Wild, Wonderful Aroids - Part 4, Arisaema - Page 2

Arisaema triphyllum

Arisaema triphyllum, our native jack-in-the-pulpit, occupied this ground before I did. When I found it, I admired it; even moved tubers from my woods to my garden beds. I looked for it each spring and enjoyed it. I first knew it by its common name and was content with that.

After a few years, in a fit of seed starting, I gathered some berries one autumn and planted them - whole. They eventually germinated and I was the proud mother of a flat stuffed full of seedlings; the survivors ended up in various parts of my garden.

Mothers tend to pay closer attention to their children than to other occupants of the neighborhood. After my success with seed, I learned the botanical name of these plants; noticed their growth habits more, but went no further. Then came the internet and a world, inhabited by more exotic versions of this genus, opened before me. I tried a few; I lost a few and some are still with me. I discovered the Arisaema Enthusiasts Group (AEG) and with it, the wealth of information on Arisaema-L, its email list.

The AEG seed exchange forever transformed my life with Arisaema by permitting the possibility of growing species that would otherwise not be available (or would be quite expensive as tubers). Since 1998, I've been receiving seed and sowing it. I've had some successes and some failures and some are so newly planted in the garden, the jury is still out. If you want to grow this plant, join AEG; it's free and you'll not regret it.

If you are newly fascinated, but have no Arisaema in your garden, I recommend starting with A. triphyllum. Native to eastern USA and southern Canada, it is a most forgiving plant that will grow in a range of conditions from boggy soil to dry, deciduous woodlands. It's at its best in good, organic soil that remains moist. It will simply fold it's tents and go dormant if becomes too dry.

Like most of the species, A. triphyllum (Section Pedatisecta) is quite variable. Not only do the spath colors vary from pale solid green to white striped green, white and reddish-purple stripes, green or reddish on the outside to nearly black all over (I've not seen this!). The stems can also vary from green to dark red, sometimes with red veins.

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