If you’ve been following my Chronicles of a Voodoo Lily, you’ll remember that I original purchased my first Amorphophallus konjac Voodoo Lily (Corpse Flower) in December 2019. Her name is Audrey.
Audrey began growing for me in the Spring of 2020. She didn’t flower that year, but sure put on a great show of leaves! That’s her in this photo.
In 2021 (her second year), Audrey produced a flower for the first time! It was SO exciting. You can read about her growth that year at “The Chronicles of a Voodoo Lily and It’s Growth, Year 2“.
In 2022 (her third year), Audrey flowered again! She had to be moved out of our dining room during her bloom time because of the odor, but we sure enjoyed watching her grow and change! You can read about her growth that year at “The Continued Chronicles of a Voodoo Lily and It’s Growth, Year 3“.
2023 (her fourth year) was a very weird year. See more below.
And here we are in 2024 at her fifth year. She did not disappoint! Read more below.
You can read more about this plant at House Plant – Voodoo Lily.
Click the images to enlarge for a better view.
Latest Update: June 14, 2024 (scroll down for the latest entry)
The Fourth Year
Last year, Audrey did something unexpected. I moved her out of her storage space in February, just like I had done the previous years. I began watering her and started watching for the tell-tale sign of growth. But… her usual growth of a center flower or leaf stalk never happened. I wasn’t sure what was happening, so I just kept watering and hoping.
Finally, in May, the first signs of growth! Three months later than previous years.
5/13/23 (1″) – I noticed there were THREE stalks starting to grow in Audrey’s pot! In past years, there was only been a stalk growing in the center of the pot, straight up from the corm. This year, there are three stalks near the corners of the pot – Audrey’s pups! Here are the pups I spotted.
7/19/23 (4-10″) – The pups grew VERY, very slowly! In the past two months, they only grew to about 10″ tall, one only around 4″ tall. These sprouts got to about 12″ tall, but then stopped growing. They stayed green until mid-August, and then started dying back. Once they died back, I moved the pot back to my storage space – hoping for a better year next year.
I realize I could have (probably should have) dug up the original corm and the baby corms, and then planted the baby corms in their own pots. The timing was just weird for me at the time, so I just left everything in this same pot. See you in the Spring, Audrey!
The Fifth Year
2024 is the fifth year I’ve been growing this plant. I once again brought it out of storage in February and began watering it. I placed the pot in the same spot that I’ve always had it – a full wall of south-facing windows in our dining room.
3/24/24 – Nothing but weeds. There is a very healthy clover growing in Audrey’s pot, but no sign of Audrey yet. 🙁
5/31/24 – I watered Audrey’s pot before leaving for the cabin for the weekend and discovered what MIGHT be a little Audrey! This little sprout is about 3″ tall and the leaves look very much like the leaves of the voodoo lily, but I am not completely sure yet. Looking back to the photo (above) from July of last year, this little sprout is in the same place as one of the pups from last year, so I am assuming it is a baby Audrey! The leaves usually come out of a central point and are more pointed. For these reasons, I am wondering if this sprout is a Jack in the Pulpit weed? Or if it really is another Audrey? It grew last year, too, so maybe it wasn’t a pup last year, but a weed that just looks very similar to the voodoo lily. I’ll be watching this little guy closely to see if I can figure out exactly what it is. Stay tuned!
6/5/24 (22″) – Look what Audrey did while I was away at the cabin! She took me by surprise! I really thought this plant was a goner – it had always shown signs of growth well before June. But she surprised me! In the past 5 days, Audrey has started growing a center stalk and is currently about 22″ tall! That’s a LOT of growth in just 5 days! Holy cow!
Audrey isn’t going to flower this year, the stalk is a leaf stalk and the leaves are still pretty bunched together. Once the stalk gets a bit taller, the leaves will start to spread out in that unique umbrella fashion. I can’t wait!
6/6/24 (24″) – The clover weed has tiny yellow flowers – so pretty! Audrey has grown almost 2″ since yesterday! The leaves are not as tightly bunched together and they look amazing. I just love these unique leaves!
The leaves of the little unknown, possibly baby Audrey do look very similar to these leaves, but the mature plant has much more pointed tips. The edging on the leaves and the leave patterns are almost identical, so I feel 99.9% confident that the little sprout IS a baby Audrey, and not a Jack in the Pulpit weed! I will continue to watch it grow to see what it does.
Grow Audrey, grow!
6/14/24 (30″) – Audrey is just full of surprises this year! She is now 30″ tall and the leaves are spread out in that great umbrella shape. The leaves on this plant are simply spectacular! Each leaf connects to other leaves on a stalk – very interesting and not like most plants. Audrey grows toward the light each day, so I rotate the pot to help keep her center stalk as straight as possible. I was away for several days, so she was leaning quite a bit when I returned home.
The baby Audrey hasn’t grown too much. It’s a tiny bit taller and the leaves are only slightly larger than the last diary entry. But… I just noticed ANOTHER baby Audrey starting to grow – as you can see in the photos. I’m sure that the main stalk isn’t going to get as tall as it has in the past since some of the energy is now going to the TWO baby Audrey’s growing with their Mama.
And yes, I know I should pull the clover weed, but I’m actually enjoying watching it grow, too. So for now, it stays.
I’m looking forward to how tall Audrey will become this year, and I am excited to be watching her babies grow, too! I’ll continue chronicling these changes – make sure to check back.
I’ll be chronicling the growth of this plant all the way until the leafy plant dies off this Fall. Bookmark this page and stay tuned to follow along on this adventure! I’ll be posting updates here as needed.
