Amorph and Arisaema dormancy questions

From: Adam Black epiphyte1 at earthlink.net> on 2005.11.13 at 03:16:37(13536) With all the recent questions regarding treatment of tubers over the course of dormancy/winter, I figured I would join in. First, my Amorph. gigas that I purchased this year is going dormant and I would like to know if this is one of the species that should be kept in the pot with barely damp soil or if it can be stored "dry". I prefer to remove the tubers of my other species from the soil, but thought I read/heard some time ago that A. gigas tubers are intolerant of this storage method. My Amorph. pygmaeus that I purchased in fall '04 as a dormant tuber never emerged from dormancy all year. After purchasing it, I kept it unpotted (stored dry) until late spring when my other Amorphophallus species tend to come out of dormancy. By mid-summer, I hadn't noticed anything happening, and from that time on I kept digging down and checking for any progress. The tuber always appeared fine, just no root development or any other sign it was going to break dormancy. It still appears fine, and I am wondering if I should keep it warm potted up and continue water it moderately to see if it will decide to come out of dormancy over the next several months, or if I should dig it up and store it dry with my other species and try again next year. It was kept side by side in identical conditions with my other species of potted Amorphophallus which all performed normally. Any thoughts? My third question is similar to the last one, but involving Arisaema speciosum. I also purchased this as a large blooming size tuber last fall, planted it in the ground outdoors, and it also never emerged from dormancy. I did notice when I dug down to check on it in early summer that it did grow roots, which remained until the time I dug it up to bring it for winter storage a few weeks ago. The central conical growing point did grow very slightly (maybe 1/2 inch) early on, then just stayed that way the rest of the summer. The other species of Arisaema obtained at the same time and planted nearby in identical conditons all came out of dormancy and did fine this year. What am I doing wrong? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks! Adam Black +More _______________________________________________ Aroid-l mailing list Aroid-l@gizmoworks.com http://www.gizmoworks.com/mailman/listinfo/aroid-l

From: "Alan Galloway" alan_galloway at bellsouth.net> on 2005.11.14 at 13:55:27(13538) my Amorph. gigas that I purchased this year is going dormant and I would like to know if this is one of the species that should be kept in the pot with barely damp soil or if it can be stored "dry". This species should be kept potted and slightly moist!!! My Amorph. pygmaeus that I purchased in fall '04 as a dormant tuber never emerged from dormancy all year. This species, as well as Am. saururus, Am. cicatricifer, and a few others will sometimes skip a year of any kind of activity, no leaf and no flower. I would expect your Am. pygmaeus to either flower or leaf out this coming spring. alan +More _______________________________________________ Aroid-l mailing list Aroid-l@gizmoworks.com http://www.gizmoworks.com/mailman/listinfo/aroid-l

From: plantguy at zoominternet.net> on 2005.11.15 at 00:18:50(13539) Hi Adam, I would concur with the others that the Indonesian species should be kept just damp until the break dormancy again. As Alan said, sometimes Amorph tubers just refuse to grow. I can honestly say that almost all of mine have annoyed me with this behaviour over the years. I find this to be particularly true of newly imported species from places like Thailand. For whatever reason, after coming to my happy home away from home they sit there stubbornly for an entire year before growing. Sort of reminds me of a sulking child!! I must say that I grow very large numbers of Arisaema speciosum and have not had this difficulty unless the growing point has been broken before I received it. If this species has a nice solid growth point in the fall then I have never had one not grow the following spring, although others may have a different experience. It sounds like the tuber is fine and so I would imagine next year it will produce a wonderful influorescence. I can also say that I store this species completely dry in peat and/or potting mix. Hopefully they will do well for you next spring. Dan +More Dan Devor zone 6a Gibsonia, PA ----- Original Message ----- To: "Discussion of aroids" Sent: Saturday, November 12, 2005 10:16 PM Subject: [Aroid-l] Amorph and Arisaema dormancy questions With all the recent questions regarding treatment of tubers over the course of dormancy/winter, I figured I would join in. First, my Amorph. gigas that I purchased this year is going dormant and I would like to know if this is one of the species that should be kept in the pot with barely damp soil or if it can be stored "dry". I prefer to remove the tubers of my other species from the soil, but thought I read/heard some time ago that A. gigas tubers are intolerant of this storage method. My Amorph. pygmaeus that I purchased in fall '04 as a dormant tuber never emerged from dormancy all year. After purchasing it, I kept it unpotted (stored dry) until late spring when my other Amorphophallus species tend to come out of dormancy. By mid-summer, I hadn't noticed anything happening, and from that time on I kept digging down and checking for any progress. The tuber always appeared fine, just no root development or any other sign it was going to break dormancy. It still appears fine, and I am wondering if I should keep it warm potted up and continue water it moderately to see if it will decide to come out of dormancy over the next several months, or if I should dig it up and store it dry with my other species and try again next year. It was kept side by side in identical conditions with my other species of potted Amorphophallus which all performed normally. Any thoughts? My third question is similar to the last one, but involving Arisaema speciosum. I also purchased this as a large blooming size tuber last fall, planted it in the ground outdoors, and it also never emerged from dormancy. I did notice when I dug down to check on it in early summer that it did grow roots, which remained until the time I dug it up to bring it for winter storage a few weeks ago. The central conical growing point did grow very slightly (maybe 1/2 inch) early on, then just stayed that way the rest of the summer. The other species of Arisaema obtained at the same time and planted nearby in identical conditons all came out of dormancy and did fine this year. What am I doing wrong? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks! Adam Black _______________________________________________ Aroid-l mailing list Aroid-l@gizmoworks.com http://www.gizmoworks.com/mailman/listinfo/aroid-l _______________________________________________ Aroid-l mailing list Aroid-l@gizmoworks.com http://www.gizmoworks.com/mailman/listinfo/aroid-l

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