This spring marked our first flowering of a spectacular form of Helicodiceros muscivorus (pig butt arum) from the Spanish island of Majorca. This was one of the last collections from plantsman Alan Galloway before he passed. This species typically has flesh-colored flowers, but we love this new red-spathe clone that we’ve named Helicodiceros ‘Razorback’.
Arum ‘Chui’, a purported hybrid between Arum italicum (unspotted flowers) and Arum dioscoridis (heavily spotted flowers), is hard to miss as it puts on it’s early spring flowering show. Bothe leaves and inflorescences are heavily spotted on this excellent selection. This gem comes from UK plantsman extraordinaire, John Grimshaw. We’ll probably be chopping into our
The earliest of the Jack-in-the-pulpit species have begun to flower, starting with the consistently early Arisaema ringens. All of the arisaema shown below are woodland plants that thrive in rich, but well-drained, average to slightly moist (mesic) soils. Explore our full arisaema collection. Next in line this spring was the alluring Japanese, Arisaema mayebarae. A
Two of the earliest flowering arum species are currently in flower. Arum orientale (Central Europe to the Western Caucuses), and Arum palaestinum (Syria, Lebanon, Jordan), are both in flower this week. These are both native to hot, dry summer climates, but adapt well to cultivation in both colder and wetter climates.
Arum have arrived Read More »
Our 8 year-old clump of Amorphophallus bulbifer ‘Old Warty’ is looking lovely in the garden this week. We love the palm-like form in the summer garden, but selected this clone because it produces more leaf bulbils than any other clone we’ve ever seen. The bulbils, which resemble giant warts, form in late summer in the
Through the years, we’ve trialed 27 different clones of Amorphophallus krausei in the garden for winter hardiness, but only two have consistently survived. The largest is a 2005 Alan Galloway collection from from Son La, Vietnam. Here it is in the garden this week with the 5′ tall flower spikes. The spikes are followed by
For baseball fans, you know the Say Hey Kid as the great Willy Mays, but in horticutlure, we have a Say Hey Kid also, Arisaema sahyadricum (say-hey-dricum). This little grown, Jack-in-the-Pulpit hails from India, where it was just discovered in 1993. Compared to most jacks that flower in the spring, this is a summer flowering
Many hardy aroid lovers have grown the popular Sauromatum venosum–a plant that has been cultivated for hundreds of years. Few people, however, have tried another lesser-known species, that we think is an exceptional garden plant, Sauromatum horsfieldii. We’d grown a couple of clones of this species for years, and found it to be a BIO
Sauromatum…a Different Take Read More »
The spring garden at JLBG has a number of phallic moments if you’re lucky enough to catch them. Here are a few of our favorites. Below is a color echo we created, using Pig’s Butt Arum (Helicodiceros muscivorus) and Salvia x nemorosa. We’re sure you’ll want to recommend this combination for everyone in your HOA.
Desperate Aroids – The adventures of Phallicity Read More »
Sometimes you see a plant, or a photo of a plant, that raises your horticultural lust to somewhat unhealthy levels. At this point in life, that happens far less than it used to, but one plant that remained on my lust list for over a decade was the aroid, Pinellia ‘Purple Dragon’. For those who
Aroid Passion – Purple Dragon Read More »
