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hardy  Aroids)" <ARISAEMA-L at NIC.SURFNET.NL> Aroids)" <ARISAEMA-L at NIC.SURFNET.NL>
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From: Bonaventure Magrys <magrysbo at SHU.EDU>
Subject: Re: My first :)
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Arisaema taiwanense seed that Ernie O'Byrne kindly sent me in December
germinated within weeks and is now still in leaf. I put about 2 dozen see=d
on the surface of loose Scott's Houseplant Potting Soil in an ordinary 4
inch pot and placed them in my humid flourescent light orchid case. The
root grows down into the mix from the seed body and the leaf then comes o=ut
after, (growing upwards of course). The seed body stays on soil surface a=nd
recently I just sprinkled a little mix over them. They really look great,
abou 3 inches (American) tall with 1 inch wide heart-shaped leaves of a
bluish tinge and thick substance that makes them look more like tropical
plants.
I usually prefer the moist paper towel in a sandwich baggie (Deno?)
germination method, but last tried with freshly gathered triphyllum seed
last fall got about 40% nearly immediate germination, another 30% or so
after about 6 weeks, again a lag, then another flush with a few straggler=s
afterwards. (Must have been thet Arum italicum pollen I put in there, ha
ha). There were some bad root/paper tangles, and with my light box runnin=g,
I tried the tai's as an experiment. Worked beautifully. Many of my seedex
'01 sproutlets faltered after the move to pots, with serratum and tortuos=um
all rotting off first. Candidissimum and consanguineums did great
transplanted at 4-5 per 1 or 2 inch pot, made nice tuberlets, but when
taken out of 3 month refridgeration did nothing, and died.

With seedlings, either you check them every day (I lapse) or put them in =an
environment that will buffer them and take care of them (not a windowsill=!)
The year before, out of dozens of Gene Bush's A.draconteum seedlings on t=he
windowsill above the kitchen sinkin autumn, a hectic week for me coincide=d
with cloudy weather and only 2 bulblets made it out to the garden in Marc=h
last spring to resprout. (I probably should not admit all my failures!)
Remains to be seen if they're still there this spring.

Bonaventure Magrys
Cliffwood Beach, NJ
USA