Arum italicum etc.
James Waddick (Thu, 15 Jul 2004 11:18:53 PDT)

Dear All;
Ok here goes.
Arum italicum is very easy here. I grow it in full sun and
partial shade, but it does best in full sun. It blooms regularly,
sets copious seed and self sows regularly. In really hard winters the
foliage is brutalized, but more develops in spring. If the winter is
milder (not below 0F for long), the new leaves can be quite large and
gorgeous.
As big or bigger is the form known as 'Chameleon'. The true
cv (a division) is still small, but older seedlings are even larger
than typical and have a wonderful and variable range of leaf forms
and patterns. I much prefer any of these to the best silver-veined
forms of typical. I also grow the green form and ssp albispathum and
neglectum.
Some 'Chameleon' are almost all silver with slight grey-green
splashes or edging. Really spectacular.
Some literature suggests this is a hybrid, but the 'bible
(The Genus Arum by Peter Boyce, Kew) finds it pure A italicum.

I try as many Arum as I can and grow all the hardy ones I
can. Arum maculatum does OK in sun, but prefers some more shade. It
varies from solid green to having rows of dark spots and sometimes
these spots are 'embedded' in the leaf surface. There is a form known
as 'Painted Lady' with variegated foliage I have yet to actually
acquire (I have received tubers with this name, but without this
variegation).

Arum nigrum is also a favorite here because of its sultry
'black' flowers(spathes). The foliage is solid green and it seeds
around a bit too, but it took a long time to settle down and start
blooming.

There's more, but I won't go on. Then there's the related
aroids- Dracunculus (the largest got to near 5 ft this year),
Typhonium (including Sauromatum), Arisaema, Biarum, Pinellia ( a
favorite) and probably another one or two genera.

Most all Arum are going or totally dormant with fruiting
spikes beginning to color.

best Jim W.
--
Dr. James W. Waddick
8871 NW Brostrom Rd.
Kansas City Missouri 64152-2711
USA
Ph. 816-746-1949
E-fax 419-781-8594

Zone 5 Record low -23F
Summer 100F +