If you're a true aroid lover and are in the area, then you should not miss going on a pilgrimage to the famous 100+ year-old Imperial Philodendron (Philodendron speciosum) in the San Francisco Conservatory of Flowers. I went there in May 2007, and here are some pics I will be putting up in the meconostigma site (http://www.blueboard.com/pahatan/) Side view of the aroid: http://www.blueboard.com/pahatan/gambar/images/2007_5_9_speciosum_d5736.jpg Closeup of the beautiful stems, along with tons of aerial roots going all over the place: http://www.blueboard.com/pahatan/gambar/images/2007_5_9_speciosum_d5743.jpg http://www.blueboard.com/pahatan/gambar/images/2007_5_9_speciosum_d5790.jpg The Philodendron reaches up all the way to the top of the dome. When they renovated the entire place, they kept the aroid where it was and LOWERED the huge dome over it: http://www.blueboard.com/pahatan/gambar/images/2007_5_9_speciosum_d5783.jpg Another side view: http://www.blueboard.com/pahatan/gambar/images/2007_5_9_speciosum_d5796.jpg
well, having more than a century to grow does do wonders for size.... ;-) btw, this is probably the most well-known individual Philodendron (if not aroid) in the world....the Conservatory makes sure to highlight it in every brochure....
How great that they went through the trouble and probably considerable extra expense of renovating the building without trashing the plants. You'd think that since the purpose of the building is to house and display the plants this kind of approach would be normal, but in fact it is common for structures and equipment to become the focus, with plants being ignored or destroyed during renovations or even maintenance operations. And I'm not just talking about non-horticultural settings, where of course there is lots of landscaping being left in the care of people who don't care.
