Rumble Among the Jungle, Match 4.2

Results for matches 3.11 and 3.12:

In match 3.11, the Oncidium gang (Oncidium alliance orchids) took down Beaucarnea "The Orchid Killer" recurvata by 62 to 49, possibly to avenge the Dendrobiums defeated in the previous round by Beaucarnea.

Sansevieria trifasciata took out Dracaena deremensis cvv. in match 3.12, by 68 to 37.

Match 3.12 was going to suck for me either way it went. Much like today's match, actually. . . .

Match 4.2
Aglaonema cvv. (Chinese evergreen) vs. Philodendron hederaceum cvv. (heart-leaf philodendron)

Clockwise from top left: Aglaonema 'Emerald Bay,' 'Brilliant,' 'Mystic Marble,' 'Sparkling Sarah.'

Clockwise from top left: Philodendron hederaceum 'Brasil,' P. hederaceum micans, NOID, P. hederaceum 'Aureum' or something similar, species, P. hederaceum 'Frilly Philly.'

New Plants

The lead-ban post continues to kick my ass behind the scenes. I know way more about lead, environmental science, hunting, fishing, and wildlife management than I did two weeks ago, but the learning curve has been steep, and I'm still not quite there yet. I'm hopeful that I will be able to post it tomorrow, though.

In the meantime, please enjoy these plants, which I've gotten since the last New Plants post:

Aglaonema 'Sapphire Suzanne.' Ace Hardware. $18.
I'd originally dismissed 'Sapphire Suzanne' as being the plainest of the "Jazzed Gem" series of Aglaonemas, but I ran into one that was unusually cheap (The same plant would have been $32 at the ex-job, and this is the only other place I've ever seen one.), and decided it was still a nice plant, and worth buying. I've had it about four weeks, and it's behaved itself so far.

Agave lophantha 'Quadricolor.' (Was tagged 'QuadrAcolor,' but Google calls that a misspelling.) Ace Hardware. $4.50.
I've seen this cultivar for sale a few times, but always more expensive and usually larger specimens. I had pretty much given up on getting one (and anyway I have two of the species to deal with, which are getting ever-larger and pointier, so I hardly needed another), but I couldn't pass up $4.50, especially since I know from the experience with the other specimens that it's likely to do well for me indoors.

Excoecaria cochinchinensis. Ace Hardware. $5.
This plant is relatively new to the area -- I don't think I'd seen them for sale prior to last spring -- and I initially had zero interest in it on the grounds that it was being sold as a "Chinese croton." I don't need any kind of croton, no matter what language it speaks, was my thinking, and it really did look a lot like one, particularly the cultivar Codiaeum variegatum 'Andrew,' which has the same bumpy leaves and marginal variegation but lacks the red underside.

But then a reader who'd just bought an Excoecaria e-mailed me to ask if I knew anything about them, and in the course of looking that up, I discovered that it was in fact not a croton. (Also not a Ficus, even though the tag on the e-mailer's plant said it was an "Exciting new Ficus Variety!") So I was like, well, maaaaaaybe, if I find one really cheap somewhere. And then I ran into the davesgarden.com page for it, where one commenter (of only two) said that s/he'd never seen any insect or mite activity on his/r plant.

I also found information that a different Excoecaria species is known as "blind-your-eye," which sounded a bit ominous, but I have so many Euphorbias already that poisonous sap is almost as much motivation to buy the plant as to not. (Excoecaria, like Euphorbias and Codiaeum, is in the Euphorbia family.)

So when I saw the above plant, tagged $5.99 but during a 20% off sale, I thought, sure, what the hell, and I bought it. The next day, when I went to take the above photo, I noticed what looked like spider mites on the underside of some of the leaves and felt a chill go through me. This may not mean anything: spider mites will sometimes live opportunistically on plants they don't especially like if they can't find anything better, and it's not like it was the cleanest plant area in the world. Maybe the mites wandered over from something else and were all, "What a dump! But we can't afford to move, so. . . ." Or perhaps I'm being uncharacteristically hopeful.

I've since realized that the davesgarden.com commenter hails from Garland TX and may well keep the plant outdoors for most of the year, in which case his/r spider mite experiences are not really relevant to my situation at all and I might have been better served going with my initial "It's a croton? Then I don't want it" impulse. I'll have to keep you posted.

Or maybe you'll have to keep me posted: anybody else have any experience with this plant, for good or ill?

Rumble Among the Jungle, Match 4.1

Since we're more than a month into the RATJ now, I'm going to just assume everybody has read the rules instead of copying and pasting them into the posts over and over.

Final numbers for matches 3.9 and 3.10:

In match 3.9, Spathiphyllum surprises me once again, by defeating a plant I see as obviously superior. This is apparently going to be a thing with me and Spathiphyllum. The margin of victory was slim: Spathiphyllum beat Aeschynanthus spp. by 62 to 54.

The first poll for match 3.10 was glitchy, for unknown reasons, so some people couldn't vote in it. I replaced it with a new poll that worked properly, but there were then two sets of votes to count. The glitchy poll gave Echeveria et al. 14 votes and Chlorophytum comosum 7; when added to the results of the more functional poll (43 and 49, respectively), we get Echeveria et al. winning over Chlorophytum comosum by 57 to 56. This is perhaps close enough to warrant a do-over, but that would screw up the posting schedule, so I'm not gonna.

As we are now in round 4, I'm slowing down the votes yet again and only posting one match per day. Partly, this is because it's more dramatic this way (after three rounds of selection, the plants that have gotten here ought to be pretty good fighters), but also I have to: now that we're down to a small fraction of the original field, the three-day wait for the final tallies means that about half of round 3 is still collecting votes while we begin round 4. (By round 6, the semifinals, I'll have to start skipping days between matches.)

Match 4.1
Clivia miniata cvv. vs. Saintpaulia cvv. (African violet)

Top: Clivia miniata. (Picture by Guérin Nicolas at Wikimedia Commons.) Bottom: NOID cv.

Saintpaulia cvv.
Top row, L-R: NOID, assorted NOIDs, NOID.
Middle row, L-R: NOID, NOID, NOID.
Bottom row, L-R: 'Harmony's Red Star,' 'Mellow Magic' close-up, NOID.

Rumble Among the Jungle, Matches 3.15 and 3.16

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.

Results of matches 3.7 and 3.8:

In match 3.7, Schlumbergera cvv. stomped Platycerium spp. pretty hard (73 to 32), which is more or less what I expected to happen.

Match 3.8 was surprising only in how close it was -- I wasn't sure which plant I expected people to prefer (and personally had a hard time choosing), but I figured most of the votes would come down on one side or the other. Though basically tied for the first couple days, Hibiscus rosa-sinensis pulled ahead in the last half of the competition, and defeated Cordyline fruticosa 56 to 49.

Today's matches:

Match 3.15
Aeonium spp. vs. Tillandsia spp. (air plants)

Clockwise from top: Aeonium 'Kiwi,' 'Irish Bouquet,' A. arboreum atropurpureum 'Zwartkop.'

Left side, top to bottom: Tillandsia xerographica, T. capitata 'Peach.'
Center, top to bottom: NOID, NOID, T. ionantha 'Druid.'
Right side, top to bottom: NOID, T. abdita Mexican form.





Match 3.16
Agave spp. vs. Calathea spp./cvv.

Clockwise from top left: Agave victoriae-reginae, A. americana medio-picta alba, NOID (maybe A. desmettiana?), A. marmorata.

Clockwise from top left: Calathea ornata, C. roseo-picta 'Medallion' (?), C. makoyana, C. insignis, C. zebrina.





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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?

Saturday morning Sheba and/or Nina picture

(New toy.)

Rumble Among the Jungle, Matches 3.13 and 3.14

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.

The results of matches 3.5 and 3.6:

Never really thought that Araucaria heterophylla had a chance at taking down Phalaenopsis / Doritaenopsis cvv. in match 3.5, so its loss (40 to 73) wasn't much of a shock, though it's still sad. To me. (I'm a little sentimental about Araucaria because one of my oldest plants is one.)

Hoya carnosa cvv. beat Cereus peruvianus in match 3.6, which is likewise not much of a shock. The final score: 67 to 44.

Phalaenopsis and Hoya carnosa will compete against one another on 25 October in match 4.3.

And now, the matches du jour:

Match 3.13
Adenium obesum (desert rose) vs. Haworthia spp.

(Various unidentified Adenium obesum cvv.)

Top row, L-R: Haworthia tessellata (?), H. NOID.
Middle row, L-R: Haworthia limifolia var. ubomboensis, H. cymbiformis (?), assortment.
Bottom row, L-R: Haworthia attenuata, H. limifolia var. limifolia.





Match 3.14 (the Pi Match!)
Cycas revoluta (sago palm) vs. Self-heading Philodendrons ('Autumn,' 'Prince of Orange,' 'Moonlight')

(Top: older Cycas revoluta. Bottom: young C. revoluta.)

Clockwise from top left: Philodendron 'Prince of Orange,' 'Moonlight,' 'Autumn,' 'Prince of Orange,' 'Moonlight.'





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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?

Pretty picture: Paphiopedilum Hampshire White Light

Okay, well, the lead-ban post is going to be Sunday, I guess. I hope. However, this is a pretty awesome Paphiopedilum, I think:


It's a little strange that I think so, because this paph has most of the characteristics I find boring in Phalaenopsis (light color; rounded, flattish petals/sepals). But somehow what's tedious in a phal is awesome in a paph.

That would probably work the other way around, too. I'd love to see the Phalaenopsis version of this paph, for example. Or this one.

Ancestry: Paphiopedilum Hampshire White Light is the offspring of Paph. Shapelight x Paph. Skip Bartlett.

Rumble Among the Jungle, Matches 3.11 and 3.12

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.

Results from matches 3.3 and 3.4:

Breathing a sigh of relief over match 3.3. It's not that I thought Dracaena reflexa cvv. would defeat Aglaonema cvv., but y'all sometimes do things I don't expect, so I've learned to worry anyway. Aglaonema advances to the fourth round by a vote of 64 to 37.

I liked both plants in match 3.4 and really wanted to see them both do well, so it was difficult to decide, but in the end I went along with most of the rest of you and chose Philodendron hederaceum cvv. over Strelitzia nicolai / reginae. The final score was 63 to 42.

Aglaonema cvv. and Philodendron hederaceum cvv. vie for a fifth-round spot on 24 October, in match 4.2. And if I thought I was anxious about 3.3 and 3.4, I'm going to be nearly catatonic with worry over 4.2.

Today's matches:

Match 3.11
Beaucarnea recurvata (ponytail palm) vs. Oncidium alliance orchids (dancing ladies)

(Bottom left: Beaucarnea recurvata variegata. Others: B. recurvata.)

Left side, top to bottom: Beallara Marfitch 'Howard's Dream,' Oncidium Tsiku Marguerite 'NN #1.'
Center, top to bottom: Vuylstekeara Aloha Sparks 'Ruby Eyes,' Odontocidium Tiger Crow 'Golden Girl,' Wilsonara Lisa Devos.
Right side, top to bottom: Oncidium Saint Dawn Gold, Bakerara Truth 'Silver Chalice.'





Match 3.12
Dracaena deremensis cvv. vs. Sansevieria trifasciata cvv. (snake plant)

Clockwise from top left: Dracaena deremensis ''Lemon-Lime,' 'Warneckei' or similar, 'Dorado,' 'Malaika,' 'Janet Craig Compacta.'

Top row, L-R: Sansevieria trifasciata 'Black Coral,' 'Laurentii,' 'Bantel's Sensation.'
Center row, L-R: S. trifasciata NOID, 'Hahnii,' 'Hahnii Pearl Young.'
Bottom row, L-R: S. trifasciata 'Moonglow,' 'Black Gold.'





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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?