Slightly OT: Arum species

[Christopher Gussman]

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I don't personally have much to add at the moment.  Ellen Hornig on this =list has first-hand experience on many species.  Likewise I bet =Bonaventure will chime in soon....he is a wealth of knowledge and =experience on growing Arums and many other interesting (IMHO) plant =species.  Along with  David Shaw's great response and these others you =should be well on your way to success!   -Chris
----- Original Message ----- 
From: David Shaw<mailto:delftshaws at HOTMAIL.COM> 
To: ARISAEMA-L at NIC.SURFNET.NL<mailto:ARISAEMA-L at NIC.SURFNET.NL> 
Sent: Saturday, December 22, 2007 9:04 AM
Subject: Re: Slightly OT: Arum species


Jim
I am replying from northern Scotland. Not too certain how the zoning =system compares with ourselves but I believe the lower the number the =colder the temperature? I think that I am supposed to be zone 7 or 8 but =our winter weather can be much wetter than yours.
 
I grow some Arums such as dioscorides and purpurospathum in the open =garden with success. I suspect that the one you lost was A. creticum and =I grow that in a pot in an unheated greenhouse. It flowers =satisfactorily in early spring and I then take the pot outside for the =summer.
 
We have just arrived home after a week in Marrakech to find that =Scotland has suffered a serious freeze up. The max/min thermometer =indicates that it may have gone as low as minus 10C! All the pots are =frozen solid and most of our bulbs look very unhappy - however, this =morning the temperature rose to a balmy +2C. The Arum leaves in the =garden have stood tall and proud through the freeze but the leaves of A. =creticum in the greenhouse which were flat and limp, like boiled =spinach, are starting to stand up again (thank goodness).
 
For what it is worth I would suggest that you keep your Arum in the =containers in the greenhouse through the cold weather but then take the =pots outside when winter is over.
 
I find that most Arum will be at flowering size some three to five =years after seed germination. In the wild they grow in a dry climate in =the Mediterranean basin area with very hot summer days and cold winter =nights. They prefer to grow in the open sun in a hard, baked soil but we =generally find them deep beneath a vicious thorn bush to keep the local =goats from grazing them to the ground.

Hope this helps a little.
 
David Shaw
Moray (25 miles east of Inverness), Scotland



-------------------------------------------------------------------------=-----

> Date: Fri, 21 Dec 2007 16:20:07 -0500
> From: jshields104 at INSIGHTBB.COM
> Subject: Slightly OT: Arum species
> To: ARISAEMA-L at NIC.SURFNET.NL
> 
> Hi all,
> 
> I've tried several "hardy" Arum species here, outdoors in the =woodland 
> garden. None have survived more than a couple of years, dwindling =away to 
> nothing.
> 
> So I switched to winter-growing Arum in the greenhouse: Arum =concinnum, A. 
> cyrenaicum, A. dioscoridis, and A. purpureospathum. There was a =fifth 
> species, which seems not to be with us anymore.
> 
> These are in 2-gal. plastic containers and are producing abundant 
> leaves. How old or large do they need to be to flower? What triggers =
> flowering? Will they ever bloom in a greenhouse?
> 
> I'm pretty much at sea with these Arum. I don't have a clue what =their 
> growth requirements might be.
> 
> Best wishes,
> Jim Shields
> in central Indiana (USA)
> 
> *************************************************
> Jim Shields USDA Zone 5 Shields Gardens, Ltd.
> P.O. Box 92 WWW: http://www.shieldsgardens.com/
> Westfield, Indiana 46074, USA
> Tel. ++1-317-867-3344 or toll-free 1-866-449-3344 in USA
> 
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