This is my first post, but I've lurked around a bit before. I've got a few houseplants and I enjoy keeping them, but I've got one that has never been identified. It was given to me almost three years ago and it's done well, but I have no idea what it is. I'll occasionally spend a little time digging around the internet but have never seen a plant like it.
The plant is in a 10" pot and the leaves are also about 10" in diameter. The leaves have a nice variegated coloring with heavy ribbing, but I've never noticed it flowering. It gets lots of filtered light early in the day and easily tolerates my careless watering. Can anyone help me?
Welcome, emarkd. I have no idea what your plant is but it is beautiful. Maybe some one more knowledgeable will come along later with an ID. It does remind me of an elephant ear I have seen.
~Tina
Drama Free Zone. What every gardener loves the most, Begins and ends in rich compost. (Tina)
Thanks to all for your kind comments. I'm in Georgia. The plant was sent to the funeral home when my great-grandmother passed almost three years ago and it wound up at my house. I don't know anything about it, or even who originally sent it. I had it sitting in a much darker location and it survived there, but I moved it to it's current location about a year ago and it's really done well. I've enjoyed it and I'd like to know what it is.
I've also got an elephant ear. It's an Alocasia Amazonica (sp?) and it's sitting in my home office where the computers keep the temperature a little higher. This unknown plant is similar, but different enough that I don't think it's from the same family. But then again, what do I know?
at first I was going to say it looked similar to a peace plant, but when I took another look I see it's a stem with just one leaf on the end. how interesting! it's very pretty.
Cricket
Ah, summer, what power you have to make us suffer and like it. ~Russel Baker
it looks like a variety of aspidistra aka cast iron plant. i'm not familiar with that particular variety, but the ones i have are so tough. right now, i have it on the front porch, and even the one that isn't properly potted, and is half out of the soil and laying on its side is doing well. (it's still alive )
by the way, where in georgia are you? i'm just out side of savannah.
I've never had an Aspidistra, so maybe this is from the same family. I don't think it's an Elatior, though. The pictures of Aspidistra Elatior that I find online shows a long, narrow leaf with a very short stem where as my plant has leaves that are nearly round and perched high on the stem.
Jiffymouse, I'm north of you. I'm West of Atlanta near the Alabama border.
I have been looking at this and searching because it is so beautiful, I want to know too. I have a single link I am going to PM to you. It is the closest I have gotten so far.
~Tina
Drama Free Zone. What every gardener loves the most, Begins and ends in rich compost. (Tina)
Well, I'm glad I could introduce you all to this plant. Good luck in your search and thanks again for all the help. This seems like a very friendly community. :)
Thanks emarkd! Now that it has been identified, I read a bit about it. Apparently they can be difficult to care for, so you obviously have a green thumb! I haven't found out yet if we can get them in Australia.
Thanks for the compliments everyone. Stevie_g, I don't know about my green thumb. I think I've been more lucky with this one than anything. I recently gave up on a three-year-old peace lily that has looked miserable for about two years now. So I've had my share of failures. I also read where this Calathea should be a bit temperamental, but I swear mine's been very forgiving. I've went out of town for long periods and let it get so dry it was drooping badly. I've neglected to clean it properly and let the leaves get thick with dust before. I've also let it stay root bound for way too long, but it just keeps bouncing back.
Not to mention that I'm apparently giving it too much light and have never attempted to maintain a high humidity around it, which I now know are important for this plant to thrive. Maybe by adjusting those two things, I can get mine to bloom. I've never seen it do that before.
I hope you can get it to bloom. I think I read that not all of the plants in that family bloom, but I could be wrong there. Do you get fairly mild winters where you are?
Fairly mild. I'm in Georgia and we usually get a short period of overnight freezes every year, but daytime winter temps are usually in the 30's or 40's.
We also tend to keep our house pretty cool - mainly because we're cheap. :) Indoor temperatures around 60 are pretty normal during the winter at my house.
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