Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Rumble Among the Jungle, Matches 1.25-1.28

Rules and Stuff
1) It's probably possible to vote more than once per poll, but please don't. If I believe that someone is voting repeatedly, I will throw out those results, repost the poll, and seriously question that person's priorities.
2) If you want to link to a poll on Twitter / Facebook / your blog / whatever and encourage your friends to come and pump up the support for your favorite plants, you are encouraged to do so.
3) You are also encouraged to leave comments on Rumble posts, if so moved.
4) All photos will enlarge if opened in a separate window/tab.
5) You can choose which plant is "best" according to whatever criteria you decide for yourself. My personal process is a bit convoluted.1
6) All polls will be open for three days.


Match results, 1.9-1.12
In match 1.9, Dracaena reflexa cvv. walloped Hylocereus/Gymnocalycium grafts by the staggering margin of 80 to 24. This is not altogether surprising, though it does mean that RATJ voters are probably not a representative sample of the plant-buying public, since the public can't seem to get enough of them.
In the less-dramatic match 1.10, Asparagus spp. were victorious over Cissus rhombifolia cvv. by the respectable 62 to 34. I'd figured it would be closer than that.

Dracaena reflexa cvv. and Asparagus spp. will go up against one another on October 8, in match 2.5.

Match 1.11 had me mildly terrified before it went up, just because at that point many of my picks weren't doing well, and I very much did not want to see poinsettias beat Chinese evergreens. I needn't have worried, as it turned out -- Aglaonema cvv. delivered Euphorbia pulcherrima the Christmas present of a hard-core ass-kicking, with a score of 82 to 21. That's the most one-sided any match has been so far, though match 1.18 (Monstera deliciosa vs. Musa/Ensete cvv.) is running 85%-15% in favor of Monstera as I write this, and I'll be surprised if today's match 1.28, down the page here, doesn't wind up being even more lopsided than that.
In match 1.12, Oxalis triangularis cvv. narrowly edged out Jasminum spp., 57 to 45. I voted for Oxalis, but figured I'd be the only one to do so, and am completely at a loss to explain what the hell happened there. I thought everybody loved jasmine.

So, Aglaonema cvv. opposes Oxalis triangularis cvv. next, in match 2.6.

Now for today's matches:

Match 1.25
Stromanthe sanguinea cvv. vs. Platycerium spp. (staghorn fern)

Upper left and lower right: Stromanthe sanguinea 'Magicstar.'
Lower left and upper right: Stromanthe sanguinea 'Triostar.'


(Unidentified Platycerium spp.)






Match 1.26
Hypoestes phyllostachya cvv. (polka-dot plant) vs. Gynura aurantiaca (purple passion plant)

(Various unidentified Hypoestes phyllostachya cultivars.)


(All Gynura aurantiaca.)






Match 1.27
Aloe vera (medicinal aloe, burn plant) vs. Gymnocalycium spp.

(Top: young Aloe vera. Bottom: mature A. vera.)


(Top: Gymnocalycium NOID. Bottom: G. baldianum.)






Match 1.28
Dracaena surculosa (gold-dust dracaena) vs. Schlumbergera cvv. (holiday/Thanksgiving/Christmas cactus)

(Dracaena surculosa cv.)


Center and top left: Schlumbergera 'Caribbean Dancer;' others are NOID.






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1 I'm deciding according to a hypothetical situation in which all of my houseplants are gone, as are all the other houseplants of the world, except for one producer/supplier/retailer. Said person is offering to restock me with one or the other of the plants in question but refuses to give me both. Which one would I choose?


8 comments:

Pat said...

Jasmine went down to a weed???? Jasmine transports me with its perfume. Oxalis makes me want to buy a flamethrower.

Kenneth Moore said...

Loved the "Christmas present of a hard-core ass-kicking"!

Also, this one is tough on other levels than some of the matches have been. I have to say, it's more a game of "which wouldn't I want to grow more" rather than which one I think is better for some of these!

mr_subjunctive said...

Pat:

Well, Oxalis stricta is a weed, but I haven't heard of anybody having trouble with O. triangularis. I still don't quite understand the votes, though. I voted for Oxalis mostly because the Jasminums at the garden center were impossible to please and almost always had spider mites.

Kenneth Moore:

Some of them are definitely tougher decisions than others, it's true.

Emily said...

If my anecdatum helps, I voted for Oxalis because I'm not that aesthetically turned on by Jasmine and although I gather they smell nice, I was born without the sense of smell so it can't curry favor that way.

Sentient Meat said...

Plenty of Oxalis species are not weeds, but desirable bulbs.

Ivynettle said...

Jasmine is nice, but fussy. Oxalis is maybe not quite as nice, but pretty uncomplicated.

Anyway, no matter who wins the tournament, you're definitely a winner, namely of the "Versatile Blogger Award" ;)
http://ivynettle.wordpress.com/2011/09/28/an-award-for-me/

Pat said...

No Oxalis is a desirable bulb to me and all in the house are weeds in the sense of being a plant in the wrong place. Oxalis acetosella in a shrubbery is fine

Long Haired Lady Rider said...

"Aglaonema cvv. delivered Euphorbia pulcherrima the Christmas present of a hard-core ass-kicking, with a score of 82 to 21."

That's because poinsettias suck and everyone knows it.
~~~~~~~~~~~
I like oxalis. I have several. They're nice plants. Back off, oxalis haters.
~~~~~~~~~~~
Polka-dot plant versus that fuzzy purple one? Really? Really? Who cares? The arena was probably half-empty for that deathmatch.
~~~~~~~~~~~
I do love Dracena surculosa, even though I don't have one right now. And I love me some Schlumbergera's, even though they have yet to survive long enough in my care to re-bloom. That was a tough match-up.

You would think that randomly-generated first round matches wouldn't be so all-or-nothing.