A.griffithii and comments on seedlings in pot for 2 years

[Scott Vergara]

Paul,

How about....get a monetary advance (or credit with your dean), then
publish, then collect data, then strike the match....  ;-)

>
> I have a theory on many A.griffithii from India.  If they arrive dead
they
> were griffithii, if they arrive alive then they are something else.  Last
> year I had a lovely packet of A.intermedium by just this route.
>

Re. A. griffithii, now I am concerned....the tuber shape checked with the
text but the inflorescence doesn't look right, at least not yet.  It
doesn't look like the spath will flair out enough.  It is still emerging so
I will keep watching and hoping.   I will be a bit peeved if they are not
A. griffithii since I bought more than just a couple  ;-(

Re. Seedlings left in pots for a second season.  For me it is partly that I
don't always get to them when transplanting is optimal so they have to go
another year. But Paul brings up an interesting point about Frittilaria.
While you obviously check all the parameters, something is different.
Could it be because they are a naked bulb and more susceptible to
desiccation damage?   Even for the few minutes that they sit out as you
transplant.  They are small.  I seem to recall talk on Aroid-L regarding
problems of storage of small Amorphophallus tubers and how sensitive they
are to disturbance and desiccation.  Has anyone noted whether young
Arisaema tubers (moist growing plant) respond differently than say Arum or
some other Aroid from a dryer habitat?  Oddly we have found that our
dryland Lilium sp. seem much less tolerant of desiccation, disturbance,
etc. than species from moister growing conditions.

How about depth?  Most of these "bulbs" move down as they grow and get
older.  Could they be that sensitive to soil depth (oxygen and or water
levels) when they are smaller?    I know my Sauromatum is rarely where I
put them when they are unpotted.

Whatever is at play it seems to me that while we don't perceive or measure
any significant differences, the plants are impacted by some change. Paul's
comments on the difference in success rates with the Frits is the sort of
anecdotal evidence that is so important to propagators like myself.  Any
further notes on Arisaema or other hardy Aroids such as this should be
reported here, no matter how trivial they may seem to the author at the
time.

Sorry for the rambling (obviously an American  ;-)

Best Regards,
Scott
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Scott Gregory Vergara
Burley, Washington  98322-0669   USA
USDA Zone 8 Ave Min Temp 10-20 deg F. Record low 0/hi 104
svergara at pacific.telebyte.com,  HORTULANUS at aol.com
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