About Arisaema sikokianum

[Andy Y.S. Wong]

I believe that in arisaema a combination of age and vigor determine sex,
not the other way around.  Older plants under good culture get bigger
and transition from male to female.  Plants under stress, especially
those that lose their leaves early in the season, become smaller and
weaker and revert to being male.  If a plant carries a lot of seeds to
maturity, the plant might be so sapped of strength that it reverts to
male (it is not unusual for one plant to produce hundreds of seeds).
Removing the seed head will help maintain its size and female status.
Excellent culture and high fertility will produce a population of
females.  They don't "grow larger as females"; they grow large and then
inevitably are females.

Barry Yinger

Susan Cox wrote:
>
> Donna,
>
> > Donna, you might dig that sikokianum up just to see if the mother
> > plant produced bulbils also, or if maybe fertile seed germinated next
> > to it.
>
> Not a good suggestion.  I would be happy to know how you have managed to
> grow yours so successfully, but not at the expense of your beautiful
> plants!
>
> As far as yours being female for so long, and the fact that Mr. Yamamoto
> mentioned that in the wild they tend to grow larger as female, I was
> wondering if this is why, at least with your one very large female, it
> grows so big (it stays female).
>
> You mentioned that you pull the seed heads before they ripen.  Do you
> know if this practice deters Arisaema from reverting back to male after
> producing seed?
>
> Susan