Amorphophallus Titanum (Titan Arum) Profile: Info, Care & Growing Guide

Amorphophallus Titanum is also known as Titan arum. Amorphophallus Titanum grows in Sumatra, the 150-year-old peanut is expected to grow to a height of about 1.8 meters, making it the largest flower in the world. Amorphophallus Titanum has a root similar to a potato. By the time the corolla is unfurled, the reddish-purple flowers will remain open for several days, and the stench of corpses will increase dramatically. When the flowers fall off, the plant goes into hibernation again. Its smell, like stinky socks or rotting carcasses, is meant to attract pollination from flies and carrion-eating beetles. It was very showy, but this strangely beautiful flower did indeed grow on our planet, and still exists in the world.

Amorphophallus Titanum Picture

Characteristics of Amorphophallus Titanum

A distant ancestor of the Amorphophallus Titanum, now thousands of years old, the flower, with its alluring color and eerie scent, created a series of illusion traps to lure people to their deaths. The "Amorphophallus Titanum" is said to be the evil spirit that guarded Solomon's treasure.

Distribution of Amorphophallus Titanum

Amorphophallus Titanum is found in Asian rainforests. Amorphophallus titanum has the value of gardening and ornamental.

Where to Grow Amorphophallus Titanum? 

Amorphophallus Titanum is a tropical rainforest plant...so most people will have to grow it in a container. The retail-size plants that we sell are 1-2 yr old seedlings that will grow to about 24 inches tall in their first year. So you should start with a 6" or 8" container. As the tuber gets larger, you should up-pot it (be careful not to bruise or nick the tuber during transplanting or else it could rot). Re-potting is best done while the plant is in its resting period and the new container should be 2.5x wider than the tuber. The tuber should be planted deep enough in the pot (1" deep for small tubers up to 15" deep for giant ones) so that roots that form on the top of the tuber are well covered with potting mix. Eventually, after 5-10 years you will have a 30-300 pound tuber that should be grown in a half-barrel or even larger pot. You will eventually need a greenhouse, conservatory, or sunroom with a 10'-30' ceiling to allow enough space for mature growth. The pot should be kept off the floor a few inches to prevent nematodes, fungus, bacteria or other pests from entering via the bottom of the pot. 

How to Care for Amorphophallus Titanum

Amorphophallus Titanum Soil Care

There are a lot of conversations on the net with unique soil recipes and care protocols that you 'must use' to hold your Corpse flower alive. Most of these recipes and protocols are vastly over complicated. Here at Plant Delights Nursery, we develop heaps of Amorphophallus Titanum each and every year, so we clearly comprehend how to develop them, and it is a lot easier method than many make it out to be.

The potting combine wants to be properly draining with a lot of natural cloth in it with a pH in the mid to top 6s. We use a commercial, bark-based, nursery mix. You can create your personal best corpse flower soil with an exceptional save-bought, properly draining pine bark/peat-based totally soil mix. It's that simple! No specific measuring needed...no lengthy listing of hard-to-find ingredients, no layering of materials...just use something you can get at your neighborhood backyard center...as long as it is properly drained. After the plant goes into its resting period, each and every 6 to 24 months, repot the tuber into clean potting combine into a large container. Take care no longer to go away the tuber uncovered for very lengthy at some stage in repotting as it will now not tolerate drying out.

Amorphophallus Titanum Light Requirements

Amorphophallus Titanum is a rainforest understory plant, so color to partial color is needed. Bright oblique mild is best. In full solar, the foliage will burn.

Amorphophallus Titanum Watering

During lively growth, display the moisture day by day however water solely if it feels too dry. Try to maintain the potting combine constantly moist, but now not soppy moist or bone dry. When the plant is in its resting period, reduce returned on the watering however do no longer let the soil dry out...it ought to be like a well-wrung sponge...just barely moist to the touch. We use the finger check right here at Plant Delights Nursery...we stick our finger into the potting combine about 1.5 inches down and if our finger feels cool or moist, then we do not want to water. Signs that you are maintaining your Amorphophallus Titanum too dry consist of a drooping leaf or a leaf with brown edges or a plant that enters a dormant section after simply a few months. Note that when the tuber receives large, the potting soil below it will have a tendency to continue to be too dry except you wholly soak the pot when you water.

Amorphophallus Titanum Fertilizer Care

When the leaf is first increasing you can fertilize with liquid fertilizer as soon as per week (at the dose endorsed on the package), and when the leaf is completely developed, fertilize with an excessive-quality, gradual launch fertilizer. No need to feed your amorphophallus titanum in the course of its resting period.

Amorphophallus Titanum Temperature Care

Amorphophallus Titanum will be pressured into a resting duration if uncovered to cool temperatures. And extended bloodless temperatures (below 45F) will kill the plant. To promote an increase for the longest length of time, the daylight temperatures must be around 80-90F and the nighttime temperatures need to be around 75F. As the climate cools in the fall, pass your titan arum indoors. The indoor air has to have 80-90% humidity and 75-80F, so mist it or run a humidifier. Also, it is essential to have precise airflow, so have a fan close by to maintain the air circulating. This helps to limit manageable foliar illnesses that ought to go systemic and rot the tuber.

How to Propagate Amorphophallus Titanum?

If you cannot wait for seeds, then you have a few other options. 1-2' sections of leaf taken from the outside edge of the leaf and include a y-shaped vein can be rooted after dipping the base in rooting hormone and keeping it in a humid chamber for around 9 months. From these cuttings, a tuber will develop under the potting soil and new leaves will start to grow from that tuber.