Re: [Aroid-l] Re: Culture information

From: "C. J. Addington" cjaddington at earthlink.net> on 2005.09.23 at 00:20:49(13377) Hi Kyle and Everyone! The genus Arum is my personal favorite genus, and my rather time-consuming hobby, so I thought I would throw in my two cents on growing them (which may be about all it's worth!). Of the 26 or so "good" species, I am currently growing 23 of them. (I can't quite get hold of A. hainesii, A. idaeum or A. jacquemontii, so if anyone has them, or knows where to get them, I'd love to talk to you!) Overall, Arums are classic Mediterranean summer-dormant plants. They start pushing out roots in late summer/early fall (in other words, right now), grow lushly all winter, bloom in the spring, and go totally dormant in the heat of summer. They like good drainage, and gritty, alkaline soil. If your soil or water are acidic ( pH less than 7.0 ) they will really benefit from a liberal application of ground limestone or dolomite. Most hate soggy conditions (the exception being A. hygrophilum ), and most prefer some fairly strong sunlight in the winter for best blooming. A. italicum and A. maculatum will take deeper shade, but A. dioscoridis, sintenisii and orientale really want to be out in the sun. All species will really respond well to heavy feeding, especially with something rich in phosphorus, like bone meal. During the summer, most need to go pretty much totally dry to avoid rotting, and the dormant tubers can in fact be stored naked and un-potted like potatoes. In Maine, I would predict that many of these will have to be strictly indoor plants. They are winter-growers, but in a mild Mediterranean climate where it rarely drops below freezing. I am fortunate that I am growing my little guys here in the Sacramento Valley of California ( zone 9 ), since it hardly ever freezes here, and our summers are long, bone dry and brutally hot, which they love. Overall, the closer you can mimic a long dry summer and a mild wet winter, the bigger and better ( and stinkier! ) your Arums will be. Hope that helps, and if others are growing these beauties, I'd love to hear what you are doing with them, and how they are doing! Cheers, C.J. Addington +More Citrus Heights, California on 09/22/2005 04:29, Kyle Baker at kylefletcherbaker@yahoo.com wrote: > > Good Morning Folk's, > > I'm the proud new parent of several arum's graciously > gifted by Mr. M.C. Hammer of this group...and I was > rather beside myself with excitement to receive them > but now to culture...sigh.....I'm wading through pages > of websites for culture and not really finding any > > Here's the List and pertinent information > > have > > Arum > concinnatum > dioscoides > hygrophilum > orientale > sintesii > > I'm in Maine and our growing season is March - Sept. > > Last Frost April 15th, First Frost around Oct 20th > > Indoor growing areas are 8 x 12' glassed in porch > southeast exposure minimum night temp 60* > > Day temps usually around 70-80* during winter > > Water is around a pH of 6.5 > > I fertilize with a Dyna-Gro 7-9-5 formula > > I understand that they (Arums) need a Dormancy but > when do they gro and when do they sleep? and is there > a reaclimization period from whence they came in > Nederland? > > Th'x to all from a novice who honestly wants to > learn and needs to learn.. > > > kfb - maine zone 5 > > > > > __________________________________ > Yahoo! Mail - PC Magazine Editors' Choice 2005 > http://mail.yahoo.com > _______________________________________________ > 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

Note: this is a very old post, so no reply function is available.