corpse lily vs corpse flower Amorphophallus titanum

corpse lily vs corpse flower Amorphophallus titanumAmorphophallus titanum is the Holy Grail of the plant kingdom. All plant nuts have seen pictures and then searched for this rarity indeed only several hundred specimens are known in cultivation. For those new to the titan arum, Amorphophallus titanum has the world's largest inflorescence up to 8' tall. The giant red vase, with an equally large central spathe, is truly one of the most fragrant wonders of the horticultural world. The giant leaf atop a

Amorphophallus titanum is the Holy Grail of the plant kingdom. All plant nuts have seen pictures and then searched for this rarity...indeed only several hundred specimens are known in cultivation. For those new to the titan arum, Amorphophallus titanum has the world's largest inflorescence...up to 8' tall. The giant red vase, with an equally large central spathe, is truly one of the most fragrant wonders of the horticultural world. The giant leaf atop a mottled stalk that can grow to 15' appears after the flower. The corpse flower seed stalk, which reaches to 6' tall and holds large red berries, is equally unbelievable. It may go dormant only every 2-3 years and, as a rule, Amorphophallus titanum likes it hot! Please do not order this unless you are a passionate and very serious plant NUT! While we have sold over 1,800 of these, we only flowered our first one on site in 2018.

Read more about Peter Grande, our first Amorphophallus titanum to bloom.

Check out our tips for growing Amorphophallus titanum.

For the uber plant nerds, we also keep an up-to-date record of Amorphophallus titanum flowerings worldwide.

Watch our Plant Spotlight video for more information.

Maintenance:

Corpse flower requires significant attention to detail to both successfully grow it as well as to get it to flower.

When the leaf begins to senesce (turn yellow), stop watering. The dormancy period usually lasts only a few months. When you see a new bud emerging from the giant tuber, it's time to start watering your corpse flower again.

Growing Conditions:

Corpse flower requires even moisture in a well-drained potting medium.It grows best in an area with high humidity, and temperatures which never drop below 50-55 degrees F.

Corpse flower prefers light shade since the foliage will scorch when subjected to full sun. We recommending using a container which is significantly larger than the tuber, since the tuber will grow significantly while the leaf is up, and having a container that is too small will greatly restrict growth by reducing the space for roots to grow.This will also cause it to go dormant prematurely.

Amorphophallus titanum is a heavy feeder, so we recommend a liquid feed or slow release fertilizer be used when it is in active growth.

Natural Impacts:

If you are fortunate enough to be one of the 700+ people who have flowered a corpse flower, expect an array of interesting pollinators, but the most prominent will be small flies. Although Amorphophallus titanum produces some foul smelling gas, it's not enough to contribute to global warming, so you can flower your plant free of guilt.

All of our corpse flowers are nursery propagated from seed. Like all rare plants, they must never be dug from the wild for sale.