Amorphophallus

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Amazing plant and I've heard about the odor,
but never personally encountered one in bloom.
Does it smell of death/decay? It's actually quite
attractive in full bloom. Congratulations!
 
The bangkokensis is not too smelly. What I thought was the foreboding of the horrible smell during the fertility of the blooms was already its peak, so I was too late to pollinate it. The female blooms lose fertility after one day when the pollen starts to be produced, to prevent selfpollination.
Lots of Amorphophallus species (e.g. ferruginosus which I showed already) doesen't smell at all, others are very bad like konjac or titanum.

The worst smell in my opinion has A. henryi, but it is beautyful.
I had one blooming some days ago:

k IMG_2752 copy.jpg


Some years ago I made better photos and pollinated successfully.

klein IMG_2109.jpg klein IMG_2106.jpg klein IMG_2165.jpg

The apex of the spadix is for the smell, it gets hot for better evaporation, the overlightet part underneth are the anthers and at the bottom are the stigmas

klein IMG_2195.jpg z IMG_3030 copy.jpg
 

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Nice! That looks really well grown. Congrats on the beautiful bloom! These have always fascinated me, but I've never really had the space, or the time, (...yet :p) to try them. How do you culture them?
 
abax, with a jar bell the smell is no problem at all.
xiphius, space is not really a problem as there are very small species, too, like myosuroides and ongsakulii (10 cm) which are already blooming here. I'll take some photos soon.
The care is quite easy, I keep them with my orchids, what gives my flat a bit a junglelike appearence and climate, the paphs like it. In winter (resting periode) the bulbs are stored completeley dry in a box, except some species (like titanum and lambii) which has to be kept wet all the time. The first group I keep in soil, the later one in sphagnum.
 
abax, with a jar bell the smell is no problem at all.
xiphius, space is not really a problem as there are very small species, too, like myosuroides and ongsakulii (10 cm) which are already blooming here. I'll take some photos soon.
The care is quite easy, I keep them with my orchids, what gives my flat a bit a junglelike appearence and climate, the paphs like it. In winter (resting periode) the bulbs are stored completeley dry in a box, except some species (like titanum and lambii) which has to be kept wet all the time. The first group I keep in soil, the later one in sphagnum.

Cool. Perhaps I'll give them another look. Do you keep them in the pot for dormancy, or dig them up? If you dig them up, I assume you check them and then repot when they start to sprout?
 
You are absolutely right, I dig them up and store them in a box during resting period, when the flower appears in spring it doesen't need necessaryly any soil (see photo of A. ferruginosus). Except the species which has to be kept wet all the time.

k IMG_1927 copy.jpg
 
As promised here are pics of two smaller species:


Amorphophallus ongsakulii,
it reaches about 10cm and has very nice leaves:

k IMG_2948 copy.jpg k IMG_2958 copy.jpg


Amorphophallus myosuroides,
it reaches about 20 - 25 cm with white flowers and a very long spadix:

k IMG_2955 copy.jpg
 
Hello Tom,
in Salzburg soon there is blooming the most fascinating Amorphophallus titanum, by your Name I suppose that could be within your reach, otherwise everybody can follow the emerging of the flower online:

https://uni-salzburg.at/index.php?id=210019





PS: I'm not sure if it is OK by forum policy to link a Botanical Garden, if not please remove it. Thanks
 
Michael, I am living in state of Delaware(DE), U.S.
Salzburg is a beautiful place. I will be visiting Salzburg again next May(2020)...hopefully we will have some extra time to see the Botanical Garden.

Thank you for the link. I am pretty sure it is okay to do that.
 
Ops, sorry, that might be al little too far, DE sounded like Germany to me...
 
No, I have restricted myself to genus Amorphophallus, that is excessive enough for a windowsill grower like me. Have done the same with Paphs, I have no South American slippers.
A. triphyllum has a very beautyful bloom, I was already tempted but still resisting...
 

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