Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Enter The Dragon
There are certain plants in our garden which I think I enjoy more when they first arise out of the ground than when they finally bloom; the dragon arum, Dracunculus vulgaris, might be one of those. The floral structures are properly other-worldly, of course, but smell like ten year old gym socks wrapped around a dead mouse, and carrion beetles crawl all over them, smearing themselves with gunk; the foliage then starts flopping over and dying just as the plant blooms. Ah, but the cool, sinister, blotched and spotted plant sheath, rising out of the still-cold ground like some reptilian nightmare; that's worth the price of admission.
// posted by IBOY @ 9:07 AM 
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Creepy stuff to contemplate at this time of year when pretty flowers dominate the landscape. I love it! Probably not a good choice for the veggie bed, though.
Hi Don,
So yours is up already eh? I was looking for ours today and no sign yet, but I'm sure it will be soon. Last year we had about 5 new offsets growing at the base that put on foliage but didn't bloom. We're hoping they will bloom this year, but we'll have to keep the dining room windows closed if they do! Any sign of your Voodoo Lily yet? We planted one of those last year as well and are eager to see it bloom....
So yours is up already eh? I was looking for ours today and no sign yet, but I'm sure it will be soon. Last year we had about 5 new offsets growing at the base that put on foliage but didn't bloom. We're hoping they will bloom this year, but we'll have to keep the dining room windows closed if they do! Any sign of your Voodoo Lily yet? We planted one of those last year as well and are eager to see it bloom....
IVG... the voodoo comes up really late (I know I used to always think it must have died, then up it comes). My dragon arum doesn't seem to offset, but I have it a little too shady; it was a tiny bulb when I planted it, so maybe it still will multiply.
Don
Don
Don,
Thanks for the tip about the Voodoo Lily ... we won't be impatient for that one, then. When we planted our Dracunculus the bulb wsa very big, about the size of my fist (we were surprised at the size). I've read in some gardening forums where they have ruthlessly colonized people's gardens, so we're hopeful that's what it will do to ours ... if we ever get too many we'll just move them or give them away. :-) hehe
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Thanks for the tip about the Voodoo Lily ... we won't be impatient for that one, then. When we planted our Dracunculus the bulb wsa very big, about the size of my fist (we were surprised at the size). I've read in some gardening forums where they have ruthlessly colonized people's gardens, so we're hopeful that's what it will do to ours ... if we ever get too many we'll just move them or give them away. :-) hehe
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