When happy, the lettuce-like leaves remain green most of the season and they will seed around for you, making nice stands. This lot is mixed in hot pink and red shades, but they come in a wide range of colors, from white and pale pink to crimson and purplish reds. They are rated hardy from USDA zones 5-9 and fairly easy from seed, if you can't find the plants. If you have a damp spot in part shade, this group of primroses will light it up in late spring. They will take sun if the soil is constantly moist, and, in hotter climates, do well in fairly deep shade. But, the soil has got to be moist (voice of sad experience here!).
Moving around to the west side of the oak and to the right of the primroses, I planted two of the more exotic Jack cousins that I got last year.
A. candidissimum makes a huge leaf, rounded in outline - much larger than in this photo of the plant when I first got it. The spathe is also unusual. Here's a better photo of the spathe - quite lovely. I had another A. candidissimum in my new woodland garden in almost pure rotted woodchips. It emerged very late this spring and looked wonderful until overnight it collapsed; rotted at the base. I've dug what was left of the tuber and potted it up with crossed fingers - totally sick-making - I fear that humus rich mix held too much moisture during our damp spring. From posts on Arisaema-L, it seems that many of these species resent extremely damp conditions while dormant.
Arisaema serratum (variegated leaf form), in contrast, has a very dark mahogany-brown striped spath; you can barely see it hiding behind one of the leaves, so here's a better photo of one. This is very dramatic in flower and deserves a more prominent spot than I've given it, so the flower can actually be seen. Of course, I got this plant partly for the variegated foliage, which on its own is pretty dramatic. Both of these came back for me this year (phew!), but it's too early to tell if they are happy or unhappy campers. Neither wants a lot of winter wet, which is one reason I put them in this dry spot. I may have been better off if I had put the other A. candidissimum here as well.
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