Amorphophallus Titanum Flowering

Amorphophallus titanum flowerings at Juniper Level Botanic Garden

We have officially flowered two Amorphophallus titanums at JLBG, but we unofficially count a third. 

In 2006, we got a call from a visibly upset friend, Dr. Larry Mellichamp, who shared that the heat in the conservatory at UNC Charlotte had gone out, and many plants were killed, including his old Amorphophallus titanum. Larry had been very generous to us through the years, and to show our gratitude, we gifted him our largest specimen as a replacement. Sure enough, it went on to flower the next year (2007), and was named A. 'Bella'. 

It would be over a decade before we would have another large enough to flower. Finally on July 6, 2018, it was our time to experience our first inflorescence on a plant we named A. titanum 'Peter Grande'.  The 77" tall inflorescence began developing in early June and began to open on July 6, 2018. It was fascinting to have the largest (A. titanum), and smallest (A. ongsakulii, both flowering at the same time. Plantsman Alan Galloway attempted to pollinate it for us, but the seed stalk aborted, causing rot, which killed the entire plant, so it was back to square one.

On June 30, 2023, we birthed another inflorescense (71") on a new cultivar A. titanum 'Homo Erectus'. This was a plant that we re-inherited from the late Alan Galloway, who had purchased it from us years earlier. 

Read more about our flowering and the Titan Arum in general in this article. We have also compiled a list of known Amorphophallus titanum flowerings in cultivation.