On the 'other side of the coin', my A. hygrophilum here at home in Berkeley have been blooming for a month or more. I keep them outside in pots and in the ground, although I think only the pots have bloomed. Shows how climate matters. All I can say is that they take light frosts without problems. Paul Paul Licht, Director University of California Botanical Garden 200 Centennial Drive Berkeley, CA 94720 (510)-643-8999 http://botanicalgarden.berkeley.edu/ On 3/30/2010 8:42 AM, Jim McKenney wrote: > Arum hygrophilum is starting to bloom in one of the protected cold frames. > Of the two color forms shown on the wiki, I think my plant will be like the > one with less white on the inside of the spathe. > > Also beginning to bloom are Asarum maximum and A. nobilissimum. I have two > forms of A. nobilissimum. One has a bright white streak on the petals, > somewhat like the big white patch on A. maximum. This one and A. maximum are > in bloom today. The third plant, the other A. nobilissimum, is not yet open. > > > I have two forms of A. maximum also. The one here for years has no cultivar > name that I am aware of; and I recently acquired a plant of the cultivar > 'Ling Ling', but this has not yet bloomed. It looks like a tissue culture > plant. > > If you know only the native A. canadense, you will be surprised when you see > the flowers of these two species: they are big, several inches across. A. > maximum is very striking. The form of A. nobilissimum without the white > patch is something else - gross, suggesting suppurating tissue or like > something out of an anatomy or pathology book. > > A. maximum might work as a garden plant here: years ago I saw it in an > unprotected spot in a local public garden. That was a nice clump full of > flowers. When I checked the site the next year, it was gone. Perhaps it died > during the winter. On the other hand, these striking plants are probably > potent thief magnets (and no, that is not how I acquired my plant). > > A. nobilissimum came with a zone 8 rating (I'm in zone 7), and it's been in > a cold frame and growing well since arrival several years ago. > > I have a hunch that these asarums are a lot more sun tolerant than they are > given credit for. > > Jim McKenney > jimmckenney@jimmckenney.com > Montgomery County, Maryland, USA, 39.03871º North, 77.09829º West, USDA zone > 7, where temperatures over 80 degrees F (~27 degrees C) are predicted for > the weekend. > My Virtual Maryland Garden http://www.jimmckenney.com/ > BLOG! http://mcwort.blogspot.com/ > > Webmaster Potomac Valley Chapter, NARGS > Editor PVC Bulletin http://www.pvcnargs.org/ > > Webmaster Potomac Lily Society http://www.potomaclilysociety.org/ > > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > pbs mailing list > pbs@lists.ibiblio.org > http://pacificbulbsociety.org/list.php > http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/ > >