Arvadan grows a stinky flower

The Denver Botanic Gardens isn’t the only place that has a corpse “stinky” plant.

Long-time Arvada resident Tim Heaton has been growing a cousin of the DBG plant for many years. Tim’s flower, commonly called Devil’s Tongue, is the Amorphophallus konjac while the plant in Denver is called Amorphophallus titanum. The two plants have many similarities. Both can take many years to bloom; both smell really bad; both have similar physical characteristics for which they are named; and both start as bulbs.

When I first received the press release about the corpse flower, it occurred I knew of a plant that sounded much like the one on display at Denver Botanic Gardens. I’d been familiar with it for years and had even been on “plant watch” on several occasions. It’s easy for me to visit the plants since they live with my son-in-law Tim and daughter Lisa. Tim has had great success with his flowers. He now has enough mature plants that for the past five or so years, he’s had a least one bloom. Last year, he had three plants bloom.

Tim got his first bulbs from his father in the late 1980s. Larry Heaton received bulbs from his father, who got them from his father. The bulbs have been in the family for many generations but the story of how they were first acquired has been lost over time. Larry and his wife Pat (Tim’s mom) recently moved to California. Before they left, Larry gave all his remaining plants to Tim because of his son’s greater success in growing them. Tim recently spoke to his dad, who said he’d like to try growing them on the West Coast. As soon as they go dormant, Tim will ship some to California.

The Devil’s Tongue require a lot of fussing. After the plants go dormant in the fall, Tim stores the bulbs in a dark, cool spot in the basement until about January. He then re-pots the bulbs and keeps watch on them as they begin to grow again. After they have bloomed, he takes them outside where they spend the summer.

A little research indicates the plants are native to eastern Asia, from Japan and China to Indonesia. The root of the plant, which is used to create a flour and jelly, is used as food and can be a vegan substitute for gelatin. The food commonly known by its Japanese name, konnyaku (yam cake), is eaten primarily in Japan.

The Denver Botanic Gardens isn’t the only place that has a corpse “stinky” plant. Longtime Arvada resident Tim Heaton has been growing a cousin of the DBG plant for many years. Tim’s flower, commonly called Devil’s Tongue, is the Amorphophallus Konjac while the plant in Denver is called Amorphophallus Titanum. The two plants have many similarities. Both can take many years to bloom; both smell really bad; both have similar physical characteristics for which they are named, and both start as bulbs.

When I first received the press release about the corpse flower, it occurred to me that I knew of a plant that sounded much like the one on display at DBGs. I’d been familiar with it for years and had even been on “plant watch” on several occasions. It’s easy for me to visit the plants since they live with my son-in-law Tim and daughter Lisa. Tim has had great success with his flowers. He now has enough mature plants that for the past five or so years, he’s had a least one bloom. Last year he had three plants bloom.

Tim got his first bulbs from his father in the late 1980s. Larry Heaton received bulbs from his father, who got them from his father. The bulbs have been in the family for many generations but the story of how they were first acquired has been lost over time. Larry and his wife Pat (Tim’s mom) recently move to California. Before they left, Larry gave all his remaining plants to Tim because of his son’s greater success in growing them. Tim recently spoke to his dad who said he’d like to try growing them on the West Coast. As soon as they go dormant, Tim will ship some to California.

The Devil’s Tongue takes a lot of fussing with. After the plants go dormant in the fall, Tim stores the bulbs in a dark, cool spot in the basement until about January. He then re-pots the bulbs and keeps watch on them as the begin to grow again. After they have bloomed, he takes them outside where they spend the summer.

A little research indicates that the plants are native to eastern Asia, from Japan and China to Indonesia. The root of the plant which is used to create a flour and jelly is used as food and can be a vegan substitute for gelatin. The food commonly known by its Japanese name konnyaku (yam cake) is eaten primarily in Japan.