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krazyaroider

Arisaema Propagation Primer

krazyaroider
15 years ago

Since I am suffering from a severe case of the winter doldrums here in the Buffalo, NY, suburb of Hamburg. I have been reading Garden Web forums and have found that many people enjoy growing the Jack in the Pulpit. The common Jack is also known as Arisaema triphyllum. I have many varieties of the common Jack and many of his Asian relatives.

I have read that many Garden Webbers would like to be sure about the procedure of growing Arisaema from seed. I shall share with you the procedure that I use for Arisaema propagation - all I know is that it works for me and as a result I have many Arisaema species in my garden.

I grow many species of Arisaema from seed.

I am a member of The Arisaema Enthusiasts Group (AEG), this is a worldwide organization sharing information, seed, tubers, etc.

The berries contains germination inhibitors that must be removed in order for it to germinate. In nature, this is removed by animal digestion/excretion or by rotting away during wintertime

 The red flesh on the berries contains calcium oxalate, a skin irritant. This may bother some people, but not others. Wearing plastic gloves while cleaning berries is an option.

 Berries when ripe are red or orange - red. If berries are still green when the stalk is knocked down by frost, cut the berry off and keep it in a warm (@ 70 degrees) in dry area.

 I soak the berry in a freezer bag ( ziploc) filled partly with water for at least 48 hours.

 I use a kitchen strainer (5 inches across, metal mesh) when finished with the 48 hour soak to catch the berry that may have loosened. I then pick each individual berry off the "cone" and place back in bag.

 Without adding water, I gently squeeze and squish the berries. I find it helpful to place the bag flat on a table as I squeeze each berry individually - I know it seems like a lot of work especially with 6 inch berries from Arisaema consanguinum! When I have finished squeezing, then I refill the bag half way with water, the ripe seeds will sink to the bottom of the bag. Sterile seeds will float along with some of the red flesh. Pour into strainer - you may have to keep repeating this until most of the flesh is gone.

 If the seed head is small, I often squeeze the berries and the seed comes out. I would use gloves as some people may find this irritates the skin on their hands..

 I make sure I soak the seed overnight in liquid seaweed fertilizer( Neptune s Harvest) mixed in the appropriate ratio with water.

 I use plastic window boxes due to amount of seeds or larger (5 inches or larger) plastic pots.

 I do this in late March, early April - weather depending and label each seed pot according to species. I let nature to take it s course. If the seed sprout @ 4 - 6 weeks, could be sporadic over the summer. IMPORTANT: Once the Arisaema seeding sprout, never, ever allow them to dry out! Since I read this years ago, I never had the misfortune to find out what happens, but I am sure it is really bad!!!

 I fertilize with liquid fertilizer with this or similar ratio ~ 8-14-9; 10-15-10;10-52-10 since Arisaema grows from a tuber, keep in mind the middle # (Phosphate) feeds roots so this, with good cultivation, should help increase the size of the tuber. I also deadhead berries if I am not planning to use them. This helps store energy in the tuber, rather than producing seed.

 I grow my Arisaema in pots/tray for 3 to 4 years then plant out.

 I also grow some species of Arisaema in large clay pots as this seems to cause them to prolific in producing offsets. Make sure these offsets separate from the "mother" tuber - they should survive on their own. Keep them moist and fertilized as they should produce for you. Again, this works for me and I have many more Jacks for the cost of one!

 Remember 3 things for Asian Arisaema success are: excellent drainage, excellent drainage, and excellent drainage. I learned the hard, expensive way as I thought they could grow like our native Jack.

 If you read of an Asian Arisaema that catches your fancy, google the name, it should get plenty of hits - that is how I found the Arisaema Enthusiast Group!

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