The Anthurium cupulispathum is one of the giant leafed Anthurium plants. When choosing a location for this plant, Option #1: Select a shady tree and plant your Anthurium cupulispathum at the base of that tree where the leaves will grow toward a desired dominant light source, as in, to your viewing area, It will be able to grow epiphitically up that tree. That way, you will be able to enjoy the spectacular leaf display up in the air as your plant matures.
Option #2: Select a shady area beneath trees where the ambient light is equal in all directions. As the plant matures, the large leaves will form a large rosette with its leaves pointing in all directions, presenting a very full and beautiful display all around. Please note: If there is a brighter area in one direction, the leaves may have a tendency to point in that direction and the plant may gradually grow in that direction.
Its "flower" has two major parts: the spathe is the cover of the emerging "flower" which becomes like a hood protecting over a snoot like protuberance called the spadix.
It is the spadix that is so very fascinating as it has a receptive or "female" stage when it is becoming receptive to being pollenated by pollen from other plants. This stage is heralded in by the appearance of hundreds and hundreds of beads of fluid throughout the length of the spadix. It is at this time that it is starting to produce possibly thousands of very tiny flowers.
Then it has a male stage when it produces pollen that can then be carried to other plants to pollenate other plants. The spadix on the left is in the pollen producing stage. The spadix on the right is in the receptive or "female" stage.
Using a lady's makeup "fan brush" you can collect/brush into a wide-mouth 16 ounce jar, like a Salsa jar, all the pollen from another similar male-stage anthurium spadix to pollenate your other anthurium which is in the receptive/female stage. Using a glossy center-fold page from a magazine, make a loose funnel and slip the spadix into the funnel, directing the narrow end into the jar. As you brush the pollen down, this will serve to help block breezes from blowing the pollen away from falling into the jar.
The spadix in the foreground has been pollinated a couple of weeks prior to this photo and its spathe is well into dieing back. Already the spadix has more than doubled its size as it starts the process of producing hundreds of seeds, but will not start to be visible for almost five months. The spadix in the background has recently been pollinated.
With the spathe all withered away, the rains have been able to wash away any remaining pollen or or other partaicles on the spadix as it continues to grow. The foreground spadix is about 9"cir. X 24" in length at this point.
The spadix remained looking this way until the seeds began to emerge after about five months.
It's been over five months now after pollnation, as the seeds continue to develop, but now have started to be visible and continuing to push themselves outward as they grow.
About three weeks ago, the spadix on the left had completed expelling its seeds and much of those seeds have been collected and planted up in my shade-house. Now the spadix having done its job, is dying. The spadix on the right is just in its final stage of expelling its seeds and seed-pods. Note all the seeds and seed casings that have been expelled to the ground.
