Hi,
I love aspidistras, too, though the common A. elatior is pretty much taken for granted
around here (Central Calif.), where it can be grown as a landscape plant. I've had people
doubt that they bloom, so I have to show them when I can. I've wondered if those flowers
are pollinated by ants, but I recently read somewhere that slugs may be the pollinators. When
cutting back last year's growth this spring, I found a big fat seed pod.
I gave a plant of 'Milky Way' (or something called that) to my neighbor and now his plant,
in his front garden, looks much better than mine.
The narrow-leaved 'Singapore Sling' from Plant Delights does okay for me in a pot, but I
wonder if it would do better in the ground.
Sue Haffner
Clovis CA
----- Original Message -----
From: "The Silent Seed" <santoury@aol.com>
To: pbs@lists.ibiblio.org
Sent: Sunday, June 26, 2011 8:42:22 AM
Subject: [pbs] Rohdea and Aspidistra
I have no clue why, but from the time I joined, I've seen nothing mentioned about these two wonderfully fantastic genera. Is there anybody else out there who appreciates and / or collects these? What are your favorites and why?
I will start: I have a modest collection of about a dozen types and am always looking for more.
My favorite Aspidistra is the sp. lurida Ginga ("milky way" - who has the REAL milky way anyway? Is there a hard and fast rule to differentiate them?) - I just get lost in each leaf with its' starry patterns of yellow dots.
For a Rohdea, my favorite is the plain jane japonica. I love the simplicity of it.
The first time I saw an Aspidistra flower, I was dumfouned! I knew they were held low, but this one was actually buried, and only visible after I pulled the plant up. It looks exactly like a paw paw tree flower. Amazing!
Do share!
Jude
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