Hi Guys, I took out my Meconostigma philos during the weekend, and was surprised to find an unopened bloom on LariAnn's P. 'african fantasy'. I'll take a pic of it tomorrow and post it. I checked it several times the last couple days but it has not opened. This hybrid is from P. bipinnatifidum and P. goeldii. A pic of a leaf is below: http://www.blueboard.com/pahatan/gambar/images/2008_6_28_asj_mask_d1147.jpg
Some pics of the bloom...still hasn't opened as far as I can tell...I moved them out on Sunday, and it may still be getting used to the cooler temps... Side pic of plant with bloom: http://www.blueboard.com/pahatan/gambar/p_x_african_img5.htm As you can see here, the thing is long and tapering, about 20 cm total length: http://www.blueboard.com/pahatan/gambar/p_x_african_img6.htm The front of the bloom showing part of the spadix: http://www.blueboard.com/pahatan/gambar/p_x_african_img7.htm
They seem to be fine. Temps are in the 10-15 degree celsius range. We were duped by the unseasonably warm (hot!) weather here in the east coast a week ago, when temps reached 90+ fahrenheit! Also, I tend not to coddle the plants....
i'm in the state next to you...dunno why you reference celsius. it's not been higher than mid 50's during the day and cooler than that at night (not counting the little heat wave we had recently). i'd not chance any of my philo's, or any other tropicals for that matter, with temps that cool...especially never knowing how cold it'll drop down to at night and it can still get at/below 40 at night.
AFAIK from years past, most meconostigma philos are ok at 10 degrees, especially the P. bipinnatifidum, and can go lower than that; it's freezing that may kill the aboveground parts. If there's a chance of freezing temps I'll move them in, but otherwise we'll keep them out to harden them. I don't like coddling the plants. Weather forecasts for the next week or so seem fine, no temps that are below that even at night (lowest is 55 F)
*shrugs* i wouldn't chance any philo's or tropicals outside, in planters or in the ground, at any temps under 60 at a minimum. in fact, i lost more than half a dozen philo's INSIDE this winter due to the heat not working properly (problem with that radiator) and the temp in the plant room dipped to 50 for a week straight. whatever was hanging on bit it when the heater, itself, died on christmas day. whatever, if you're having success, then you'll continue to do what you're doing and nothing wrong with that, i guess. i just wouldn't recommend it :)
Yep...we'll see...I placed them out around the same time last year and had no problems. All the plants are large meconostigmas with woody stems, and none seem to be affected by the weather so far (checked on them this morning). I also had kept them in a room where the temps went to the lower 50s all winter long (an upstairs empty room), so they should be used to it. I'm curious, Which Philos of yours died?
i lost more than a dozen plants in all :( phil's and syngoniums mostly and a couple of the cacti. the phil's and syng's were starters and most, obviously, didn't have good enough root systems going (i'd only had them since the end of september). i managed to salvage the p. burgundy and the p. royal queen. i lost all the syngoniums and the phil's that were lost were 'florida', 'painted lady', 'silver sword', 'red princess', hederacum and microstictum (aka pittieri). half of the syng's lost and half of the phil's lost had decent roots going - they were not just cuttings and already had roots when i got them, so, i was really surprised that they didn't survive. even though they were down to nothing, i kept up with the watering schedule (knowing that the roots may still have been viable). the royal queen came back from nothing and that one was an unrooted cutting when i got it. the burgundy was almost down to nothing and that one had decent roots when it arrived. so, the cold definitely was a problem - even for those that had decent roots when the problem occured. things happen and plants die. it's sometimes unavoidable. what is most upsetting for me is that these were an unexpected gift and are types that aren't easy to come by. one of those 'once in a lifetime' things.
Sorry about your losses! I did start thinking about cold-tolerance in meconostigma and did some quick research. Philodendron bipinnatifidum, of which I have two large ones, are tolerant of cold and even mild freezing it looks like: http://www.aroid.org/aroidl-archive/showthread.php?id=1162 Only yesterday I was told of a fair sized plant with a 3ft. 'trunk' which grows in the corner of a garden in North Devon (north coast of the south west peninsula of England) where it has been regularly subjected to near freezing salt-spray from the sea in winter, cold drying winds in early spring and only moderate, maximum, summer temperatures of around 80F at the very best. It has never been subjected to lower than 28F in winter and in most years, retains a good proportion of its leaves. Even from an 'English' point of view, the conditions it has to endure are pretty rough. http://www.cloudforest.com/northwest/forum/10073.html Philo. selloum should be fully ground hardy for you guys in zone 8 without even being in a perfect microclimate. Save your best microclimate for more tender plants. Here on the North Carolina coast, the leaves look good even after snow lays on them for a day or so. It takes lows way below freezing to just kill the leaves back Another plant is P. xanadu, which also seems cold tolerant: http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/59808/ Update 01/16/05: After growing in a pot for many years this large Xanadu became to heavy and large to move around so it was put in ground summer of '04. It had several months to become accustomed to the colder conditions and has done well here in 10a with lows to 37F, with no frost. I also have P. stenolobum, which may also be rather tolerant: http://www.tropicsphere.com/main/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=8969&p=73292#p73292 We have a couple of Philodendron williamsii plants in the garden(newly labeled, hope they dont walk) some quite near the broader-leaf selection of P. stenolobium for comparision. Also a single x Evansii and a clump of P speciosum in the general vicinity. All got down to ca 32* F without a spot in Feb. So, all in all, I think that's the reason why they survive being kept all winter in 10C/50F temperatures....
that's what i love about this site - i'm always learning something!! phil's can be hardy in zone 8; are hardy in zone 9 and above. all those references/observations are from people in zones 8 and above. very rare for those areas to have extended cold snaps (they'll get a day or two here and there) the england situation would a bit more frequent yet still intermittent with the cold so, i can see why certain types would survive outside there. this area ranges from zone 5 to 6 and we'll get extended cold - to the point the ground freezes, which doesn't happen in zones 8 and up. granted, the past few winters haven't been as bad as they could be and we had that one that was barely able to be classified as 'winter' and that can lead to a false sense of conditions (especially if you're new to the area). you do have more hardy specimens than what i lost. still, i'd not leave them out for the whole winter and i'd actually try to keep the temps up a bit more inside - just to keep them in a better growth situation so they don't have to rebound too much come spring. since the types you have are more hardy you're good to go with bringing them outside already. what part of jersey are you in? that makes a difference, too. some southern parts have microclimates that are 7a (and maybe even 7b), so that would definitely be a help when it comes to putting these plants outside this early!
Nope, I never leave them outside in winter....they'd be mush come spring ;-) The temp in that room is probably around 10-13 C (50-55 F) all winter, but all plants have gone through the last 6 years or so with no problems so I'm not that worried during winter about the temp. In fact, I think acclimating them to colder temps is good because of the climate we're in. I'm actually more concerned about light since the two windows may not allow enough light in. Another thing, I actually would like for them NOT to grow too big...I don't have a greenhouse, and a couple of them are getting huge. Carrying them back and forth from outside to inside is killing me :-( I'm in Central/North Jersey, the nearest city being Elizabeth.
It looks like P. bipinnatifidum can overwinter outside in zones 7a/7b... http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/tropesque/msg0416554530784.html I may just decide to test one out, get one of the sprouts coming off the side of my larger P. bipinnatifidum and mulch it well over this coming winter.
you're in 6b, same as me, and you're a bit more north than i am. if you do put it outside to overwinter, i'd make sure it's in a very protected spot and mulch it extremely well!!!
'm in the state next to you...dunno why you reference celsius. Because many other people from all over the world visit , and it seems only the good'ol USA still uses this archaic temp and I have trouble remembering any conversion ... go metric ....
Actually, we're in "good" company...besides the USA, the only other countries not using metric officially are: Liberia (in western Africa) and Burma (also known as Myanmar, in Southeast Asia).
Unfortunately, the bloom started rotting near the base, and I had to take it off. After taking them down from the room, I noticed one of the aroids had signs of fungal infestation, so I have started hitting them all with copper sulfate anti-fungal sprays.
Joclyn, I often leave my hardier Philodendron out until early November but always bring them in before the first chance of freeze. The Meconostigma species are usually the first ones to come out of the atrium in April as soon as it appears the chance of freeze is over. In Central Florida many growers leave them in the ground all year and often experience light freezes. Some species even make it through more than a "light" freeze! I've corresponded with a few growers in Atlanta that grow Meconostigma in the ground with few problems and Atlanta can get cold. And Mic, I agree with you. It was well after I finished college (that was a long time ago) that I even knew what Celsius temperature was! I've do my best to learn and use metric since virtually any scientific journals is uses metric instead of Fahrenheit. Blame it on the U.S. educational system since even today almost everything is taught using our "antique" standards. And Airlan, it is truly a shame you lost the inflorescence. I hate it when I loose a chance to learn something new.
Ah, it's fine...I'm sure it'll generate one again... Right now I'm happily watching my small Philodendron x evansii from last year growing contentedly by a windowsill.
On the subject of cold-resistance in Meconostigma philos, it varies with the species. P. goeldii and P. mello-barretoanum are more sensitive to cold than P. bipinnatifidum is. In fact, both of those just about stop growing if temps go into the 50s F. Also, I've had open blooms on my African Fantasy class hybrid as well as the goeldii x mello-barretoanum hybrid and neither of them have produced pollen. LariAnn Aroidia Research
So these hybrids are sterile? Btw, your hybrid is growing like crazy, including a thickening stem... As expected, the aroids went through the NJ cold spell outside with no problems and are now shooting out new leaves quickly. Yes, I think most if not all the mecos stop growth during winter here, when I have to stick them into an upper bedroom and pretty much forget about them for the next several months. Tough buggers.....I adore them....
Now all I need is to get my P. goeldii and my two naturally dwarf meco species to bloom all at the same time so I can cross them. . . for a mini African Fantasy! LariAnn
