Arisaema seeds and hardiness

[Fridrik Skulason]

> Cdn. Z5; USDA Z4 (lowest temp -40C; highest 37C)

Are USDA zones really meaningful for Arisaema growers ?  I mean, after all,
they were originally meant to assist in the selection of fruit trees - and
for fruit trees does not really matter if you have reliable or unreliable
snow cover.

A reliable snow cover works as insulation, protecting the soil from the
worst freezing, and surely that must matter a great deal to Arisaemas.

Of course, USDA zones are utterly meaningless where I am ... here in
Iceland, we practically never get temperature below -10C (14F), but also,
it rarely goes above 20C (68F). Add to that unreliable snow cover, with
alternate freezing and thawing the whole winter - a short growing season,
and what seems constant raining.

Still, we can grow Arisaemas....My 1-year old A. amurense and A. flavum
seem happy - however, A. sikokianum did not survive last winter.

This year I sowed a few other Arisaemas including A. consanguineum (DJHC 129),
A. flavum (ex C&R 395), A. jacquemontii (CC 1783), A. sp (ex RBE 1990)
and A. tortuosum v. helleborifolium (CC 1760).

Will the seedlings survive ?  Who knows...I'll just have to wait until next
spring to see which ones make it through the winter.

-frisk