Home » Plants & Animals » Alpines and Bulbs » Arisaema candidissimum

Arisaema candidissimum

© Gary Buckley

Arisaema candidissimum was perhaps my first introduction to this fascinating family.

In the coldest climate I ever lived in when flowering this Arisaema, the ground would freeze for most of winter and into Spring. When the ground warmed up I would begin looking for signs of life.

As the ground mulch of organic material, usually bark fines and leaf litter; stirred from frozen slumber, busy with ants and the like; watering of the area intensified. For the record I was living in Zone 7-ish when these first flowered with me.

Arisaema candidissimum is native to western China and only came into western cultivation in 1924.

I very much like the way John E. Bryan, in Bulbs Volume1; describes the flowering of these.

Snaking out of the ground is the phrase he uses. With age, the colouring intensifies, as does the size.

Overnight, on a daily progress, one can see the growing on these.

As with most bulbs, this Arisaema is fairly accommodating if you give it good drainage and a fairly well lit, airy growing position. The cooler your early summers, then the more sun exposure these will demand for good healthy flowering.

With me, these flower in full sun and in deep shade. The pictures in this article are of ones which get no sun at all during winter and spring. They only start to receive direct sun at the beginning of December and then only for a couple of hours in the late afternoon. So we are looking at a fairly adaptable plant to grow in which ever region you may be gardening.

There is no need for me to describe the plant, as pictures take the place of a hundred words.

This like clock work will appear in early Summer on stalks which can and often do exceed 35 cm. An interesting feature I have found with this plant is the size of the spathe, which given enough generous watering; deep heavy soakings once it begins to open; will double in size.

While they are in active growth, they do tend to like frequent waterings. Just for fun one year, I watered several tubers of this with only tanked rain water, these in turn responded by producing stems of around 60cm.

Alas, I no long have tanks and have to rely on city water, laden with chemicals. These plants do in my opinion notice the difference.

The copyright of the article Arisaema candidissimum in Alpines and Bulbs is owned by . Permission to republish Arisaema candidissimum in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.