Dracunculus mysteries

[emma T]

I grow the white form of Dracunculus vulgaris from seed collected by John Fielding in Kamares Crete. It is planted in a sunny border and clearly survived last winters low temperatures as it is in flower now, I dont think it smells quite as bad as the regular form.

Wow thats fantastic. How would one go about getting hold of a plant /or a seed ? I have been on the look out for this plant for a good few years. Thank you for shareing the picture 

[Brian Ellis]

Yes I'd love to grow that one too Emma, and Dracunculus muscivorus (as seen at an AGS show)

[Pascal B]

Brian, the plant on your picture is placed in a separate genus: Helicodiceros muscivorus. Dracunculus only consists of Dracunculus canariensis and D. vulgaris.

[Brian Ellis]

Thanks for that information Pascal, I shall have to look Helicodiceros  up.

[rob krejzl]

I grow the white form of Dracunculus vulgaris from seed collected by John Fielding in Kamares Crete. It is planted in a sunny border and clearly survived last winters low temperatures as it is in flower now, I dont think it smells quite as bad as the regular form.

Wow thats fantastic. How would one go about getting hold of a plant /or a seed ? I have been on the look out for this plant for a good few years. Thank you for shareing the picture  Grin

Look here: http://hillviewrareplants.com./catalogue/Seed_List.html

Last year's list, but you may be lucky.

[kiwi]

Sorry about the quality of these photos - they are scanned from prints back in 2004 and 2005.

The Spadix was a golden - creamy colour. Is this a commen occurrence? I have not seen it before.

Possible hybrid between D vulgaris and D canariensis?

The flowering bulb rotted the following winter, but I saved off sets that have not yet flowered for me.
Fingers crossed for next season.

[Lesley Cox]

I grow the white form of Dracunculus vulgaris from seed collected by John Fielding in Kamares Crete. It is planted in a sunny border and clearly survived last winters low temperatures as it is in flower now, I dont think it smells quite as bad as the regular form.

Wow thats fantastic. How would one go about getting hold of a plant /or a seed ? I have been on the look out for this plant for a good few years. Thank you for shareing the picture  Grin

Look here: http://hillviewrareplants.com./catalogue/Seed_List.html

Last year's list, but you may be lucky.

My Golly, I'd forgotten all about that. I actually have a pot of seed in my tunnel, sown last October. I'm sowing too many seeds when I forget such things.

[rob krejzl]

Possible hybrid between D vulgaris and D canariensis?

Seems unlikely. If you go here (http://www.aroid.org/genera/generapage.php?genus=dracunculus) you'll note that the pale forms are suggested to be sports, morphologically indistinguishable from normal vulgaris.

[anita]

My Dracunculus vulgaris, white form, seedlings from Marcus Harvey are coming up! Now I've just got to be patient for a couple more years! Anita

[Lesley Cox]

Maybe mine will be soon then, though I suspect we're a bit cooler then you are Anita. 8C outside at present, though sunny.

[anita]

My Dracunculus vulgaris tubers are up in the garden. But as plants do they've surprised me. I started this thread because I was puzzled that D canariensis was coming up metres away from the parent plants in contrast to the behaviour of D. vulgaris which had never done so. So this year the D. vulgaris has come up metres away from the parent plants... and I definitely didn't allow it to seed. I didn't want more plants in that location, as last year when it flowered we could smell what we thought were dead animals in the garden while we were in the swimming pool. So I cut off the spathes after flowering. Interestingly with a return to a more normal cold (for Adelaide down to 3-4 C) and wet winter after several years of drought the D. canariensis which emerges months earlier than D. canariensis has succumbed to frost in unprotected areas. Anita

[Paul T]

Anita,

From the way it grows in the pots I have it in, the Drac canariensis is almost certainly stoloniferous for me, with tubers situated at the edges of the bottom of the pot.  Not sure about the dying out after flowering bit for the mature tubers though.

I just love the look of the white vulgaris..... not attempting from seed though at present.  Maybe one day. 

Helicodicerus muscivorus does well for me, but due to neglect has not flowered for me for a few years.  Offsets freely, with quite small "mail-able" offsets when dormant, Brian! 

[Martin Tversted]

I didnt even know there was a white form. I can feel that I need that one as well...
I have been growing the normal form of vulgaris since 1995. Coldest winter around -20C but my soil has always been very well drained. Longest spathe on record here is 75cm. The species is certainly hardy and can flower even here in Denmark, Scandinavia.,

Martin

[Ezeiza]

Martin, that info is certainly useful.