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From: Rand Nicholson <writserv at NBNET.NB.CA>
Subject: Re: mystery
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>Arisaemas are particularly prone to rot when dormant, potted and allowed=to
>get too wet, which can easily happen outdoors in the winter. However, it=can
>also happen when they are planted in the ground. My largest A. sikokianu=m
>disappeared this past winter, and that's not the first one!  A few years=ago
>WeDu Nursery stopped handling arisaemas because of this problem.
>
>I think that a good basic dictum to follow is that the larger the tuber,=the
>less moisture it needs (or can tolerate) while dormant. If you want to g=row
>arisaemas in pots, it might be smarter to remove them from the pots in t=he
>fall (at least the large tubers) and let them stay almost dry. They all =get
>new roots every year, so winter moisture isn't necessary for anything ex=cept
>to keep smaller tubers from shriveling up to nothing.
>
>Jim McClements, Dover, DE

Amen, Jim!

I lost a whack of second and third year A. sikokianum tubers from what I
now believe to be just this problem. They sprouted and leafed out
successfully, then, after a spell of cool, cloudy weather they started
rotting around the crowns. Most of the very variable saw-toothed and
spotted leafed types that Mike Slater so generously sent me are now gone,
much to my great disappointment and chagrin. I am growing what is left wa=rm
and on the dry side and these have not suffered. Yet. The rest of my
species tubers are doing fine. Siks seem to be difficult, for me at least.
I am begining to fear that I will never see an A. sikokianum in bloom
unless I visit a botanical garden.

In my experience, A. triphyllums are best stored in the ground with good
drainage or, if the winters are not long and cold enough, dry in a cool
room. I grew A. triphyllum (lacking a real garden before a few years ago)
as apartment deck pot plants for twenty years. I simply dumped and cleane=d
them when they went dormant, sprinkled them with sulphur powder and brown
bagged them in a cool (about 40-55 F. in winter) storage room until they
showed signs of growth in spring. They bloomed and pupped (set seed when
they wanted to) like clockwork and I never lost one of them in all that
time. Still have them out in my garden where, with the (unusual) mild
spring we are having, I expect to see them in a week or so.

Kind Regards,

Rand


Rand Nicholson
New Brunswick
Maritime Canada, Z 5b
<writserv at nbnet.nb.ca>