A giant in the garden

Fri, Sep 11, 2009 at 06:27:27 AM

Aroids, to my way of thinking, are an integral part of a tropical/subtropical garden. They range in size from petite to giant, and the shapes can be as slender and minimalist or as ruffled and rococo as you prefer.

They climb palms and trees throughout my garden, and they hold up strikingly patterned leaves from hanging baskets, from the ground and from the pond. Among the most impressive size-wise is

Alocasia macrorrhizos 'Borneo Giant' in the
background; Cyrtosperma johnstonii at right,
an aquatic aroid.

Alocasia macrorrhizos ‘Borneo Giant,’ which grows beside the pond, undoubtedly exchanging chit-chat with the aquatic aroids, Cyrtosperma johnstonii, Colocasia ‘Nancy’s Revenge’ and Colocasia ‘Black Magic.’ There is not one iota of recalcitrance in these various aroids once they find the right conditions, a lesson I learned with a stem cutting of ‘Borneo Giant.’ I planted it in shade. Hah! It struggled to push out small leaves for a couple of years and succeeded so miserably that I threatened it with the “you have one last chance” warning. I put the stem in acid sand and sun next to the pond and have been awed ever since. The plant grows upright on a thick succulent stem, and produces suckers at the base. From time to time, I remove the largest trunks (stems) because they are quite near underground pipes to the waterfall and I’m afraid they’ll engorge them one day. This also keeps the giant leaves closer to earth for better viewing.

As I do for many other plants in the garden, I give them controlled-release low-nitrogen fertilizer two or three times a year. In winter, the edges of the leaves turn yellow after a cold front, and the size of the leaves gradually becomes smaller. This summer, with all the rain, the leaves are what might be called robust. The largest are slightly more than six feet long and the smaller leaves are 5 ½ feet by 2 ¾ feet wide.

The International Aroid Society’s annual show and sale is Sept. 19 and 20 at the garden, and it is an opportunity to see some of the best grown aroids in South Florida. I will see you there!

2 comments - Add a comment

Hello Georgia... I have been using a few different types over the years and have suffered from the same too much shade issue... this goes true for most Heliconias which can fool you... Bright Filtered Light (under palms etc.)seems to do the trick for me...and moist organic soil is a big help...A couple others that are aviailable that do a great good job are the medium sized Alocasia lutea (yellowish leaf) and an old favorite of mine from my 1st house called Alocasia cuprea. It is a small one with kind of a funky metallic look and is in the shape of a small unique looking distinctive shield... Hope to see you at the Aroid show...

posted by Pete Strelkow , Thu, Sep 17, 2009 at 11:48 AM

I am so happy to have found you on the Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden!! I have missed your articles in the newspaper!
Thanks for being a part of Fairchild and now I will play catch up and read the rest. Jane Morrison - Sept. 17 2009 ( a volunteer at Fairchild)

posted by anonymous, Thu, Sep 17, 2009 at 5:28 PM

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Georgia Tasker

Georgia Tasker was the garden writer for The Miami Herald for over 30 years and has written three books on gardening. Her blog is a must read for any gardener.