out how to keep it upright, so I cut it back and then get new shoots.

I'm afraid to cut it back in this condition and soil issues. Maybe my husband will go outside with me tomorrow to get the hose to the roots.

I was told they don't like their roots messed with, that's why I was hesitant to do it now. Would it be better to wait til spring once it's had time to recooperate, get some good ferts this year so it'll be extra strong come growing season?

you should at least pop it out of the pot and have a look at the roots. if you see enough white roots - no need to do anything, just pop it back into the pot. OR what i do to a lot of my plants - use a slightly larger pot, get coir matting and layer the pot with it, wet it (think wire baskets with coir matting) and just plonk the existing root mass into coir. coir provides air to the roots and it rewets easily - so watering around the rim will wet it immediately. this way you will not disturb the roots, but they will have a little smth to grow into never the less.

however, if you see lots of dark rotted roots - trimming them won't hurt either. still can do coir matting.

i would not bareroot an aroid right now, unless it's very vigorous. any yours clearly is not.

do wrap some LF sphag and secure with coir matting along the trunk - they will air-root into it readily - and that will help a lot, when you decide to cut it off.

So basically what you're saying is, start air layering now to be ready for spring when I'm going to lop off the skinny part from where it's been starving for the last two years and replant it. Hopefully the trunk will resprout as well....or is that not likely?

Oh, and there is no "popping it out real quick" to have a look at the roots. That's funny though. The pot is just so big, it's difficult to maneuver and the petioles are very long and as you know, the leaves are very long. And the poor trunk is very long.

Have you seen any new growth since you got your plant?

Nothing I would call vigorous. There are some green parts along the stem that appear to be swelling and pushing the crusted brown desiccated covering open/off? I'm going to see how it does with the moss and coco matting idea. I can just use zip ties or hemp to fasten it, right? Just not too tight?

Yes, that sounds right. I would expect this plant to be a slow grower. Then you can decide in the spring whether to repot. Those leaves are huge!

Once I can get these cats out of the house, it's going to a new place with more light (diffuse). Oh, and I've been feeding it fish and seaweed emulsions.

When I check for moisture, I try to do it close to the cane so I can get a reading of the peat inside and not the gritty stuff all around it.

Hmmm, I have heard the cats and plants are not such a good mix. Of course, I have this puppy that munches on leaves every time she gets a chance.

The cats have their half of the house and my plants have the other half. The dogs don't mess with the plants because they know how much they mean to me. (They see how upset I get when I knock over a valuable plant.)

>>So basically what you're saying is, start air layering now to be ready for spring when I'm going to lop off the skinny part from where it's been starving for the last two years and replant it.

yes, like that. and the trunk should resprout - leave a little stub like 6" above the ground. it should make new buds, may be even several.

as far as popping it out of the pot. you can lay it on the side, take something like a paint stirrer long plank, like they give you in shops. or anything else long and narrow and flat. lay it so the leaves are not crushed or supported on smth soft slightly elevated from the ground (some crushed paper or folded fabric) or a long cardboard box. one side is usually more leafed, so keep it up. it's doable.

then insert the plank along the top half of the pot, all the way deep to separate soil from the pot.

you say that it's smth gritty on the perimeter - so you should be able to do it.

then roll it a little more to the side and continue with the plank...and then you should be able to push it out of the pot without any root damage (by the trunk).

i up-pot my rather fragile calla lilies and amaryllises when they are leafed out like 3 feet..using this method. you can pop them back in sideways too. and then straighten the pot up while supporting the trunk. 2nd pair of hands might help, but i do it myself usually. you can leave it tied up to the stakes like i see in pics. those bamboo stakes can actually help you to pop it out of the pot, if you push them a little along the pot.

inserting cocomatting into the pot around the perimeter without doing anything else will help with aeration of the roots. it'll push it higher in the pot, so you can either remove a little medium or leave it higher - you have room enough, i think.

the main thing for growth is very warm temps, like 85-95 F. if you can put it outside in the shade on the porch - that should trigger new growth fast. if it dries up too fast, then put some bark mulch on the top. if it's too wet - then do not mulch it, as you'll make it wetter...but you'll need to see the roots to decide how to water it.

I have just been sticking a wood chopstick in somewhat close to the trunk and when I don't feel moisture on the stick, I water it. I've been using fish emulsion every time.

I'm afraid to disturb the roots at this time of year. What if the root ball comes apart lol. I spent 40 dollars to save it, I don't want to piss it of and it die. Do you think that likely to happen?

The only sheltered spot in have outside is in a south facing alcove and it may get too hot/dry for it there. I currently have it in my non-a/c bathroom where it's a might bit toasty.

40 bucks ...it's a bit dear...yah! i only spent 15 on my A. clarinervium seedling that has 1 leaf left ;(. and i am pining away about that...

they are not that touchy when mature. but it's your call - depends on your level of confidence with plants so to speak...there is still plenty of warm time for it to grow. i'd say 2-3 mo growth after repot is good to go into winter. can you keep it above 75F for 2-3 mo?

i put my aroids after repot on heat mat (actually reg drugstore heating pad without shut off) -

to assure faster root growth and to prevent cooler wetter soil while there are not enough roots in the pot. they really like it. it's also good for winter, works wonders combined with tenting ( a la terrarium).

here's a pic i took of A. waroc. from the nursery to compare the size of the plant to pot size. i don't remember, but i think that's a 6"pot with about 6" trunk above it with 4 leaves.

can you post a pic of the whole plant? i can't see how many leaves it has. seems to me the pot is a bit large for it, especially when and if you cut off the trunk.

Sorry it took so long. Some technical difficulties on my end. It only has three leaves and it looks like it's already starting to cannibalize the oldest one to keep the plant alive. I haven't had it long enough to know whether my remedies have stopped or reversed that.

okay, so sounds like I have a project this weekend. I'll try to get a picture of it. Also maybe a measuring tape next to the cane. It's pretty tall, as you can probably already tell.

how big of a pot should I use to replant the top? Terra cotta or plastic. The largest terra cotta I have is 8.5" but I also have glazed pots that go into the larger sizes, if that would be better. I have two Monstera d. borsigiana planted in a 4" terra cotta. I really should up pot them, but I still have things to do downstairs before I can move them into a bright room so for now my bedroom is the bright room and it's on sunlight and artificial light. It's growing very well, actually. Put on two/three leaves since I got it about two months ago (is that slow?) and another leaf is emerging now from the plant with all the leaves. The other was just rooted cane, so it's still just got one small leaf that it put on after I cut the two pieces apart. Sorry for the tangent.

terracota will be good as a heavy base and it breathes - which should be good, and dries out quicker - that depends..what's the current size? if you have few roots - i'd down-size 1 size: so 1" around perimeter (2" off the diameter).

but...

i found interesting post here that says that they develop very large roots. 12-18". now am having doubts about down-sizing. so like first you need to see the state of the roots...no deciding prior to that.

here they ship 4-8" size leaves in 3-4" pots. that's very small.

and at this nursery they propagate by chunks of trunk - which you might do, considering it's so long.

seems long fiber sphag in the mix is often used and orchid bark too for aeration and drainage - it sort of mimics rainforest debris, as they grow on trees and get daily showers - so constant moisture and free drainage is a must.

also many people recommend growing them in wire baskets lined with coir or tree-fern fiber, the roots grow thru and hang...like orchids. but it's problematic in the house.

Hopefully I'll have enough plants n the front room that all of them transpiring together will keep it humid enough in the winter. There's also a 115 gallon tank with overflow sump, so lots of water is exchanged with the air. I wonder if I could grow their aerial roots through the sphagnum/coir matting, into the fish tank, maybe stick them in some hydroton.....or something. I guess I could always (try) propagating in the water like that? Grow it like I grow my P. hederaceum.

I have am idea, H is going to protest, but in don't care. Cheap long fiber sphagnum online.....go!

Well, how's the Queen doing. Is she making a new leaf yet?

Never got the moss or the matting. Depending on where the new leaves emerge from, it may be putting up a new leaf sheathe.

But when I got it, the sheathE that the most recent leaf came out of had dried up (I suspect constant moisture levels that were too low for the plant.)

I'm just gonna keep waterin it when it's dry, flushing out the soil, the days are getting so short so quickly now, I am really afrafraid to do any repotting or cutting/propagating right now. I really probably should try to repot it soon, I'm just afraid I'm going to kill it from shock. I don't think I'm nearly this nervous with other plants.

Erm, now it's putting out a second new leaf and the first new leaf hasn't even fully unfurled yet.

i think it is trying to produce all new foliage and using up the old

eaves. They were pretty beat up and I'm pretty sure when I spilled a couple of glugs of fish emulsion in the pot right on the vine/rootball, that may have had something to do with this flush of growth.

still haven't reported it yet but now I'm thinking I'm not going to have a choice, the plant says it wants to GO RIGHT NOW!

Lid i had done it two months ago like dear petrushka instructed then it would have been done already!

it should be alright to continue any need propagation, but your right it is less than ideal time of the year for such things

Update?

@laticauda

whatever happened to this plant since, i'm very curious?

I didn't keep any of my Aroids but my Zamicro (Miniature ZZ plant).

I was sad to see it go though.

but did it grow for awhile? did you try to cut and root the top?

I did not, it was too big and required too much humidity for what I was able to provide. It would grow a leaf but lose a leaf faster. I had to decide what was best for the plant and that was to not have me be the one taking care of it. Maybe if I ever move to a hot and humid climate I'll try again (if I'm able to even find another one that is.)

i agree, it's best to have it outdoors, hot and humid. they are breathtaking jungle plants. i take lots of pics of diff kinds in Fairchild bot gardens in Miami FL.

if you ever there - i highly recommend it. they have rainforest section - it's all stuffed with anthuriums, begonias, orchids, philos, all sorts of flowering tropicals.

incredible place.

and they have a conservatory too with super-tropicals and all kinds of rare plants.

they do have aroid auctions once a year to members - it's expensive, but people drive in from all over the place for a chance to get something unusual.

it's in sep usually.

there are specialty nurseries in so Fl that cary lots of unusual tropicals too.

hello everyone,

does any of you know s and could recomend a good nusery with aroids but for retail purposes. i will open a small aroid shop in Europe, and am lookng for exporters that could sell in wholesale price.

thank you