Understanding the plants I purchased
Recently I bought three baby plants for my new and empty apartment. I'm very cautious of keeping plants if I know I will be moving (for good) in a year or two. But this time, I think I kind of have to stay in here for quite some years.
Yes I lamely purchased some plants online, but I'm fine with it. Something bothers me more is my lack of knowledge in plants in general, and I decide to work on it by studying my new plants.
The plants are:
- Philodendron Sun Red
- Philodendron Ring of Fire
- Alocasia Bambino
Philodendron (蔓绿绒) is a genus of the family Araceae (天南星科). It is the second biggest genus, while the largest one is Anthurium (红掌属). Interesting, because my grandma had Anthurium flower, but I would never relate it with the foilage-centered philodendron. I guess the leaves can look similar. Both philodendrons I bought are non-climbing, while some other types can be vining. At my parents' place and my previous apartment in NYC, we had pothos, which sometimes can be mixed and confused with philodendron.
About the variants Sun Red and Ring of Fire. My favorite is the ring of fire,it looked so healthy when arrived and a big new leaf just uncurled in two days. It is native to South America and enjoys humid warm environment. On the other hand, the Sun Red is completely invented, or it was part of a series of hybridization by Robert H. McColley in Florida, in the 1960s. Similar hybrids include Philodendron Prince of Orange, Imeprial Red, and McColley's Finale (sounds like some badass artifact from a film). They all have the red color to their foliage.They color would change from red to chestnut and finally deep green as the plant matures. So the new leaves are always red. Super cool. I came across a post someone about the difference between these variants, and apparently the Sun Red is a more recent one and more common in Australia.
Alocasia Bambino Arrow (小仙女海芋) is also under the family of Araceae. Its name in Chinese is "little fairy". I remember I got something that looked similar but with thinner leaves a few years ago for my mom. But it didn't survive and the leaves all became soggy in the end.The Alocasia Bambino is another cultivated plant, a hybrid between Alocasia x amazonica 'Bambino' Elephant Ear. There is another plant named Alocasia × amazonica 'Polly'(大仙女海芋)，which in Chinese is "big fairy". They look basically the same except for the sizes.
Okay that's enough blah blah about the names.