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From: "Jim McClements, Dover, DE z6" <JimMcClem at AOL.COM>
Subject: Re: overwintering arisaemas
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I would like to thank everyone who has followed up on the thread of
overwintering arisaemas. Lots of great info from everyone, but we should =all
be particularly appreciative of Barry and Andy's detailed discussion. It'=s
not often that someone whose livelihood depends on a few hard-learned
"professional secrets" is willing to share them with a bunch of amateur
growers like us. The concept of "curing" arisaema tubers before storing t=hem
was a revelation to me.

A couple of comments/questions:

They wrote:

<< 6.  There is a tremendous variability in the resistance of different
species to rotting.  Some of the resistant species are triphyllum,
ringens, heterophyllum, candidissimum, saxatile, ternatipartitum,
urashima.  Very sensitive species include sazensoo, sikokianum,
thunbergii, yamatense, kishidaa. >>

Why the difference between thunbergii and urashima, since the latter is
generally considered a ssp. of thunbergii? Seems strange.

<<<8.  If you find a soft or bruised spot in storage, cut away to firm
white tissue and soak the corm in bleach solution and dry completely.>>>

I've tried this on occasion and I'm not sure if I've ever had success,
particularly if the soft area is central, involving the main shoot. If yo=u do
this in that situation and there are beginning offsets on the outer tuber=,
what kind of success do you have?

And it would be interesting to know if anyone else has had success
"debriding" tubers.

<<<<<Cured corms can be soaked in a ten percent bleach solution and dried
before storing.  This is especially important if the corms are damaged
in digging.  We almost never lose corms that are completely cured and
properly stored; the period from the onset of dormancy until they are
cured is when they are likely to rot.>>>>>

Can you reconcile this with Oleg's observation that washing corms before
storing them seems to increase rotting? Do you think that washing with pl=ain
water removes some rot inhibitor, as suggested, or does it rehydrate a
"cured", or partially cured tuber? If the latter, why doesn't the bleach
solution also rehydrate the tuber?

Again, this was the kind of discussion that Arisaema-L was started for. L=et's
have more!

Jim McClements