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From: "Jim McClements, Dover, DE z6" <JimMcClem at AOL.COM>
Subject: Potting mix for Arisaema seeds

I start all my Arisaema seeds as follows:

1. Clean the pulp off, if not already done.

2. Soak seeds in a glass of water, with a few drops of "Dawn" detergent
added, for an hour or so (I've left some in overnite with no apparent ill
effects).

3. Place seeds in a moist, folded white paper towel, ala Deno, and put in=a
warm closet.

4. Check every 2-3 days and when a few of the seeds in the towel show a
radicle, plant all those seeds.

5. I plant them in wet turface, in standing water, under lights. When the
seedlings put up an eophyll, I move the pot to a different flat and begin
adding a VERY dilute solution of balanced fertilizer to the standing wate=r.
The seedlings are grown on this way for 3-4 months until they start to br=own
and go dormant.

6. When dormant, the pot is allowed to dry off for a few days, the small
tubers are harvested from the turface (which is very easy if you dump the=pot
into a bowl, add a little water and see even the tiniest tubers floating)=,
and are refrigerated in a "baggie" in damp Promix. Shouldn't be wet, but =the
smaller the tuber, the more moisture needed. With small tubers there seem=s to
be more danger of drying up than rotting.

7. After 2-3 months in the fridge, they are replanted, this time in a
promix-turface mixture with a grit top-dressing, and start their second
season. Don't use Osmocote in the mix! And go easy on the water until the
plant re-emerges, or the tubers will rot. The mix will stay damp for quit=e a
while under the grit top-dressing. It generally takes from one to three
months for re-emergence.

8. Transfer to the garden, or do another "artificial winter" after the se=cond
growth period, depending on size, time of year, etc.

Back to the towels.

If seeds get moldy and soft, they were probably not viable in the first
place.

If they look OK but don't show a radicle in 3 months at room temperature,
they may well be one of the species that need one, or even two, cold peri=ods
before germinating. Those seeds are refrigerated in the towel/baggie comb=o,
brought out again in 3 months for another stay in the closet.

This method is still evolving. As some of you may remember, the danger of
using Osmocote was just recently noted. If someone has a different approa=ch,
please share it. This way seems to work well for me, but I hope I'm still
young enough to have an open mind!

Jim McClements, Dover, DE Zone 7a