STEELVIPER

Hey guys. I went to K mart today and i saw this nice little Alocasia. Its called Alocasia black velvet. Its in a 4 inch pot. Now what got me is that you do not see black velvet in major retail stores. The price was $4.00. The average price on-line is $8.00. And that does not included shipping. They also had Alocasia African mask in 4 inch pots. African mask is much more common in retail or hardware type stores. I know it differs from region to region,but if you like Alocasias, might want to check your local K mart. You might get lucky like i did.

mark

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mudcat25

Nice plant Mark. Great find at a Kmart. Still too early around here to find plants at a retail store. I will keep this in mind though. Since I've found this site I've found a lot of plants that I did not know anything about. Alocasia being one of them. Thanks.

Bob

STEELVIPER

Thanks Bob. Alocasias are my 2nd fav plant. Next to bananas of course . You never know what you will find in a retail or big box store. Sometimes you can get a rare or hard to find plant for a very low price.

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Lilith

Nice plant for $4! I have had it for many years. Its an easy grower as long as you don;t overwater it. This is anothe rone I really like, Alocasia guttata "Imperialis" (shown here with Calathea tigrina)

__________________
11/2008 Outer Banks Marathon 26.2, Kitty Hawk NC--3:50
2/2009 5 Points of Life Marathon, 26.2, Gainesville FL--4:00
4/2009 Boston Marathon, 26.2-- 4:38
10/2009 Marine Corps Marathon, DC, 26.2--457
1/2010 Houston Marathon, 26.2--3:55:09
2/2010 5 Points of Life Marathon, Gainesville--415
Halloween Day 2010 Marine Corps Marathon, DC--
2/2011--Austin TX Marathon--

STEELVIPER

Yeah Lilith i like Imperialis very much also. I have one that is about 8 years old. Its in a terrarium with some red-eye tree frogs. What i really want is Alocasia 'Dewey's Reversa'. Anyone know where to get this one?

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Lilith

I can't believe you have kept Imperialis small enough to stay in a terrarium for 8 years! I have several Imperialis, I keep propagating it. They can get quite large.
I too have been after Dewey's Reversa for a long time. It seems like it should be out there, since its been in TC at places like Agristarts for a few years now...but I never even see any for sale on eBay. I keep looking for it locally, I have found a lot of surprising things popping up around here a lot of the time. There is a small non-box food market here that features plants for sale by local growers...some guys from the local bromeliad society offer some great plants through there, and recently I found HUGE, literally HUGE specimens of Philodendron gloriosum, P. mamei and P. warscewiczi there...the first 2 for $8 for incredible full 2 gallon pots, and the third for $25 for an absolutely stunning plant in a 3 gal that had a spread of almost 4 feet and was 3 ft tall.
If I find Dewey around here, maybe I will buy 2...? If I can mail to you that is, I can't mail to CA, AZ, TX, LA or HI

__________________
11/2008 Outer Banks Marathon 26.2, Kitty Hawk NC--3:50
2/2009 5 Points of Life Marathon, 26.2, Gainesville FL--4:00
4/2009 Boston Marathon, 26.2-- 4:38
10/2009 Marine Corps Marathon, DC, 26.2--457
1/2010 Houston Marathon, 26.2--3:55:09
2/2010 5 Points of Life Marathon, Gainesville--415
Halloween Day 2010 Marine Corps Marathon, DC--
2/2011--Austin TX Marathon--

mudcat25

Just returned from Kmart. Nothing here at our store. Maybe in a couple of weeks I know we have to be getting closer. Last week my wife and I went to Mo Botanical Gardens I finally got a chance to see banana trees with bananas not just pics of them.
Would anyone be able to tell me how bird of paradise and heliconia would do in Mo.? Can they be planted and dug up in winter or would pots be best?

TIA, Bob

Lilith

well, Bob, I have to say that after almost 15 years of growing heliconia in containers, its kind of eventually an exercise in futility.

But, I also have to qualify that with...it depends on which type you want to grow.

Yes, you can plant the SMALL GROWING heliconias (like the dwarf orange Choconiana, aka False Bird of Paradise and the slightly larger but still considered dwarf Psitticorums like Lady Di, Andromeda, etc, into the ground then dig them back up. But, you may not get a whole lot of bloom time on them that way in MO. Typically these start to bloom in late summer, which is why they always show up at Home Depot and Lowes starting about August. Depending on how early it gets to be consistently below 55 at night in your location, you may be planting it and digging it really soon after.

I would hesitate to tell you to try to grow any of the large growing heliconias in containers. You could probably bloom Rostrata, many people have as it readily blooms in containers, but again, you keep having to go up on the container size as the rhizome mass can really expand quickly and start busting out of the pot. Once you get to the 30 gallon size they get extremely heavy to pull around too.

Any of the Bihai, Caribaea, Stricta, Champneiana species etc simply get too big to handle in pots eventually and don't lend themselves to being planted and dug every year. We are talking 8-20 ft tall plants here.

If you can locate some Heliconia angustas (Red Holiday, Yellow Christmas) those can stay potted, as can some of the Psitticorum x spathocircinatas like Golden Torch, Guyana, Alan Carle etc.

Both the orange and white birds of paradise (strelitzia) can be container grown easily.

__________________
11/2008 Outer Banks Marathon 26.2, Kitty Hawk NC--3:50
2/2009 5 Points of Life Marathon, 26.2, Gainesville FL--4:00
4/2009 Boston Marathon, 26.2-- 4:38
10/2009 Marine Corps Marathon, DC, 26.2--457
1/2010 Houston Marathon, 26.2--3:55:09
2/2010 5 Points of Life Marathon, Gainesville--415
Halloween Day 2010 Marine Corps Marathon, DC--
2/2011--Austin TX Marathon--

STEELVIPER

I grow Heliconia Orthotricha(edge of night) and Heliconia Dwarf Rostrata here in SoCal. Both container grown in 30+ gallon plastic pots. Let me tell you its a job!! My heloconia's are doing great. But it takes some work to keep them happy. If it was not for my dolly, my plants and I would not be alive today! LOL

Lilith- I have a huge custom made Plexiglases terrarium. My guttata is about 2feet tall and 2 feet wide. I keep it cut down to about 6-7 leaves.It has a thick base.Big bulb.

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Lilith

wow Mark I would like to see some photos of that terrarium!!!! Is it, like, a whole dedicated room? It sounds really cool.
I played the overwintering game for many years with large growing heliconia, etlingera elatior, really big clumping calathea, and other large growing tropical gingers (Costus stenophyllus, Costus "Kiss of Death", etc). I am getting too elderly now to move those 30-35 gallon containers, or to unpot them and divide the clumps. I planted everything into the greenhouse, grew them all for a bit, then pared down my collection to the ones I "really" wanted to keep!

__________________
11/2008 Outer Banks Marathon 26.2, Kitty Hawk NC--3:50
2/2009 5 Points of Life Marathon, 26.2, Gainesville FL--4:00
4/2009 Boston Marathon, 26.2-- 4:38
10/2009 Marine Corps Marathon, DC, 26.2--457
1/2010 Houston Marathon, 26.2--3:55:09
2/2010 5 Points of Life Marathon, Gainesville--415
Halloween Day 2010 Marine Corps Marathon, DC--
2/2011--Austin TX Marathon--

mudcat25

Thanks Mark for your advice and for shareing your knowledge with me I'm kinda just winging it most of the time. Haven't killed too many yet. I've made notes of the heliconia you've discussed and I will be looking for them in the future. I know most of these plants are a little out of place here in MO but it sure is worth the work. I've already been checking out the prices of dollies and which would suit my needs best.

I will be buying a white bird of paradise tomorrow. I found one today and wanted to check here first. Glad to know I can have one even if it has to be potted. BTW can these be overwintered in a basement or best if kept on the main floor?

Thanks again,
Bob

Lilith

White birds generally grow in full sun, so best not to relegate it to the basement. A nice sunny window would be best.

__________________
11/2008 Outer Banks Marathon 26.2, Kitty Hawk NC--3:50
2/2009 5 Points of Life Marathon, 26.2, Gainesville FL--4:00
4/2009 Boston Marathon, 26.2-- 4:38
10/2009 Marine Corps Marathon, DC, 26.2--457
1/2010 Houston Marathon, 26.2--3:55:09
2/2010 5 Points of Life Marathon, Gainesville--415
Halloween Day 2010 Marine Corps Marathon, DC--
2/2011--Austin TX Marathon--

STEELVIPER

Lilith- I will try and get some photos up. My cam took a dump a few days ago. I also grow a few gingers to. Shampoo and shell gingers.

Bob- Give them a try.(Heliconia) just remember warm and humid. Rich soil with plenty of organics.In the winter in your area. Inside the house with high light and mist the leaves for humidity.Also heavy feeders when its warm. Try a dwarf Rostrata or dwarf Jamaican. They are a lot of work ,but very beautiful.

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Lilith

The most important thing to remember about containerized heliconia, especially indoors, ESPECIALLY in thehouse during the cold season, is DO NOT OVERWATER. The root system will decline quickly, and your plants will just look like they are suffering a major damping off and die. SOmetimes I used to only water once every 10-14 days indoors in winter.

__________________
11/2008 Outer Banks Marathon 26.2, Kitty Hawk NC--3:50
2/2009 5 Points of Life Marathon, 26.2, Gainesville FL--4:00
4/2009 Boston Marathon, 26.2-- 4:38
10/2009 Marine Corps Marathon, DC, 26.2--457
1/2010 Houston Marathon, 26.2--3:55:09
2/2010 5 Points of Life Marathon, Gainesville--415
Halloween Day 2010 Marine Corps Marathon, DC--
2/2011--Austin TX Marathon--

mudcat25

Just bought my white bird of paradise. Looks like it could be divided into three plants. Would this be true?

Westwood

Ya know Guys i bought a Bird of Paradise and they really do have Strong rhisomes . this was to be a mothers day present and mom left it at the ranch while dad was sick they stayed in a nother home they owned close to the hospital. the bird was in a Glass pot . Knotice i used the word WAS >>>

here is a picture

Attached Images

bananalist.jpg (35.3 KB, 13 views)

Lilith

Bob, they look a lot better when they form a clump. I would leave them, not separate them, if it was me

__________________
11/2008 Outer Banks Marathon 26.2, Kitty Hawk NC--3:50
2/2009 5 Points of Life Marathon, 26.2, Gainesville FL--4:00
4/2009 Boston Marathon, 26.2-- 4:38
10/2009 Marine Corps Marathon, DC, 26.2--457
1/2010 Houston Marathon, 26.2--3:55:09
2/2010 5 Points of Life Marathon, Gainesville--415
Halloween Day 2010 Marine Corps Marathon, DC--
2/2011--Austin TX Marathon--