This is the most common of all the Thai Aglaonema. I purchased it at the IAS Aroid Fall Show & Sale about 4 years ago. I was told it was tremendously difficult to grow and would undoubtedly deteriorate. That's probably true for southern folk who try to grow it outside. I grow it outdoors in Long Island during the summer and indoor on my stairwell during the winter. It was one sliver of a stalk when I first got it. I've since broken off some offsets to share with friends. You can see how difficult it is to grow.
I
purchased this clone at the Chatachuk Market in February 2004.
The one and only stalk broke off somewhere during the transport plus it
spent 4 days in a 40 degree (F) warehouse at the USDA Inspection station in
Kennedy Airport. I never thought it would survive. Finally a new
shoot started to grow sometime around
October while being stored in my greenhouse. It grew very slowly but
then suddenly took off this summer. It hasn't produced any offsets.
I have yet to figure out what causes the brighter red versus dimmer red
leaves. I've heard it definitely needs more light. I've also
heard it definitely needs less light. Similarly it definitely needs
either more or less nitrogen fertilizer.
Unnamed Thai Clone
I
purchased this at the Chatachuk Market in Thailand in February 2004.
This clone also spent 4 days in the cold USDA Inspection Station. It
wilted and didn't grow at all for months on end. I was surprised to
see that it started to look less wilty and then started to grow.
During the winter time, it did grow but the variegation on the leaves was a
pale cream color. Now during the summer outdoors the variegation shows
the pink I saw in Thailand, perhaps a bit paler but still pink. It has
started to send up several of offsets.
Unnamed Thai
CloneThis clone also comes from Chatachuk. It had far more pink when first growing but has faded somewhat. I suspect it may be the amount of nitrogen but would rather encourage growth than get color - at least for now. So far I've been able to separate off one offset. It has begun to grow 2 others since.
Purchased at the
2003 IAS Fall Show &
Sale, I've been growing this ever since. It's slowly
growing. It's heritage appears to be closer to the infamously
difficult Aglaonema rotunda. Accordingly some of its leaves sometimes
wither away. It's grown one offset and only one.
Aglaonema
brevispatha 'Thai Snowflakes' I purchased this at the 2004 IAS Fall Show & Sale. It grew very well. It didn't have a name attached to it. However, when I purchased an identical plant from Asiatica Nursery, I finally learned the name as "Thai Snowflakes". It produces offsets prolifically.
This came from
Asiatica
in June 2005. It looks much like the unnamed Thai clone above but the
pattern of the variegation is slightly different. Undoubtedly it came
from some of the same breeding. The photo in the Asiatica site is
remarkably more colorful that it's been in my home. That may have
something to do with temperature, light and nitrogen. At least it's
growing well. I'll try stopping the fertilizer once it's grown a few
offsets and will see if new growth shows more variegation.
It's possible that this is not a Thai clone but given its garrish appearance, I'm including it with my other Thai clones. This came from Asiatica Nursery in late June, 2005. Originally it was a very pale green and looked as if it was struggling to grow. It didn't do much for a while but has now started to grow. Given the large amount of white, I suspect its growth will continue to be slow. Nevertheless, it's in the process of producing its first offset.