I summer all my seedpots outside on one of my greenhouse benches; some under the roof or our covered walkway and some outside of it. I find keeping the pots on a bench, well off the ground, keeps the critters out of them and puts them at a level that makes tending them much easier.
The dormant pots are kept under the roof overhang, out of the rain, where the amount of moisture they get can be controlled. I have learned that growing Arisaema seedlings do better out in the open where they will get an hour or so of direct sun. They tend to lean toward the light if kept in too much shade and get spindly stems.
It takes from three to five years from seed to bloom. Some hurry the process along by refrigerating the baby tubers for a couple of months as soon as they go dormant. When brought back out into warmth, they will start to grow again, completing two growth cycles in one calendar year.
It's a good idea to re-pot the babies after they go dormant. You can change potting mixes at that time, if you generally grow plants in something other than bagged mix, and check to see how the baby tubers are doing. Be aware that some of the baby tubers will be little larger than the seed you sowed; you have to sift through the pot medium carefully so you don't overlook any of them. It helps if you note how many seed you sowed on the pot label and how many germinated. That way you know how many tubers you ought to find in the pot.
The following species must not dry out during dormancy because their roots remain active, whereas most species lose all roots when dormant:
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A. griffithii A. intermedium A. speciosum |
A. costatum A. jacquemontii A. nepenthoides |
While most tubers lose their roots on dormancy, the period of root dormancy is short...they will become active again before you see anything poking up out of the soil. For this reason, do not store tubers sitting out on a shelf somewhere; keep them in a pot with your chosen medium. You can, if you want to try the refrigerator quick step, put them in sealed plastic bags with a bit of damp vermiculite or damp potting medium; this saves space in the 'fridge. When you see root activity, pot them up!
