> In their book "The Genus Arisaema" and writing about section > Franchetiana the Gusmans note that "The eophyll is a simple blade and > further, leaves remain simple for many years, first developing some kind > of lobes, often just outlined, eventually becoming fully separated as > the tuber matures." They also note that the leaflets of A. franchetianum > (they are referring to mature plants) "are completely separated while > those of A. fargesii are often only tripartite, divided only in the > upper part." So Brian, since your plants display such a variation in > leaf form, are the tubers in your colony of A. fargesii of varying ages? Yes Judy My 12 or so tubers range from pea sized off-shoots to flowering sized plants. Only the actual flowering tuber has completely divided lobes, although 2 other partly lobed, and 1 still entire leaf, are in fact slightly larger in overall dimensions. Maybe the flower is taking its toll on the available nutrient levels. I find fargesii much more tolerant of pot growing than candidissima. The latter invariably rots off the main tuber and leaves me with just the off-shoots if it gets the slightest bit too damp too early. At least that is my theory. I am open to suggestions to improve my percentages with candidissima in pots. In the garden I don't have enough experience so cannot compare. A few years back there were a number of candidissima planted out and in flower at RHS Rosemoor in Devon, on a bank under an oak tree. There were few left the following year(s), unless I happened to miss them on my occasional visits. The rainfall is quite high there, but there are large numbers of other arisaema in more wooded areas within a 100yds or so. On the orientation issue, what happens when you plants them either side of a path? Do they ignore one another and pretend they are alone? :-) Brian Whyer, Buckinghamshire, England, zone ~8