Anthurium warocqueanum in the"Wild"

[Dypsisdean]

You usually see these guys in pots or baskets in greenhouses. And you can almost remember how awed you were when you first saw one. Now you see them fairly often. But not very often in a natural setting in amongst other foliage. It is truly a remarkable plant.

Notice the dollar bill for scale.

 

[Marie Nock]

Spectacular! How old is that plant?

 

[Stan]

wow- You got that right. Only the UC Berkeley greenhouse collections has the giant Anthurium species. Its hard for me to imagine a climate so warm and so wet and humid that those plants grow..on their own.
I was looking Dean,at a photo I took of a Plumeria plant I bought at HD that had come in from Hawaii. Originally the Plumeria stems were almost white and covered with- get this- a black lichen that branched. Two year later,the Plumeria was green stemmed and not a trace of Lichens.

 

[Dypsisdean]

Spectacular! How old is that plant?

Thanks Marie - coming from you that is a valued compliment. But I can't claim all the credit.

The plant is about ten years old. I took an old dead Hapu'u (Hawaiian tree fern) trunk and placed it vertical in the ground and put this little "Warocq" at the base. These particular type of tree fern are one that many plants like to "grab" hold of and grow. And this is a good example. But I think my climate of very humid, especially during my cooler nights, is something that many of these "cloud forest" type of aroids enjoy.

 

[Dypsisdean]

wow- You got that right. Only the UC Berkeley greenhouse collections has the giant Anthurium species. Its hard for me to imagine a climate so warm and so wet and humid that those plants grow..on their own.
I was looking Dean,at a photo I took of a Plumeria plant I bought at HD that had come in from Hawaii. Originally the Plumeria stems were almost white and covered with- get this- a black lichen that branched. Two year later,the Plumeria was green stemmed and not a trace of Lichens.

Stan, I have often commented that the number one difference between growing things here and in SoCal is the humidity. There are many differences, but I could write a lot about all the pluses that a higher humidity lends to growing most tropical type plants. Of course, as life in general, there are some drawbacks. But all in all, humidity is a big plus.

Now, as far as keeping the cloths in your closet smelling mildew free, or keeping the mold of your leather shoes, belts, and furniture - that is a different story.