back at last

[George R Stilwell, Jr.]

Shawne,

Thanks for the kind words.

Here's a partial; answer to your questions:

1.) My A taiwanense is 4 years old ( this will be it's 5th season) and
sets a huge seed head,
none of which are viable. Does it need a 2nd to produce seed?

Arisaema come in male & female versions and it takes two to tango.
Arisaema start their mature life in the male state and then switch to
female if conditions are good.
They will also revert to male if conditions deteriorate. Growers have
been known to whack off
some plants to the ground to assure some males will be available in the
following season. Pretty
drastic, but it probably works.

2.) I have 2 A. rhombiforme that have produced many "pups". From these I
>have foliage but no flower. How old must they be to flower? .....

Arisaema typically take 3-5 years to bloom. My records show that A.
taiwanense pups
formed in Sept. 98 have not bloomed yet. The "momma" grew from seed (Apr.
93) to bloom
(Apr. 98) in 5 years. So I would expect the pups to bloom in 2002 or
2003.

3.) My A.sikokianum, du bois-reymondiae, and candidissimum ( both red and
>white)
were purchased from a local nursery (who purchased from Chen Yi) and are
now in there second season. I have planted them in pairs. Does this help
and what can I expect?

First, be aware that Chen Yi plants are rarely the species as labeled. We
know that
"A. du bois-reymondiae" from Chen Yi is actually A. engleri and comes in
both green and purple forms.
Chen Yi "A. candidissimum" are many things, even true to name on the rare
occasion. There is
a cross reference by Chen Yi (Kaichen) number in the archives and on Eric
Gouda's page.
Generally you need both the number and the year (ie: A-27/99) because
Chen Yi has re-used
the numbers for other plants from year to year.

If you don't know the number or year, send a picture to Eric and he'll
post it on the Arisaema
identification page for you.

Back to your question: If the plants of each species were all the same
age, chances are
they will all be male or all female. See the whack treatment above.
Close proximity isn't absolutely necessary, but it couldn't hurt.

Most Chen Yi plants bloom the first year, but I couldn't predict the sex.
But, you should be
prepared to loose a few. The tubers often rot in the first season.

Perhaps others can help give you a clue on the Chen Yi "A. candidissimum"
ID.

Ray
<GRSJr at Juno.com>

________________________________________________________________
YOU'RE PAYING TOO MUCH FOR THE INTERNET!
Juno now offers FREE Internet Access!
Try it today - there's no risk!  For your FREE software, visit:
http://dl.www.juno.com/get/tagj.