Van Til grows exotic plants in his Bandus nursery in Hummelo, Gelderland. “I have 300 types of bamboo, I grow carnivorous plants and I have all kinds of giant lilies,” he told RTL Nieuws.
Flower of one and a half meters
But he is most proud of his penis plant now. “It suddenly bloomed last night. I didn’t know what I saw,” says the grower. “It takes penis plants a long time, about seven years. A flower has emerged from the tuber and, quite coincidentally, it is one and a half meters long.”
According to the grower, the plant only blooms for a few days.
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Stinks very much
And there is something very special about the plant. “It stinks very much. As if there is a dead animal in the cupboard. Really very dirty.” But that smell has a reason. “In doing so, the plant attracts bait flies, which means it is pollinated. Those flies are drawn to the smell of dead flesh.”
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What is the grower’s secret? “The penis plant grows in a greenhouse. And I talk to him every day. But otherwise the recipe remains a secret haha.”
The grower sells his plants to private individuals who love exotic plants and who have a large garden. For those who also want such a plant in their own garden: a tuber of the penis plant can be bought from 6 euros. After that, you need to take good care of the plant, and above all: be patient.
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