Re: hardiness of Sauromatum

From: DeniBown at aol.com on 2000.08.01 at 04:29:23(5191) My personal experience may not be relevant, as I live in the UK, but I have found it much hardier than gardening manuals say. For instance, the Royal Horticultural Society's A-Z Encyclopedia of Garden plants gives "minimum 5 degrees C (41 degrees F), while my plants stand several degrees of frost. First I planted surplus tubers at the base of a wall that stays warmer and drier than the border. When they survived and multiplied I then tried them in the open ground and last winter (which was pretty mild though of course with some brief frosty spells - and loads of rain) they came through again, no problem. I live in Norfolk, which is not a particularly warm area of Britain. Also we don't have hot summers, but they grow very nicely just the same. Plants currently have leaves 60cm (2ft) across, with leaflets 30cm (12in) long, on stems 60cm (2ft) tall. From a single tuber, most plants now have four or five other leaves in addition to the main one that develops after the inflorescence withers. They have infructescences developing at ground level too. +More I have also found that plants grown in the open ground, rather than in pots, get much bigger, stay much healthier, and multiply faster. They form very handsome clumps of leaves and in my view should be much more widely grown as garden ornamentals. They are also happy in full sun, which most arisaemas don't like. Even in areas that have a hard freeze, they could be treated like other bulbs, and lifted in the fall. Next winter I'll try to keep records of actual temperatures. Hope this helps. Deni Bown

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