A while ago we planted an arum lily in one of our borders which hasn’t really been happy. This year it only started producing any leaves in late September and then nothing like it should. The leaves were very small nothing like the statement they should be
The plant loves damp conditions so in many ways it was hardly surprising that it wasn't happy this year but to be honest it hasn't really performed for ages.
Anyway I decided it was time to dig it up and see if it would enjoy life better in a pot that could be overwintered in the greenhouse.
No wonder it was struggling the ground was like dust but despite this lots of small white shoots were trying their best to grow. In fact there were so many shoots crowding each other that the plant needed dividing into several clumps of varying sizes which were each potted into pots of varying sizes.
After planting the pots were given a good soaking - you could almost hear the sigh of ecstasy from the plants.
Some if not all the pots will be popped in the greenhouse over winter. I am also wondering whether to try popping at least one of them into the pond as a marginal - does anyone grow arums like this?
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The weather conditions are responsible for another below-par performance then. My soil is very dry too. I'm considering getting the hose-pipe to it today, which is pretty unusual for October. Judging by her latest blog Header, Hazel (Dene) might know a bit about Arums...
ReplyDeleteI look forward to similar flowers to Hazel next year! There's a whole list of under performers this year Mark. We couldn't water everything and what we did we couldn't compensate for lack of rain.
ReplyDeleteI was given some Arun Lillies I found this site usefull
ReplyDeletehttp://www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/plants/plant_finder/plant_pages/999.shtml
I have never grown them so I can't help there but hope you get plenty that live through the winter and thrive next year.
ReplyDeleteHi Sue I had an arum lily in my pond but it didn't survive the winter. I was later told that perhaps it needed to be on a deeper shelf, but I've never got around to trying again. Given how many little plants you have, it has to be worth a try though?
ReplyDeleteThanks for the link Cathy I'll have a look at it.
ReplyDeleteSo do I Tanya - they are lovely plants when grown well.
I'll be giving that a try Janet - our pond area is another project so it will fit in nicely with that.