I recently read a post here in one of the Aroid topics that touched on the subject of Anthurium hybrids from one of the more vocal guests here. The post read and I quote," In the U.S., hybrids are considered of little value by most serious collectors. There are collectors who love to buy them, but in many cases the price is low. " I couldn't disagree with this quote more and cant believe where someone would gather the information to come up with this assumption. As a seller and buyer of Anthuriums on Ebay I have found that Anthurium hybrids have become immensely popular. Not just with the Indonesian buyers but with the U.S. buyers as well. Many of the hybrids I have sold have gone to U.S. buyers and shipped to U.S. addresses. To further prove this point, there was an absolutely stunning hybrid listed on Ebay recently. A Luxurians X Magnificum cross. The final price was something in the neighborhood of $471.00, hardly a low price. Granted I am not sure if the plant did go to an Indonesian buyer, but I know of several U.S. buyers who were bidding on this plant and willing to pay a hefty price. Including myself who maxed out at $200.00. Furthermore, Silver Krome Gardens, known as probably the largest Anthurium grower in the U.S. grows just as many hybrids as they do species. They also have have created many of the popular hybrids that are selling today. Anthurium "Big Bill" which is a cross of A. Cubense X Pendulifolium, A. Billifolius Rex a cross of A. lewinii X Watermaliense, Anthurium "Big Splash" a cross of A. Spectible X A. Watermaliense are all grown or were created at the nursery. I'm also guessing they are getting the same money for a hybrid than for a species. To further add nauseum to the point. Hybrids provide a means of seeing species or part of a species that would otherwise be hard to find. Anthurium Radicans is rare in today's collections. It also is, from what I've been told, somewhat of a difficult species to grow. But yet, most people have in their collections Anthurium Radicans X Splendidum. A stronger, bigger more vigorous grower with the same beautiful textured leaves. I still haven't figured out what it is about hybrids that turn otherwise good plant people to have an irrational bias against them. Isn't it obvious that all these species interbreed freely amongst themselves in nature? Or that the many variants of the different species are a direct result of cross pollination amongst themselves in nature? Okay sorry about the rant, just had to get it off my chest.
As an active aroid hybridizer (Alocasia, Anthurium, Philodendron), I concur in that well done hybrids have great value, not only in terms of providing growers access to plants with characteristics of rare and/or difficult to grow species (as in the example given above), but in terms of the preservation of rare germ plasm. Plants which are currently endangered due to loss of habitat, especially those whose cultural requirements are exacting, should, IMHO, be hybridized with hardier, more common species against the time when the rare species actually goes extinct in nature. Through the F2 generation of the hybrid, the species can be recovered, often as a hardier version as a result of chromosome crossover. I contend that there are no "sacred" species as, first of all, what is designated a species is often revised as taxonomical points of view change and, especially with Anthurium, natural hybridization occurs and is a normal part of the process of diversification. BTW, I have A. radicans and in my experience it is not particularly difficult to grow, although it is a s-l-o-w grower. I grow it in a similar manner as an orchid, including using orchid media, and it seems to thrive. It likes full shade and cannot be grown in the standard soil or soilless media that is suitable for many other Anthurium species. LariAnn Aroidia Research
IMHO I think it is personal choice. I am not a "serious" collector, but a collector nevertheless. I am also relatively new to Aroids. I certainly enjoy collecting species, but also enjoy collecting hybrids as well. I find there is more info about species than some hybrids, but maybe I am not looking hard enough. The exception for me is Alocasia hybrids, as I can just ask LariAnn for the answers on these hybrids. That is a big bonus for me. As with most plants I like to learn the origin, native habitat etc, so I can try and replocate it. But again, thats only me, If we were all the same it would be pretty boring really. : ) Ed
etropicals, your post isn't a rant. It's an intelligent, informed piece of factual information that also happens to include your own personal opinion! I couldn't agree with you more about hybrids. Species are nice, in fact many are VERRRYYY nice, but without hybrids, the plant world would pretty much stop turning, don't you think? After all, the world has been pretty much explored now, and new species aren't just being discovered everyday. I am certain that there probably ARE some undiscovered ones out there, but, habitat is disappearing faster than ever and many of those might go with it. Hybrids are kinda like the only way to get "new" plants now, unless the world burns up and starts over, no? I saw the plant you are talking about, I bookmarked it to follow the auction. It was a GORGEOUS plant! But too rich for my blood. Whoever got it was LUCKY. I know a lot of orchid collectors who are "species" people. They sneer at hybrids, and won't add them to their collection. To this, I say, "To each his own", BUT.... Most orchid species are pretty non-descript, and many have one flower color: white. Myself, I like VARIETY, so, I collect HYBRIDS! I too have an A. radicans, and I agree with LariAnn, its SLOW. But, I have been able to train mine to creep up a totem a little way, and it likes growing as a climbing epiphyte. Cool little plant, I am certain the red x splendida is a great plant too and I wouldn't hesitate to buy one if I saw one.
Just for your info guys, Indonesians love more hybrids than species. More to color Anthurium such as purplish, redish or blackish. We have more than 10 local names for the plant you call it A. Plowmanii, more than 20 for A. Hookerii and as you read before, about 10-20 for A. Jenmanii. Different leave shape will be different local names. Just to identified each kind of plants in buy-sell process. Our nurseries always keep on do cross pollination to find any possibilities of new hybrids. Some of those are really beautiful. If you guys you'd like to find any new hybrids that might you've never seen before, please write 'Hookerii Merah', 'Hookeri Hitam', 'Anthurium Black Beauty', 'Anthurium Black Silvit' in google search engine. Enjoy. Keep it hybrids, next about 20 years it will be just species anyway.
Even the great Tom Croat did many test cross pollinations , and some have turned out to be very decorative plants . One was TC 782 this was a cross of papillilaminum x dressleri . Beautiful black foliage , and unlike the pollen parent easy to grow . One selfing of this cross had some luxurians pollen added and a few of the resultant plants had superb texture as well as black . I found a lovely small black triangular leafed plant at a local market , it must be a hybrid , and it seemed to be self sterile . I used pollen from many other black leafed plants around and was successful in getting seed . Many of the plants will be maturing soon . I am hoping for some lovely plants .
Middle picture above is crystallinum x luxurians done by Equatorial Exotics . SOme other very att6ractive hybrids coming from there .
Miguel: Very nice blacks. Unfort. the TC 782 x luxurians from seed that you sent in '01 has never really taken off here. Very dark, but my two plants are, tragically, chronic weaklings and very much favor the dressleri grandparent in overall appearance. Interesting to note that luxurians crosses done in Hawaii and Oz with the contrast-veined Cardios all seem to be dark and crunchy, while the crosses I have done with luxurians & dressleri over the past three years are all orange-red emergent, albeit with dark leaves once they harden up. Do you see them getting more pustulate as they grow up? Obviously, I think after seeing NSE's incredible jet black luxurians x magnificum mentioned above by etropicals, a lot of people will try and remake this with luxurians x regale with an eye to even larger-leaf plants. I am a well-known species snob, based largely on the fact that relatively very few hybrid anthurium plants in general cultivation have "good" data accompanying them with regard to their parents, so they are of little real use to a hybridizer. As a greater number of growers realize the importance of purging their plants of "spontaneous" fruit/seed and only to keep documented hybrids, things will tend to get better. The debate over what went into some of the popular foliage-type anthuriums now in TC bolster my belief that better record-keeping is essential to max out the potential of some of these plants. I would disagree somewhat with bihai about new species being GAME OVER. There have been literally hundreds of new anthuriums discovered and described over the past 20 years, and many more waiting in the wings. Beyond that, somewhat showy species "lost" to cultivation since the late 19th century (such as A. metallicum) have been rediscovered fairly recently. Many of the areas of mega-diversity for the genus are located in areas that are very tough going from a physical or political perspective. I do agree that we should definitely celebrate both species and the better hybrids as collectors. BRgds, J
Jay, I stand corrected, LOL. Its hard sometimes for someone like myself, who has never been to the exotic locations that you are so lucky to live in (can I string up a hammock in your backyard, LOL?) to think that somehow there is still new stuff being discovered. All I ever hear about is habitat destruction/habitat loss in various parts of the rainforests of the world. It hurts me. I am very Earth-oriented, as you may know from other online interactions we have had in other venues. I try to do my small part to help, and hope others do to. Its a good thing to know that there are still wild areas that are too hard to reach to destroy. I hope it stays that way, I think it may be the only small hope our planet has. It scares me to think that in my children's lifetime, or potential future grandchildren's lifetimes, that the world could be a very different one from what we have known as far as climate, species extinction, drought, famine and disease. But I do think its a real possibility that the Doomsayers may be right. I think about it a lot and try to get others to think about it too.
Gina (Regina?): I worked in conservation biology for a decade and burned out in '94 from all the Quixotic battles. Ironically, the environmental movement really took off a couple years later. Oh, well - my bad, I 'spose. I agree that the pessimists have the wind at their back, but there are very positive things going on in wilderness areas in some parts of the world. Coincidentally, some really noteworthy Anthuriums and Philos are starting to emerge from obscurity and making it into the market. Certainly, there are any number of NOID material coming out of Ecuador, as well as a few "goodies" from my neck of the woods. We are currently working on the ID of an apparently new, endemic "blue" Anthurium sp. from here that is in the parvispathum-retiferum group. Here's a pic of a wilding, but we have some young plants now that are even more compact and glaucous than this: As for the Colombians and the Peruvians...they REALLY have some suprises waitiing for us :) Cheerio, J
For those who may be interested in how many new aroid species are left in the rain forest to still be discovered, I just received this note from Dr. Croat. He has been in Ecuador for two months collecting, "On this trip I think that I collected over 1700 species. I am sure that I must have collected at least 25 species that are new to science, perhaps a lot more but many of these I had already seen before." He brought back a similar number last summer and appears to do so on each of his major collecting trips. Most of these new species are now in the research phase and will eventually be published. I've been fortunate enough to acquire a couple of his Philodendron discoveries prior to their having been published. One is Philodendron nangaritense which you can find on the web. That species is stunning with a bright red petiole covered with hair. Several collectors have managed to find one even though the species is not yet published.
25 newies!! Thats good news for everyone....I guess we will have to wait for a while untill we see them in cultivation. With parts of the world still unnaccessible, I guess there would be quite a few species yet undiscovered. Of plants, insects etc Ed
Hi Everyone, Finally this forum has become interesting. I enjoy seeing what others are growing and hearing their observations. This is my first time to add anything, and although I'm far from being an expert or technical, I do enjoy exchanging thoughts and experiences. Let me introduce myself, I'm Windy Aubrey, from Oahu, Hawaii. I grow Aroids, specially Anthuriums, some Philodendron, and a few Alocasias. I also grow a lot of epiphytic ferns and a few Nepenthes. I propagate from seed, spores and divisions. I grow a lot of Anthurium species, but enjoy several hybrids that have made their way into the collection. Today I'm including images of a hybrid I picked up in Florida in 1996. It's tag reads 'Anthurium Hyb. No. J 342'. At the time I was told it was Splendidum(Luxurians) X Papillilaminum. It is extremely dark, and looks black when seen in person. The flash on my camera shows off a green cast in the image, but in person it is 'black'. This year I have some seeds setting, and even the seed are very dark colored. To me this hybrid is spectacular and a favorite of all my favorites. I have another favorite too. I'll send it in next. Really am looking forward to any input and continuing information on what others are doing and learning. Windy
Hi again, This is a really nice cross, Warocqueanum x Rugulosum. It's still an immature plant, yet shows both parents off beautifully. The bulate surface, coupled with the dark colored long blade, to me, looks sharp. The other bonus is I have a difficult time growing A. rugulosum, but this cross is easier for me to grow, more like the A. warocqueanum grows here. Windy
Glad you're on board Windy. Your knowledge will be much appreciated. Just curious, how do you manage to keep Anthurium rugulosum healthy. I was warned it was a cool loving species from the higher Andes and wouldn't tolerate much heat. Sure enough, in early summer well before it got hot, it began to decline. Despite moving it into an air-conditioned room, it still died. I'd love to grow it again but won't try until I learn more. One well known Florida grower calls it the "incredible shrinking Anthurium".
Windy , great cross . Did you do it yourself ? Have always admired the similar looking Anth corrugatum but refused to try growing it as I know it is also a cool grower .
Hi Friends, No, not my cross. I had another collector come to visit and brought me this WarocX to trade for something I had. Wow, it sounds like I'm not alone with the difficulties growing Rugulosum. I got the A. rugulosum from a friend who lives at a higher elevation than I do. I had killed a very nice A. corrugatum in the past and a few other high elevation Anthuriums from Ecuagenera before, so I was leary about the A. rugulosum. His Rugulosum looked so good that I thought I would have a chance to add it to my collection, but right after I got it the plant started the down hill decline. I first started getting weird brown spots(technical lingo) and edges that would desicate until the spot appeared dry then the spot would turn into a large hole. After some research I found out that this plant indeed appreciated cooler temps than our night time minimum was, so I try to maintain a cooler climate at the roots by placing the plant into a clay pot(unglazed) so the roots could breath and then I also placed the clay pot onto a very low cookie sheet that I keep flooded with about 1/2 inch of water. The water wicks into the clay keeping the pot's surface moist all the time and this inturn keeps the roots cool and moist. We have excellent water here, so there is no salt build-up. I also adjusted the potting soil to a mixture of screened New Zealand spagnum moss, large sponge rock, orchid bark, small amount of peat moss and hard wood charcoal that is broken up into small pieces. I like using charcoal in all my soil mixes, I think it keeps soil on the sweet side and the Anthurium roots always seek it out and attach to it. With these modifications I have been able to keep the A. rugulosum growing, and I don't cringe when I walk by it any more. Windy
I'd love to try it again since both the leaf texture and the pubescence (hair) on the underside of the blade is interesting. Dr. Croat said he knew of no one that has had success with it so you and your friends may well be the first outside of the Andes. As I understand, he won't try to keep it in the MOBOT collection. I fully agree with your use of the charcoal and have been adding it to all my Anthurium species for some years. Thanks for the advice.
Wow, God is Great! thats very good anthurium. Is it possible you donate 5 seeds for my botany? :D LOL
