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[suez at northcoast.com]

hardy  Aroids)" <ARISAEMA-L at NIC.SURFNET.NL>
From: Susan Cox <suez at NORTHCOAST.COM>
Subject: Re: Winter cold Period
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Hello Ray and All,

I recognize the very thing that you mentioned.  I stored my Chinese
Arisaemas (along with others) in a small cabinet top fridge thinking
that they would stay dormant for as long as I needed them to, but no
way.  They started sprouting, and when I checked the temp. of the fridge
(if my thermometer was right), it read 35 degs.  The upper shelf, next
to the tiny freezer compartment, had Sakurahso (Jap. Primrose) sitting
in areas of frozen peat inside their bags.  In spite of the coldness,
these particular Arisaemas were growing.  I was forced to plant them
before I wanted to.  I might add that not one bulb rotted, nor
desiccated.  In case anyone else might like to try the fridge method,
I'll tell you how I prepared my bulb's storage medium.  In spite of the
success of this method for me, it might not work for someone else (and
don't forget that I might be forgetting something I did or didn't do by
this time), but it's worth a try.  I was just following everyone else's
suggestions on giving them a cold period and now I understand 'why' it's
recommended for the temperate bulbs.  I was also glad to see that none
of them minded being below 40 degs.  That was an accident.  Maybe I was
lucky.

My cold storage medium for Arisaema:

I added what I thought was an appropriate amount of dry, either coir
pith, or peat moss, necessary for the amount of bulbs going into any
particular zip lock baggie, and soaked the medium with water.  The best
method I have found for soaking totally dry peat or pith, is to cover
the medium inside the baggy with hot water (usually I did this in a
bucket, then added it to the baggies....then why didn't I say that?).
The mediums seem to soak up the hot water much faster than cold water.
Then I squeezed every bit of water I could, handful by handful, out of
the medium.  Let it cool. It seemed almost dry.   In some cases ((and so
you see it's still experimental) at times I feared that even that amount
of moisture might be too much),  so I mixed the ever-so-slightly damp
medium with a bit more dry medium.  I figured that if they did freeze,
the less water involved with them in there, the less the chance of
damage to the bulb.  Still, there would be enough moisture to keep them
from desiccating.  I didn't find any difference in success between peat
and pith in this case.  There is one more small detail that might have
made a difference as far as the possibility of rotting bulbs.  Most of
the bags had four paper punch holes in them (two punches straight
through both sides of the bag near their tops).  The medium at this time
is pretty dry, but the bulbs are in fine shape.  Some bags only had a
couple of tiny bulbs inside.  Oh, and this method was used for
Amorphophallus konjac, Sauromatum guttatum, and all AEG and Chinese
Arisaemas.  IF I have them labled right ( if you knew me, you would know
better), China '98 10667, and AEG Harold #87 Arisaema amurense, and one
no longer identified, are the ones that just HAD to grow.  I believe one
Sauromatum guttatum (still in cold storage) is now putting a shoot up.

Good Luck to All,
Susan
Rain is threatening, but the temps. are coming up.  I have a feeling
that all, if not most, of the Chinese and AEG arisisaemas would already
be above soil if they were outside here on the Pacific Northcoast.