About Arisaema sikokianum

[Tom and Ann Kline]

I most certainly agree with Barry and Andy, though I only lived for two
years in Yokohama.  My biggest problem is with the late frosts.  I have
several plastic bells placed around the garden in mid spring when my
Arisaema ringens and my A. sikokianum are budding up and I cover them with
the bells whenever it promises to be in the thirties.  My whole garden is on
a hillside so I have no problem with drainage usually.
I have another question that I have been meaning to ask Arisaema-L.  Is it
possible for an A. ringens to cross with and A. thunbergii?  I have a
seedling A. ringens that I collected from my own plant and planted
immediately and it is blooming for the first time this year.  The flower
doesn't look like an A. ringens flower at all, but rather like an A.
thunbergii flower without the extended spadix tail and A. thunbergii is
usually in bloom at the same time in my garden.  The foliage of the plant is
exactly like A. ringens, large tripartate leaflets with slightly depressed
veins.  My husband will take a photo of it for me, but not on a digital
camera which we don't have, so I can't post a photo even if I knew how which
I don't.  Ann Kline
Falls Church, Virginia  USDA Zone 7a  0 F to 105 F.  Very hot summer nights
just like in Japan.

"Andy Y.S. Wong" wrote:

> The Japanese climate is different in many respects from almost all
> regions in North America.  One of the critical differences is rainfall
> patterns.  Japan has an early summer monsoon, and in many areas, very
> little precipitation in winter.  On the Japan sea side, many regions
> have many feet of snow through the winter every year.  Another factor is
> that spring comes gradually and consistently throughout Japan.  Frost
> after plants break dormancy is almost unknown.  Keep in mind that Japan
> is an island and that temperatures are milder than you would think
> looking at the latitude of Japanese regions.  It is also important to
> remember that while Japan is not a very big country, it is very long,
> extending over many latitudes.  The same plants are often native over
> many zones of latitude, and these regional variants can perform very
> differently in cultivation.
>
> In short, the performance of Japanese native plants in the US is very
> different from Japan. After more than 60 trips to Japan in all seasons,
> many years growing Japanese plants, and many conversations with Japanese
> growers, I have learned that their experiences are very interesting but
> usually completely irrelevant to cultivating Japanese plants in the US.
>
> In the case of Arisaema sikokianum, I think the two critical issues for
> successful cultivation are drainage and protection from late frosts.  If
> you manage those factors, success is almost assured.
>
> Barry Yinger