Rotting Tubers

[Wills, Simon]

Tony Avent said:

>>   Every arisaema that I have dealt with in containers tends to "loose"
>>the basal plate after each season.  It obviously isn't a rot in the usual
>>sense, but it sure feels and looks like a similar type of deterioation.

The deterioration seems to start in the form of a jelly under the skin at the
base of older tubers (not in first 2 or 3 years from seed) the skin being
loose on this section.  Once you are through the jelly layer the remainder of
the tuber is firm and with a smooth surface, so the loss of volume is quite
small.   Not all species grown here, nor for that matter, all examples of
each species, go through this process.  I will look at the tubers as they are
un-potted and report further on which are prone to this behaviour this year.

I suppose, to be pedantic, it is not really a basal plate since the roots
come out from around the growing point, so the effect is not as destructive
as it would be on a bulb.

Simon Wills
(SMWills33 at aol.com)