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  Re: [Aroid-l] Growing arums in pots
From: Peter Boyce <phymatarum at googlemail.com> on 2012.01.24 at 07:32:15
David,
=A0
The best option is to try to plunge the pots up to the rims in a sand bed someplace shady and to keep the sand just damp. If space allows keep a pots width distance between each pot, from from the pots to the edge of the sand (if the sand is retained by walls. Alternatively dig a trench deep enough to contain the pots to their own depth, line with plastic sheet, punch a lot of holes in the sheet to enable drainage, and then full with sand. The problem with the latter option is that in time roots of nearby plants will infiltrate.
=A0
Peter
=A0
=A0
On 21 January 2012 20:48, DAVID LEEDY <djleedy@sbcglobal.net> wrote:
Peter,
=A0
I really appreciate your posts to Aroidl, as well as your book on Arum.=A0 As I continue, I will try to adapt my cultural procedures to those you suggest.
=A0
I am now satisfied that growing arum in containers in Fort Worth, Texas, USA, is not a problem due to the cold winter weather.=A0 However, I am not sure if the long, hot summers will not prove to be the major obstacle I face.=A0 Although a bit unusual, last summer we experienced 59 days where the temperature was 100 degrees F. or above (37.78 C.).=A0 The night time temperature was 60 degrees F. or above ( 15.57 C.) and quite a few nights it was above 70 degrees F. (21.11 C.) during the summer.
=A0
Any suggestions on how to keep the "resting pots someplace not too hot" and how to=A0=A0
keep =A0the resting pots [so that the planting mix] "do[es] NOT become excessively dry?
=A0
David Leedy

--- On Thu, 1/19/12, Peter Boyce <phymatarum@googlemail.com> wrote:

From: Peter Boyce <phymatarum@googlemail.com>

Subject: Re: [Aroid-l] Growing arums in pots
To: "'Discussion of aroids'" <aroid-l@www.gizmoworks.com>
Date: Thursday, January 19, 2012, 11:40 PM


Hi Don,

I grew a lot of Arum in pots in the past. You need to use deep
straight-sided pots at least 12 inches, preferably 15 inches deep; the
problem is that pots this deep tend to be very wide too, so you may have to
shop around.

Growing media for the Mediterranean species (such as those that you list)
needs to have a good proportion of mineral soil and also should to be on the
alkaline side of neutral (8.5 or thereabouts). I used to mix a proprietary
peat-based soilless-potting medium with the same volume of good quality
sieved topsoil. To every 10 gallons of this mix I would add a heaped 6 inch
pot of 1/2 inch limestone chippings.

Tubers need to be planted ca half way down the pot. I used to re-pot
annually in late N Hemisphere summer (late August); by this time the tubers
will be becoming active but there won't be much root growth. Plant and then
water well and then don't water again until the shoots appear above soil.
Arum are greedy plants and well-repay heavy fertilizing by producing larger
tubers. I used to use a fertilizer branded for use on tomatoes. When
actively growing I would fertilize on every watering and the manufacturers
rate.

Under glass Arum need a buoyant atmosphere and high light. Ventilate well on
all but the very coldest days. The pots should also be given a fair bit of
room between - too close together and the plants can become very etiolated
and become prone to leaf fungus such as botrytis.

Arum flower towards the late middle of their growing cycle. Some gardening
books advocate easing back on water and ceasing fertilizer when the
inflorescences appear. This is wrong. The plants still have a few weeks
growing ability during flowering and it is at this time that nutrients from
the leaves are absorbed by the tuber; curtailing the growing period can mean
smaller tubers. I recommend that you keep the plants actively growing as
long as possible to ensure a decent sized (or better still, more) tubers for
the next year.

Once it is clear that the plants really are dying back (most leaves yellow)
stop fertilizing and reduce watering to just enough to stop the pot becoming
completely dry. While the plants are dormant it is better to leave the
tubers in the pot and not take them out. I experimented quite a lot of
tubers of which I had an excess and can say that tubers removed from the
soil and stored were always weaker than undisturbed tubers. It is also
important that the resting pots do NOT ecome excessively dry. Despite the
desiccated appearance of the Mediterranean countryside during summer digging
down a few inches always reveals damp soil. Arum (indeed all Med. aroids)
are always deep-buried in nature and certainly never become totally dry. It
is also worth keeping the resting pots someplace not too hot and certainly
not exposed to sun - again the soil in the wild is always cool at the level
the tubers occur, no matter how parched the countryside.

Hope this helps some

Pete


-----Original Message-----
From: aroid-l-bounces@www.gizmoworks.com
[mailto:aroid-l-bounces@www.gizmoworks.com] On Behalf Of Don Martinson
Sent: Friday, 20 January, 2012 10:23 AM
To: aroid-l@gizmoworks.com
Subject: [Aroid-l] Growing arums in pots

I'd like to try growing some of the Arum species (A. dioscorides v. syriacum
and A.creticum), but will have to do it in pots as I'm virtually certain
they wouldn't be hardy in my climate.=A0 I have a cool greenhouse available in
winter.

Is there anyone else growing these (or similar) in pots that can give me
some helpful hints (media, growing cycle, etc.)?

Thanks,


Don Martinson
Milwaukee, Wisconsin

mailto:llmen@wi.rr.com



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