AndrewLuton Posted July 27, 2007 Report Share Posted July 27, 2007 I bought 2 bulbs from ebay in the winter and as you can see they are doing rather well (well one was a bugger bulb than the other) Cannot find a great deal of info out about them and would love to know a bit more about then such as care over the winter and also if it is likely to flower this year. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenofeden Posted July 27, 2007 Report Share Posted July 27, 2007 They flower before the leaves come out, so no, they will not flower this year. Feed the plant well over summer. When the leaves die down put them in a cool but frost-free place and start watering again when the leaves sprout in spring. That said, I have mine outside all year and they can survive being wet and frozen, but they are just a bit later coming up. Please try and keep your photos at about 750 pixels maximum dimension Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greenBen Posted July 27, 2007 Report Share Posted July 27, 2007 Feed with high nitrogen fertiliser (eg Chempac #2) every two weeks during the season. This way the tuber will swell up to the size of a large orange in a good year! The leaf can get up to 18" across too, and the stem can reach 3ft. Try to give it a bit of a drier winter if possible. greenBen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest FredG Posted July 27, 2007 Report Share Posted July 27, 2007 I think you meant bigger, although I would accept your description Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greenBen Posted July 27, 2007 Report Share Posted July 27, 2007 Incidentaly... it's Sauromatum venosum. The species name 'guttatum' was dropped many years ago. There is a rumour of a second species, but it is extremely rare in the wild and virtually unknown in cultivation (even in botanic gardens). Needless to say I haven't got one (yet). greenBen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndrewLuton Posted July 27, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 27, 2007 Incidentaly... it's Sauromatum venosum.The species name 'guttatum' was dropped many years ago. greenBen Ahh that explains why I could not find out much on the internet. I wonder why it was dropped. Apologises also to anyone offended my by spelling of "bigger" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greenBen Posted July 27, 2007 Report Share Posted July 27, 2007 If you find info on the net you might be quite suprised when you see it's distribution...! greenBen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen Crane Posted July 27, 2007 Report Share Posted July 27, 2007 I agree with Fred Andrew. Although I cant think of many opportunities to bugger a bulb...but we do strange things for the love of our plants!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndrewLuton Posted July 28, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 28, 2007 Found on some website a picture of it flowering when not planted in a pot. No idea how that works. :? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greenBen Posted July 28, 2007 Report Share Posted July 28, 2007 It is not unusual for certain members of the Arum family (Aroids) to grow and flower, and then put out roots. Sauromatum puts out a flower spike first, then will put out a leaf usually a couple of weeks later, at which point it will also put out roots. greenBen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndrewLuton Posted July 28, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 28, 2007 Feed with high nitrogen fertiliser (eg Chempac #2) every two weeks during the season. Is liquid horse manure ok? It's a bit more natural and my partner has a horse so there is no shortage of the stuff. (Anyone passing locally is welcome to a ton of it ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greenBen Posted July 28, 2007 Report Share Posted July 28, 2007 Any fertiliser is fine. greenBen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndrewLuton Posted October 15, 2007 Author Report Share Posted October 15, 2007 Any fertiliser is fine.greenBen OK, so my voodoo stem had gone all floppy and the leaves are turning brown . Should I cut the stem off or leave it be? Is it ok to overwinter is a shed (which will drop below freezing) or will more warmth be required? Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ada Posted October 15, 2007 Report Share Posted October 15, 2007 Andrew,ijust leave mine to dry up,then cut the dead stuff off.Then i leave it in the greenhouse all winter but leave it bone dry until it starts to grow again.Easy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndrewLuton Posted October 15, 2007 Author Report Share Posted October 15, 2007 (edited) Just dug up the bulb in the pot and found this.......... It has about 5 smaller bulbs growing on it, 1 I knocked off. Do I need to cut the roots off? It also has a new shoot on the top. Can this be left to dry out until the spring? Thanks Edited October 16, 2007 by AndrewLuton Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndrewLuton Posted October 18, 2007 Author Report Share Posted October 18, 2007 This is the bulb after a good clean up. Looks a bit alien to me. Going to pop it away in a cupboard under the stairs till spring. Looking forward to a flower next year........maybe. By AndrewDF Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wasted Posted October 18, 2007 Report Share Posted October 18, 2007 Ahh that explains why I could not find out much on the internet. I wonder why it was dropped.Apologises also to anyone offended my by spelling of "bigger" Gotta be one of the best typos this year! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greenBen Posted October 22, 2007 Report Share Posted October 22, 2007 Wow, good sized tuber you have there. I have three which are about 6" diameter. The bigger the tuber the bigger the inflorescence and leaf! Sauromatum is every good at producing offsets- you would not believe how many...! Seperate the ones that detatch easily and grow them a little away from the main parent (so they have space to grow!) and enjoy your free clump! There's no real need to cut the roots off- just let them dry out and then rub the dried roots off in spring. greenBen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndrewLuton Posted October 22, 2007 Author Report Share Posted October 22, 2007 There's no real need to cut the roots off- just let them dry out and then rub the dried roots off in spring.greenBen It already has what appears to be a new shoot on top of it, it was there when I took off the main stem when it wilted. The way it is going I will have a forest of them next year, watch this space when I want to get rid of them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndrewLuton Posted November 1, 2007 Author Report Share Posted November 1, 2007 The bulb now has a shoot which is getting bigger every day. Should it be doing this already at this time of the year?At the moment it is on a shelf in the kitchen. Should it go somewhere dark and cool to make it go dormant? Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loakesy Posted November 1, 2007 Report Share Posted November 1, 2007 (edited) Just out of interest (because I can't answer your question, sorry): you titled your thread Sauromatum Guttatum or to you and me Voodoo Lily but searching the interweb for "Voodoo Lily" brings up various Aroid species including Dracunculus vulgaris, Amorphophallus bulbifer as well as your Sauromatum venosum - all called Voodoo Lily! Is there a definitive Voodoo Lily or is it a group name for the stinking Aroids? You see, I have a plant that I obtained bearing the name 'Voodoo Lily' but I don't know which plant it is. I've only ever had foliage from it so far and its leaves are definately similar to yours, and several others. Edited November 1, 2007 by Loakesy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndrewLuton Posted November 1, 2007 Author Report Share Posted November 1, 2007 Just out of interest (because I can't answer your question, sorry): you titled your thread Sauromatum Guttatum or to you and me Voodoo Lily but searching the interweb for "Voodoo Lily" brings up various Aroid species including Dracunculus vulgaris, Amorphophallus bulbifer as well as your Sauromatum venosum - all called Voodoo Lily!Is there a definitive Voodoo Lily or is it a group name for the stinking Aroids? You see, I have a plant that I obtained bearing the name 'Voodoo Lily' but I don't know which plant it is. I've only ever had foliage from it so far and its leaves are definately similar to yours, and several others. I may be told wrong but I guess like you said it a general name for the Aroids species. All seem to produce a whiffy smell, mine has yet to flower though. I first saw them last year in Wilkinsons as a bulb (they didn't stock them this year) but bought my one on Ebay after searching for Voodoo Lily. Am sure there are some people on here with a much greater knowledge then mine who will let us know If anyone fancies swapping a bulb or 2 FOC please drop me an email. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob-Rah Posted November 2, 2007 Report Share Posted November 2, 2007 (edited) In my "old" books, Sauromatum Guttatum is referred to as "Monarch of the East" only (eg. in the Sanders Encyclopedia of Gardening 1964). I can find the term Voodoo Lily being used in books in the 1980s (I don't have any between these dates) for Sauromatum, but not for anything else. Using it to encompass all large-flowered smelly, dark coloured aroids seems to be a compartively new thing (last 10-20 years or so), and to come from the US. Dracunculus has always been known as "Dragon Arum" as far as I know, and "voodoo lily" applied to this is still not the norm (though is being done more and more). The derivtaion of "voodoo lily" comes from the practice in the 1970s (at least) of buying the bulb of Sauromatum and placing it dry on a saucer, and letting it flower out of the soil. Sort of "magical" and like a dead thing coming to life. A kind of marketing gimmick. I think this originated in Europe. This would only really apply to Sauromatum: mature Amorphophallus konjac bulbs are really rather too large and expensive to have as a novelty houseplant in this way, and were certainly never found in garden centres 20-30 years ago - I remember seeing great boxes full of Sauromatum corms though for a couple of pounds each in the 1980s; and I do not think that Dracunculus can be flowered in this way - as it produces roots and leaves before it flowers. Edited November 2, 2007 by Rob-Rah Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loakesy Posted November 2, 2007 Report Share Posted November 2, 2007 (edited) I remember we had one of those when I was a nipper. it grew quite nicely in an empty saucer. One day it flowered, and my mum thought that one of the pets had left a package somewhere. My (current) plant is definately producing roots! At the moment the bulbs are about the side of a small cumquat!! Edited November 2, 2007 by Loakesy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndrewLuton Posted January 16, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 16, 2008 Just found my bulb hidden away in the dark under the stairs. Should I leave it a bit longer or should I risk planting it back out? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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