Paradise Distributors (Nambour)

People, have you seen this website: http://www.paraplants.com

Fragrance fiends--they have Aglaia odorata. And Portlandia. I'm speechless ...

CESTRUM

Did you buy them????????


Aglaia odorata NICE
http://toptropicals.com/catalog/uid/aglaia_odorata.htm

Portlandia NICE AS WELL
http://toptropicals.com/catalog/uid/portlandia_grandiflora.htm

[quote="MyaC"]CESTRUM

Did you buy them????????

ROTFL

Cestrum it won't let me look. Whaaaa! Colleen

Colleen, I've just clicked on the link and was taken to the website. Perhaps it was just too busy when you tried? They're a Qld nursery, so freight to Qld addresses is $12 regardless of quantity. Which compares well with the postage price of just one plant when sent by Aust Post, not to mention ebay.

Aglaia is a bargain at that price. I've read about it on various forums for ages, but could never find a supplier in Australia. (Or even buy any seeds from o/s.) Today I saw an ebay seller offering one aglaia plant: *starting* bid of $15 plus $15 postage. I hate to think of what the finishing bid will be! But it made me wonder where *they* had gotten their plant from. My friend Google led me to the above website and at first I thought it was an overseas nursery--could not believe my eyes!

Ditto for portlandia, although I've *never* see that for sale on ebay. Or anywhere in Australia ...

You are naughty cestrum ^_^

Love that site but now it will all be sold out.
Coming back for a better look after.
Love the edibles!
The frilly Brug was interesting too.

Naughty? Why? I'm only sharing ...
You won't know if they're out of stock unless you check. I don't know how many people have read this thread; how many of those have visited the website; and how many of those have actually bought something. So no need to feel despondent yet!
BTW, I saw that they also had Brisbane lilies, which I think you were asking about at some stage. I have one tiny seedling sown from one precious seed that a friend gave to me (I think she got two in total). And the edibles are interesting, but the brug was the least interesting, I thought, given the range this little group here is growing. They also have the SILK CREPE FLOWER (VAD) Dalechampia aristolochiifolia, which Mya posted a photo of on the other website. Plus the frangipani vine, the chocolate lily ... I could go on and on, but won't :-)

Yes I mean't the Brugmansia was interesting only because I don't know of one called "frilly".
Going in to have a drool tonight after I finish things here.
I think it is wonderful to have an Australian source of exotica.

You sometimes feel like a kid with the nose pressed up against the window pane when you venture into the unknown overseas places.
This isn't a place that is always out of stock is it?
I was on a waiting list for over a year once.

I've bought from this place many a dozen exotics....if you are after anything specific, they are sure to get it for you or tell you where you can get it from......I've never had a problem with this nursery and they send out very healthy plants.They also send out a great catalogue........

Thanks Mya wonderful!

Maybe they will get my Bat plant for me..I will ask....there is one on the home page but none in the catalogue.
thanks cestrum and Mya

Diane that 's where I got my Bat plant from

Mya, which one do you have?.........it might be a bit cool here, but I want to try it anyway.....

Need you ask (I can hear Cestrum saying) .....

I have the Black,White and the Green

There's a green?? Thank goodness they're not scented! LOL

I am waiting on a reply from Paraplants re Bat plant...

I didn't know there was a Green one either...so I looked here
http://www.tandmworldwide.com/seeds1/product/4683/1.html
Mind you I wouldn't try the seeds, too cold here.


cestrum, did you weaken and buy the Aglaia or the Portlandia?

Weaken? I leapt at the chance LOL

What about Ann at El Arish Tropicals? Dianne she might have the bat plants. Colleen

I don't know if Ann has the Bat Plant she may get it in for you.
Meanwhile look at this!
http://www.elarishtropicalexotics.com/Plant-Profile.aspx?Plant=147&Group=13
This link explains how they are used and the taste ...whay I like is the pretty natural green colouring it gives to various dishes.

http://www.thaifoodandtravel.com/ingredients/pandan.html
I have had delicious Pandanus flavoured tofu pudding.

I think I want one of these ^_^

Thanks Colleen, I hadn't noticed Bat Plants at El Arish.......Paraplants will have some in January.....very prompt reply..I like that.

I was tossing up with the Aglaia, glad you got yours, cestrum

I've been gone from here for a while ... sort of got distracted and forgot all about Daves for a while. Hi all! :)

Sea changer, while your climate might generally be a bit cool for them, you can keep them alive during winter indoors if you can provide some humidity to replace the moisture that airconditioning and other heating takes from the air. I think the mistake that most make is to keep them too moist.

Last count I had 4 different green ones, and was thrilled this morning to discover that my Aust native one has a flower bud.

Pam

I bought a White BAt plant from Paradise plants about 3 years ago. Cost $30! it already had fungal spots when delivered, and when I queried it, they sold me a tea tree product, which was totally inneffective, and subsequently I watched it die. Then I bought a Snake lily bulb, supposedly three years old, which is when they are supposed to flower, but it produced a small leaf and then finally flowered threee years later. I'm not thrilled with the products I received, but maybe thats just my luck. I'm afraid I go elsewhere for plants these days. Our local plant fairs often have flowering Bat Plants, (black and white) for around the same money. I have yet to see a green one though.

>Then I bought a Snake lily bulb, supposedly three years old, which is when they are supposed to flower, but it produced a small leaf and then finally flowered threee years later.

I've found them to be quite contrary when it comes to flowering.

This one's Tacca Palmata, Sue, from Asia. It flowers just near the centre of the leaf ...... tiny pic sorry, it must have been cropped.

The native one will flower in the next couple of days by the look of it, so will get a pic and post when it does.

Thanks Pam, I can make out the flower just. I could give it a google and see what I get. What colour does the native one flower? My black one always has flowers that hang down, but I have seen other black ones that are upright. Not sure what thats all about.
My Snake lilys have multiplied rapidly from the little bulb that grows on the leaves, so I've been collecting them to grow on. I have found a couple growing quite a long way from the original though, and am stumped as to how they got there. I have to admit, I wasn't thrilled with the flower, and think the large leaves with the snakeskin stems are the main attraction. I saw some huge ones up at jacobs Well, at Genny and John Catlans. I hope mine grow that big.
Sue

>What colour does the native one flower?

Green. :)

>My black one always has flowers that hang down,

I think I'd be inclined to give it a dose of potash.. It certainly couldn't hurt. Also, I came accross a 'display only' plant at a nursery a while ago that was absolutely smothered in flowers. They told me they use miracle grow. It's certainly not ideal on a long term basis, but if it produces 17 flowers on a plant in an 8 inch pot, certainly worth considering during the flowering season.

I tend to get too busy and/or forgetful to do anything that needs weekly or fortnightly feeding, though.

While trying to locate a pic of that plant, I did find a better one of the tacca palmata for you Sue

This message was edited Dec 25, 2010 9:41 PM

so Pam, the leaves on that one are lobed? Thanks for that picture, much easier to see. reckon I could have made that one out even without my glasses! he he.
Guess I wasn't following the conversation about green flowering Bat plants very well. *blush*
I can't say I've done much feeding with my bat plant, except a dose of nutricote in spring. I know a lady who says she ignored her white one, and this year its flowering for the first time. Little does she know I put in a dose of Nutricote in september, aswell as topping up the soil level with garden compost. I don't know if that did it, but you couldn't say it was ignored. I think, like most things, position is a factor too.
Anyway, can't sit here on my fat bum all day. better get moving.
Have a great day
Sue

It was your treatment that made her plant flower Sue. I can assure you from experience that neglect definitely doesn't work with these.

Pam, it's been interesting following the discussion between yourself and Sue re Taccas.....
My bathroom is very light and I grow my Phalaenopsis in there quite successfully...
Do you think that a Tacca would be happy there in Winter?

It should be fine seachanger. The nain thing you'd need to be careful of is drying the air out too much if you have a heater in there. In a cooler cliinate you'd probably only water a couple of times during the cooler months, only when it was just starting to wilt, otherwise it will rot. They're well worth a little extra trouble though if you can provide suitable conditions for them.

I thought I was supposed to keep the black one dry over winter, but it started to wilt, so i found it still liked to be moist, but we didn't have all that many cold days, and definitley no frost. The lady I was referring to had hers outside in a courtyard that was protected from the sun by shade sails. I don't know what the UV rating would have been, but there would be no cold wind and no direct sun, and it was a slightly damp area too.

When it starts to wilt Sue is the only time to water it during Winter. Even here is SE Qld it is the only time I water mine in the cool months. They like lots of water during the heat and very little diring the cool.

Thanks Pam and Sue...I will get one when I can....

The native Tacca here can get inflorescences well over 2 metres tall. They only seem to get that tall when they grow in shade, good organic soil and well watered. More exposed in poorer soils they might only get to about 0.75 metres.

Edited to add what I forgot first up. The stem you can just make out contrasted against Billy's back (right side) is the Tacca inflorescence. If you follow it up to the top of the photo you can just make out the flowers. It's hard to get a clear photo of the inflorescence against that background, but you should be able to see how tall they get. Billy is just under 2 metres tall, but with that daggy hat he's over 2 metres.

This message was edited Dec 31, 2010 3:13 PM

But the flower bracts are small and green with some black.

There's a lot of variation in the leaflets. Some are very broad, these seem to have the tallest inflorescences.

Some are narrower, and easily mistaken for Amorphophallus galbra.

They all seed prolifically and come up everywhere, regardless of soil quality or exposure. During the dry season (winter) they're completely dormant.

Nice pic of the flower, Tropicbreeze. :) If mine sets any seed I'll be happy, as this is the first time it has flowered for me.

Anyone have Aglaia odorata for sale or know of any?
Rare as rocking horse poo it seems

I'm just North of Brisbane
Roy