Arisaema 2011

[WimB]

Some Arisaema's in flower here now:

Arisaema engleri
Arisaema griffithii
and Arisaema ovale amurense

[Todd Boland]

Wow Wim...my Arisaema will not even show themselves until late June, let alone flower!

[Hoy]

I quote Todd, my Arisaemas will not show for a while - if they have survived the severe freezing of the soil this winter

Last winter I lost 4 pots with great seedlings, they froze in my greenhouse

[Gene Mirro]

Arisaema sikokianum, seed received from eBay vendor, sown 2/13/07:



Growing with Dicentra formosa, Corydalis sempervirens, and viola.

[McDonough]

@Wim - A. engleri looks most interesting; I like the wide and open spathe; somewhat like A. sikokianum.

@Gene - Nice A. sikokianum; I'm curious about how much the seed cost on eBay.

Posted is a photo of 3 A. sikokianum, the two more mature plants always face each other each year, as if having a conversation. I find this aspect interesting, that the blooms seem to definitely be oriented a certain fixed direction from the tuber.  I've never tried digging up a tuber and replanting it after rotating the tuber 180 degrees, to see if one can control which direction these flowers face.

[WimB]

@Wim - A. engleri looks most interesting; I like the wide and open spathe; somewhat like A. sikokianum.

Mark,

it was once included in A. sikokianum so it's very similar indeed. I even got this one as A. sikokianum

Posted is a photo of 3 A. sikokianum, the two more mature plants always face each other each year, as if having a conversation. I find this aspect interesting, that the blooms seem to definitely be oriented a certain fixed direction from the tuber.  I've never tried digging up a tuber and replanting it after rotating the tuber 180 degrees, to see if one can control which direction these flowers face.

I've noticed this from other Arisaema's too, especially A. candidissimum which always seems to face away from the path in my garden where they are planted (even after I replanted them), so you had to trample through the other plants to see their face. Maybe they have an individual internal compass?

[David Sellars]

I have Arisaema intermedium seedlings in a pot.  They were planted in January, came up in June and are still growing strongly with roots showing beneath the pot.

I have not grown Arisaema from seed before and suspect they are not like other bulbs. What is the next step?  Should I repot them now?  Do they need complete frost protection or can I just stick them in the bulb frame?

Any advice would be appreciated.

[Hoy]

I have not grown A intermedium from seed before but other species. Last winter I lost several potfulls of seedlings as the pots froze in the very cold weather we had. Those I had planted out (Emptied the pot as one clump when they were growing strongly) and planted deep survived fine.

If I grow them on in pots I repot in winter/early spring when they are completely died down. The corms are like peas or small nuts in size and without roots and easy to handle.

[David Sellars]

Thanks Trond:

That is very helpful. I guess a key characteristic of Arisaema bulbs is that they are winter dormant and most other bulbs are summer dormant.

[WimB]

Hi David,

I've never grown A. intermedium from seed either, but I've grown a lot of other Arisaema species from seed. When I sow Arisaema I normally leave the seedlings in the same pot for 2 or 3 years (by that time you'll have much bigger bulbs which are easier to spot and transplant). Make sure to feed them a little during their growing period in the second year (if you leave them in the seedpot). When you're ready to transplant them, make sure they are in rest, like Hoy said. It's easier and better to transplant them when they aren't in growth.

Also, I've always put them in an unheated greenhouse during the winter and kept the soil reasonably dry.

[Toole]

A few in bloom here
 
A.ringens
A.tiwanense
A.ciliatum
A.speciosum

and full of promise A.exappendiculatum which i find is a bit too vigorous in the garden with its strong stolons .

Cheers Dave.  

[AmyO]

Wow!  Love those Jacks!! Esp. the taiwanense with the long 'cilia' at the tips of each leaf part. Very cool. How hardy are these varieties? I have the ringens as overwintering seedlings in pots coming into their 3rd year so I'm hoping perhaps to get a bloom this year?

[Hoy]

A few in bloom here
 
A.ringens
A.tiwanense
A.ciliatum
A.speciosum

and full of promise A.exappendiculatum which i find is a bit too vigorous in the garden with its strong stolons .

Cheers Dave.  

Wouldn't mind if any Arisaema spread voluntarily in my garden I am also trying to increase my stock of Arisaema by sowing. Have got seed from Chris Chadwell and they always sprout well.

[McDonough]

Wow!  Love those Jacks!! Esp. the taiwanense with the long 'cilia' at the tips of each leaf part. Very cool. How hardy are these varieties? I have the ringens as overwintering seedlings in pots coming into their 3rd year so I'm hoping perhaps to get a bloom this year?

A. ringens has been hardy for me here in Massachusetts (near the New Hampshire line), although I have lost this species and others due to mole digging.  I also grow an unidentified Arisaema collected by Darrell Probst (I think China, or possibly Korea) that looks much like A. taiwanense, although without those wonderful long thready ends to the leaves.

[bulborum]

The Arisaema kiushianum just got dormant here
but flowered in May
compared to the flower the leaves are giants
but the flowers are sooooooo beautiful

Roland