They may fall over anyway. I always thought mine were trying to nestle in their leaf fans among the groundcover to escape the intense sun and heat of their location. Then I saw that those growing up through low open shrubbery (mini azaleas), or among other tall perennials, stayed upright. Bonaventure Magrys Cliffwood Beach, NJ USA zone 7 ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 9 Sep 2004 21:42:49 -0400 From: "Jay Yourch" <JYOURCH@nc.rr.com> Subject: Arisaema in the sun; was: RE: [pbs] Colchicum in the garden (and Arisaema) To: <pbs@lists.ibiblio.org> Message-ID: <001a01c496d7$7ac914f0$0200a8c0@Office> Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset="iso-8859-1"; reply-type=original Arisaema in the sun; was: RE: [pbs] Colchicum in the garden (and Arisaema)Jim McKenney wrote: >Now I realize that I may have acted too soon. It never occurred to me >to try them in the sun. In fact, I had always placed them in the >coolest places in the garden. My A. consanguineum have been here for >years but have never bloomed. And yes, they sway and arch and in >general give the impression that they are trying to get away from my >garden. I'll move them and see what happens. Hi Jim, I grow my A. consanguineum on the northeast side of my house in moist soil. It blooms there every year, but like yours it also gets tall and falls over. My A. sikokianum is in a slightly brighter position, soil moisture about the same, and is much better. Both of these look like they are going to ripen seed every year, but what looks like a bunch of ripening seed withers instead. Because I have only one of each and I know that some Arisaema do the gender switching thing based on energy availability, perhaps these now mature plants are playing female roles, but are lacking a pollen source. I will take Ellen's suggestion and move my A. consanguineum into a slightly drier and sunnier position and see how it goes. Slightly is the key word here, many plants that Ellen can grow in full sun in her location would not be happy with the same treatment here. Regards, Jay Central North Carolina, USA (USDA Zone 7b)