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  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

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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

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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

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