Arid & Aroids 🇵🇭 Private Botanical Garden – Massive Philodendron and Rare Palm 🌴 Collection

Dear Plant lovers,

This is the first out of 3 of Arid and Aroid nursery episdes. Our host is founder Mr Boyet Ganigan who welcomed us by sharing nursery history and mission. We then visited their personal botanical garden whose highlight includes mature Philodendrons, tree ferns, and rare palms.

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Dear plant lovers, welcome to Arid and Arroids in the Philippines with our warm host and founder, Mr. Boyet Ganigan. I have conveniently broken down the visit into three episodes. In this one, Boyet shares the nursery history, mission, and we tour their private botanical garden decked out in majestic, mature philodendrons and rare palms. In the next episode, we visit their pride and joy, the Sansevierias. With a ton of original hybrids under their belt and motherplants collected from around the world, this one may just inspire you to add some to your collection. In the third and final episode, we visit their rare plant nursery to see variegated aroids, Anthurium hybrids, and spectacular plants even I have never seen before. Let’s begin! Hi guys, my name is Sean. I’m a house plant enthusiast from Jakarta, Indonesia. I’m in Manila, Philippines at Arid & Aroids with Mr. Boyet Ganigan. Hi, good morning. And this is a highly requested episode. A lot of you guys told me that I must come here when I visit the Philippines. So today I will ask him questions about his nursery, how it all started, what is growing here, what are the plant trends, what is the market like in the Philippines. Yes, so if you don’t mind, can you share with us how this all started? Actually, it starts as a hobby, Sean. We’ve been around in the business for like 25 years. As you know, it started small, then it grows bigger and bigger and bigger. You know, we are very passionate with plants and we collect high-end, you know, mostly collector’s item plants, but then it evolves depending on the needs of the market. So we started planting this and that, then that’s why it turns from Arid, turns into Aroids. So the name of the nursery or the company is Arids and Aroids because we grow a lot of Arid plants and we grow a lot of Aroids and others. Everything in between. Yeah, everything in between. What was your first passion? What was the first genus or type of plants? The first plants we collected were bromeliads. Oh, interesting. Yeah, bromeliads and followed by Anthuriums. Okay, and the bird nest Anthuriums. Yes, and ferns like the staghorns, so I think that’s the third. Oh, interesting. Back then, before they became trendy So that was like 25 years ago. I see. So what is the business structure here? What is your program? We have a lot of nurseries on different locations in the country. So depending on what plants we grow. So we have high elevation, we have lowland nursery where we can grow all our succulents and Arid plants. We have our location in most of our aroids. It’s in high elevation like 800 meters above sea level. Wow, where are we now, by the way? We are in the middle. Okay. In the middle, in Silang, it’s like 400 meters above sea level. So it’s still, I think it’s, this is the standard or what we call this, just a good temperature for all kinds of plants. Sure. Yes. Would you say this is your main headquarters? Yes, this is the main headquarters, Silang Cavite. That’s awesome. And you guys, I understand from our previous interviews at different plants. I’ve actually met them in Indonesia, in Thailand. Yeah. And potentially I will probably run into, go to all the plant shows. And they do hybridize some things, especially sansevierias which hopefully we’ll get into later. So you guys have a breeding program. Yes. Propagating. Yes. You’re collecting from all over the country. And tell me about the Philippines market. How is the rare plant market here? Philippines market is quite good because we have a lot of good collectors. Okay. And our market is quite good. Because Philippinos by nature love plants. Oh, yeah. Yeah, love plants like flowers, like everything. Yeah. Yeah. So that’s why we continue continuously making our own hybrids. Not only for Philippines, but for international, for international market. Yes, we do a lot of export of Sansevieria ferns and Anthuriums also. Nice. And Sansevieria ship very well, I believe. Yes. As far as Russia, we have clients from Russia, from Germany. But the biggest market of Sansevieria we have are Asia, like Indonesia and Thailand and Japan. Yes. Interesting. Yes, of course, we also do a lot of breeding program for Anthuriums. Oh, interesting. Yes. And we will see some later. Later, we’re going to see our creations. But we are only focused more on shapes. Yes, a bit in the colors, but we wanted to create something not ordinary looking anterians. And we also have another department, which is mutation. We do, we create plants through mutation breeding. How do you do that? Because we have in the house, we have a doctor in the house, which is a very well-known doctor. So he can, he’s a scientist actually. So he can alter the cells. So he can use mutation. Yes. So he can alter the cells of the plants. That’s fascinating because it’s the first time in our channel that we might actually discuss about this topic. Most people find mutations through TC and all that. Yes. I guess you can alter their DNA and find some wonderful products. Yes. I was going to add earlier, when you mentioned that the Philippines have a strong gardening or plant culture. Number one, my number one viewers is the United States. My second country is actually Philippines for my viewers. So you guys, for a small country, you guys have a lot of viewers, a lot of plant viewers. And my comments, some of the warmest comments came from Filipino. So thank you for joining me. So this is your hangout area. Yes. This is where we receive our clients, our guests, our visitors. This is our, what we call this our lunch. I see. We have a lot of wood introduced from other countries like Indonesia, but mostly what we have used here are the woods that came from our, from our nursery, from our farm. Awesome. So all the woods here are, are local. So those, all the plants we have planted on the ground are our collection back like 20 years ago. We had a hard time growing them in part, so we opted to put them in the ground. Okay. And then they grow upsize much faster. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. It is the mother nature that take care of them. We don’t need to fertilize them. I see. Yeah. So this is like a bit of a garden with some pathways. Yes. Yes. Yes. Sort of like for enjoyment. Yes. Yes. Yes. Beautiful. So they can walk around and enjoy the plants. So we, in the Philippines, we have like the number of alphabets, like 27, like 26 something. That’s the number of typhoon we often experience here in the Philippines. Look at our greenhouses. So it’s been destroyed by the typhoon, recent typhoon, like Christine and Pipito. Is it like this every year or is it? Yes. Yes. So every year we have, we need to, you need to have a budget for repairs from greenhouses. Otherwise you cannot survive. Yeah. And this is quite beautiful. Oh my gosh. Yes. Do you know Irene from Leafing around? Yes. You watch her. She would love to parade there. This would be her thumbnail shot if she ever came here. Yes. So this is our entrance to the little forest that we have. Nice. Here. So we have a lot of big plants inside. Yeah. Wow. Yeah. So we have a path block so people can walk around and we have a vast collection of tropical plants planted on the ground. So this door is like very heavy. It’s like an ironwood. Yeah. Yeah. I designed it myself. Like the whole thing? Yes. Yes. Really? Yes. Actually these palms, these palms are the most dream of all botanical. Oh, why? Yes. Because even in a habitat it’s very hard to acquire. Yeah. This is rare. This is a native of the Philippines from Mindanao. Do you happen to know the name? Yes. Heterospathe. Nice. That’s the species name. Yeah. Is it difficult to care for? Not difficult, but it’s the most sought after palms of the botanical people. Still unknown. We’re still looking for the name of this tree. But it is from the Philippines. Yes. It’s from the Philippines. Beautiful. It looks like a deep jungle plant. Yes. Yes. Yes, it is. And look at that new emergent leaf. It’s like twisting around. Yes. Beautiful. And this is a philodendron, a common one, but I’ve not seen it grow this big. That’s golden melinonii. Yeah. Massive. And they can take a bit of direct life. Yes. Yes. Yes. The brighter light you give them, the brighter they will get. Yes. Yes. I think it’s important to address the damage that some of the tropical hurricanes and typhoons are becoming more violent. I know Miami, they’re experiencing some lately as well. And for us here, I think, well, for me, I believe that it is the product of global warming. Yes. We all have. Do you also experience this in Indonesia? No, we haven’t. Yeah. I don’t think we have. That’s good for you. Flooding. Yes. Flooding. Flooding. But that is a poor drainage system by the city. So I don’t know if it’s, yeah, it’s quite beautiful. Okay. So these are our collection for 20 years. So we had a hard time growing them in part. Yeah. So we opted to put them in the ground. I see. Yeah. And they also make good mother plants here. Yes. For insurance. In case you. Yes. Some philodendrons, we also, we have a good size philodendrons where we use our breathing material. So every time they have flour, we take advantage to pollinate them with other species. Big. And philodendron hybrids are quite big now. So I get a lot of people are doing that. Quick shout out. A lot of, we haven’t talked about Calathea in a while, but they can be beautiful in gardens. This is a beautiful garden. It looks almost like a botanical garden. Yes. Look at that with that trail. Is this open to park and people come here and enjoy this? Yes. Yeah. And then you have a free strum. We will go later. Yes. Yes. That’s amazing. So the plants are quite good, but a lot were damaged by the typhoon. Yeah. This is a Sharoniae? Yes. That is huge. I’m going to move back so I can see the size next to your body. This is big. Yes. My gosh. But this is a relatively fast grower and easy Sharoniae. And this is actually a weed in some places. Yes. A native. Yeah. I forgot the name. I forgot also that from South America. But it is beautiful. Really, every time I go to a garden, I see one from far away. It calls out to me. But again, they can overtake a space. Beautiful. This is amazing. So here, I guess you could do an event. Yes. Yes. Have you ever done anything? Privately, they don’t want to… If they want to have private gathering. Yeah. Yeah. They do it here. I see. And I did the landscape for this one. Nice. So you are a bit of a creative soul yourself. Yes. Yes. Yes. By experience. By what I have, you know. For me, these things you cannot learn in school. You cannot teach. Yes. It’s something that comes naturally to some people. You were talking earlier about philodendron as stocks. I guess you can see the flower here. Yes. So the example of how you can… This is philodendron Esmeraldense Wow. Look, it’s been destroyed by the typhoon. Yeah. It is a very rare palm. Okay. Look what the typhoon did. But is this still alive? Yes, still alive. But you still have to fix it and make it stand up again. Yes. This is the whole togni, aren’t you? Yes. My god, this is huge. Yes. Did not know they get so big. Wow. You also have like a new zamia. Yeah. They just start registered yet. Yeah. So from Asia or from South America. I see. Yes. And this is what happens when you leave syngoniums out. They just… Yes. Yes. And these are quite one of the rare Monstera Okay. This is aquity something. I’ll check the name. Yeah, this one, right? Yes. From Northern… From Southern Mexico. Yeah. Now question, as a breeder yourself, why are there not many Monstera hybrids? Maybe because a lot of people are now focusing on philodendrons because it’s very easy than Monstera. But I think it will follow soon. Ah, okay. It will follow soon with the presence of a lot of Monstera now in the market. Yeah. Because recently, a lot of people are just collecting species of Monstera. Recently. Okay. I see here you’ve got a Barringtonia. Yes. Buona. This is a Patriciae. Yes, this is a Patriciae. Nice. Also correct me if I’m wrong. The pollen have to be collected morning. Yes, morning. Early. And within one day. Yes. And also you have to pollinate within the female stage. Yes. Within one day period. Yes. Yes. If you miss it. Yes. Okay. Sorry. You snooze, you lose. Yes. And there’s also a really crazy Martianum. Yes. Wow. That’s the Martianum that gets to like a size of a car, of a truck. It does. Yes. And with this being torn apart, I guess they are kind of a little bit stressed. Yes. Too much life for a few days. Yes. Until you put it up again. Yes. But you might want to wait until the end of the season to put it up because we have another more storms coming up. Yes. Oh my gosh. Look at this. Wow. This is a giant, giant friend. Yeah. I’ve not seen it get this big. This is angiopteris. Angiopteris. Yes. evecta? No? No. No. It’s something else. Yes, something else. Beautiful. So it gets really feels like a giant thing. But I always love to see them, especially in large gardens like this. They provide nice shape. Yes. To a lot of the plants that are below it. They make everything happy. And they can take a bit more light than. Yes, yes, yes. This is the rare palm. It’s been called Sabinaria. Sabinaria. Sabinaria magnifica. And it comes with a two leaf like that, like a fish tail. Yeah, like that. Like a mermaid. Yeah. And it has a silver underneath. Right, beautiful. The ponds are also often overlooked by people. It’s a wonderful plant to have in the garden. And the flower, beautifully, the fruit and the flower. I love the botanical drawings. Yes. So, also this one, this is also, I think this is from your country. This is Salacca. This is Salacca, but this is the Magnifica. Yeah, so it is undivided. The leaf is undivided, so that’s beautiful. But I’m afraid the typhoon will, you know, they will break the leaves because the leaves, like, it can split. Yes. The wind is too much. And I think they do this on purpose, so they can, in nature, they would split. Yes. But we don’t want that. I don’t get it. Also, this one is nice ponds. Also, this one is nice ponds. It’s very shiny. So it’s liquella. I see. It’s Licuala. It’s bluish too, from where I… Yes, bluish too. Yes. Oh, nice. Yeah, it’s very shiny metallic. Yes. The more you look at it, the more interesting it becomes. Is this common or is… No. These are one of our adventure in Sarawak. These are one of our adventure in Sarawak. I see. So we got this plant. Nice. Yeah. It’s nice to see them. It’s in the lowland by the river. I see. Difficult? Or not? No, not difficult. This one has like three holes. This is, I know the name, this is thoana. Yes. Okay. That’s like three. Joannistemania. Oh yeah. And Nifika. They get huge. Starting to get big leaf. Yeah. And this is from Malaysia, if I’m not wrong. This is from Malaysia. Yeah. Yes. What is the name of this, do you know? You’ll find it. I said this on the… I’ll send the screenshot as I’m editing. Yes. Yeah. But this beautiful, look at that, just some mottling on the leaves. Yes. Actually, it has three colors and took a picture on this area. It’s drawing towards the light. Yeah, of course. Thank you for the light. It’s beautiful. It’s got a bit of a red. Yes. And here too. So we’re waiting for the seeds too. Are they true to seed? Will the seed be variegated? Yes. Yes. It’s a species. Why do you love plants so much? What is it about them? They draw you. It runs to the family. Okay. My mother, my sisters love plants. But I am the one, the only one that ventures into plant business. I see. Into one, because my family migrated to Canada. Okay. So it’s not a tropical country we’re in, but they have their own greenhouses in Canada. Wow. For tropical plants. Do you think it’s hereditary? I think a lot of people do pass down there. Yeah. But actually secretly, my dad also grows plants. Maybe that’s passed down to me, although I don’t like to admit it. Yeah, it kind of sometimes runs. Would you imagine during my younger years, I’m living in an island. We have a very little land because whenever we turn the tide, we have a high tide. We lost the land, but I still have a nursery. Yeah, we’re in. I just water them with fresh water every time the salt water comes in. And then they come back. Yes. Interesting. What island is it? It’s in Ilo Ilo. It’s in the Philippines also. I see. Yeah. Cool. Yeah. And to me, it’s so scenic right here. It looks almost like a theme park. A lot of theme parks try to replicate to look like this. What’s happening with this medinilla here? It’s like… It’s a climber. Are medinillas climbers? Yes. Really? We have a lot of medinillas that’s a climber. I thought they would be just like a bush. Bush, no. No, interesting. Yeah. A lot of medinillas are from here, from the Philippines. So it’s huge. Yeah. But for all these plants, you got them small, obviously. Yes. And they climbed that tree and now it’s like massive. Oh my gosh, this is so beautiful. Don’t forget that our philodendrons can grow into this size. But look at that one. My gosh, what is that one? SP NAPO. NAPO? Yes. NAPO or? NAPO. I’ve actually never heard of it. Yes. My gosh, this is massive. Sorry, the name NAPO, right? NAPO. We have here the biggest leaf. Yeah, it’s been destroyed also by… Oh my gosh, I’ve… By the typhoon. That’s insane. You could take a nap in it. It’s like an atrus. It’s ridiculous. But this is not a popular philodendron. We don’t know about it. Yes, it’s not popular. And it can take a bit of sunlight, direct sunlight. Yes. You have a lot of the koala species. Can we keep on collecting continuously for the palms? Yeah. We don’t know this from your business, but you are passionate about palms. Palms, yes. Look at this one. It has no trunk. Oh, it just grows from the… And it’s very thin and slim. Yes. I think there were a few guests on my channel before. And again, they’re not known to be palm lovers, but when you go to the garden, that is all that they are glowing when they talk about the palms. Yes. We had some guests in Miami in a home, also loves palms. Yes. Beautiful, actually. They are quite underrated. You do need space to grow them, you do. Yes. This is almost bluish. Yes. Yeah. And job trees. But not a vector, as well. Not a vector. I didn’t know that there are so many species in the genus. And it has a very nice body. Yeah. Gorgeous. We have a lot of fixing things to do. Oh, yeah. We have this water plant that we collect from… Oh, they’re all gone. Oh, they’re gone. Yeah, we have a collection of water plants. Okay, that’s like in the water. Imagine climbing up there and fixing it. That’s not easy. Yes. Not a walk in the park. Yes. These are Cyathea. These are the native species. And also most sought after on the botanical people, because this is a unique one. It has a gold hair. Yeah. It has a gold hair. And it has no thorn. I see. It has no thorn. The other one is white color. Uh-huh. Yeah, we have white color. I think it’s on the other side. And are they endangered in the wild? Yes. Oh, wow. Yeah, so this one is the golden one. Yeah. Right there on top is the white one. Let me see. Right there. Oh, that one. Yes. Yeah. Both of them are thornless. I see. And when you got them, you got them small, because I’ve seen them sold in like little pots. Yes. And then how long does it take to get, like, this size? That one took like maybe seven years to get the Cyathea. Not slow, not fast. Yes. It’s reasonable. Yes. Thank you so much for watching this all the way to the very end. Please let me know in the comments section which plant caught your attention most in this episode. It will really help me and the channel out a lot. Be sure to tune in the next episode to see some amazing Sansevierias. Episode after that to see some of the rarest arroids and spectacular plants in their rare plant nursery. Should you decide to help the channel out financially for as much as a cup of coffee a month, you may join my Patreon at patreon.com/seanfromonlyplants from OnlyPlants, or you may consider joining as a YouTube member. Simply open any of my videos from a computer browser and next to my channel name you will see that join button. For the rest of you, just watching this all the way to the very end means the world to me. Take care now and I will see you in the next one. Bye!