A. hewetti and gigas dormancy requirements

From: Kirk Martin <kwmartin at earthlink.net> on 1970.01.01 at 00:00:00(15375) I have an A. hewetti and gigas that I received as 8" seedlings. They have grown to about 22-24" In the last month the leaves on both have droopped and turned yellow so I'm wondering if they are going dormant or if they are giving up the ghost. They currently are in 5 gallon pots each in a peat/perlite/vermiculite 2:1:1 media Daytime temps are: 65-85F and nighttime are 50-65F in a southern facing room. When do they typically go dormant and how long does dormancy last (Any Northern U.S. growers out there zone 6?) I'm watering about every 10 days now keeping the soil barely damp so hoping that is right. Does this plant typically lose it's entire leaves? Any advice would be helpful. Kirk Martin +More Fitchburg Massachusetts _______________________________________________ Aroid-l mailing list Aroid-l@gizmoworks.com http://www.gizmoworks.com/mailman/listinfo/aroid-l

From: "Russell Coker" <cokerra at bellsouth.net> on 2007.03.01 at 15:10:02(15377) Hi Kirk. I'm glad you've asked those questions, I've been kinda wondering too. I received some hewettii seeds a few years ago and I'm pretty sure this will be their third summer. The seeds germinated in the spring (March or April, it seems like) and so far have flourished through the summer. As the nights began to cool in October they yellowed and withered just like the others considered hardy here in zn 8b. I knew they were tropical, so I figured that was the end of them. But when I dumped out the pots I found fat little dormant tubers! I kept them inside and dry-ish for the winter and they were back up last spring. This past fall I intentionally left them outside again and the same thing happened. After repotting them (again to check if they were dead) they went into a friend's COOL greenhouse where they are kept on the dry side because I'm terrified of rotting them and don't want to encourage new growth until I can safely put them outside in another week or two. As the nights begin to warm, good God willing, they'll be back up again for the coming summer. This has been my experience so far, but I have no idea if I'm actually controlling dormancy or just rolling along with some adolescent natural cycle. My hope in all of this is that I'll one day have huge happy plants that enjoy my long humid summer but go dormant in the fall like paeoniifolius for easy winter storage. I'm pretty sure this is called "having your cake, and eating it too". I don't have a greenhouse of my own, and don't really know where I'd put a big pot with a leaf the size of a small tree - or how I'd get it there. I guess I'll worry about that tomorrow. Thoughts, anyone? Russell Coker +More Mobile, Alabama ----- Original Message ----- To: Sent: Tuesday, February 27, 2007 10:08 AM Subject: [Aroid-l] A. hewetti and gigas dormancy requirements I have an A. hewetti and gigas that I received as 8" seedlings. They have grown to about 22-24" In the last month the leaves on both have droopped and turned yellow so I'm wondering if they are going dormant or if they are giving up the ghost. They currently are in 5 gallon pots each in a peat/perlite/vermiculite 2:1:1 media Daytime temps are: 65-85F and nighttime are 50-65F in a southern facing room. When do they typically go dormant and how long does dormancy last (Any Northern U.S. growers out there zone 6?) I'm watering about every 10 days now keeping the soil barely damp so hoping that is right. Does this plant typically lose it's entire leaves? Any advice would be helpful. Kirk Martin Fitchburg Massachusetts _______________________________________________ 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

From: "Russell Coker" <cokerra at bellsouth.net> on 2007.03.04 at 19:51:11(15387) Please forgive me if you are receiving this for the third time. Today is the first day I've received Aroid-l emails since Kirk's email on the 28th. I hope I haven't missed any replies. Russell Hi Kirk. I'm glad you've asked those questions, I've been kinda wondering too. I received some hewittii seeds a few years ago and I'm pretty sure this will be their third summer. The seeds germinated in the spring (March or April, it seems like) and so far have flourished through the summer. As the nights began to cool in October they yellowed and withered just like the others considered hardy here in zn 8b. I knew they were tropical, so I figured that was the end of them. But when I dumped out the pots I found fat little dormant tubers! I kept them inside and dry-ish for the winter and they were back up last spring. This past fall I intentionally left them outside again and the same thing happened. After repotting them (again to check if they were dead) they went into a friend's COOL greenhouse where they are kept on the dry side because I'm terrified of rotting them and don't want to encourage new growth until I can safely put them outside in another week or two. As the nights begin to warm, good God willing, they'll be back up again for the coming summer. This has been my experience so far, but I have no idea if I'm actually controlling dormancy or just rolling along with some adolescent natural cycle. My hope in all of this is that I'll one day have huge happy plants that enjoy my long humid summer but go dormant in the fall like paeoniifolius for easy winter storage. I'm pretty sure this is called "having your cake, and eating it too". I don't have a greenhouse of my own, and don't really know where I'd put a big pot with a leaf the size of a small tree - or how I'd get it there. I guess I'll worry about that tomorrow. Thoughts, anyone? Russell Coker +More Mobile, Alabama ----- Original Message ----- To: Sent: Tuesday, February 27, 2007 10:08 AM Subject: [Aroid-l] A. hewetti and gigas dormancy requirements I have an A. hewetti and gigas that I received as 8" seedlings. They have grown to about 22-24" In the last month the leaves on both have droopped and turned yellow so I'm wondering if they are going dormant or if they are giving up the ghost. They currently are in 5 gallon pots each in a peat/perlite/vermiculite 2:1:1 media Daytime temps are: 65-85F and nighttime are 50-65F in a southern facing room. When do they typically go dormant and how long does dormancy last (Any Northern U.S. growers out there zone 6?) I'm watering about every 10 days now keeping the soil barely damp so hoping that is right. Does this plant typically lose it's entire leaves? Any advice would be helpful. Kirk Martin Fitchburg Massachusetts _______________________________________________ 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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