Tiff, this is one of those times you're going to wish you had fresh seed, because those would germinate in just a few weeks with no chill :) I made a huge mistake when buying plants on site at the former Heronswood - they were so expensive, I purchased ONE of some, and the flowers come male or female...no ripe seed! Gotta open my wallet and shop somewhere again this year, spice up their dating/mating life. Dried stored seed can take a few months (you'll want to soak 24 hrs minimum before sowing, even if WS), and germination is sporadic/erratic, about the time you give up on more, another seed will germinate. You aren't likely to have any significant growth the first year, a. consanguineum needs to form a tuber before it shows much above soil that you can appreciate. I think you should plan on keeping the seedlings in pots at least the first year so choose your container/depth accordingly, or you could pot up individually later. This is a GREAT plant though, so I hope you get good germination and lots of seedlings. With your taste in plants, do you have a copy of The Explorer's Garden, Hinkley? Lots of interesting propagation notes and cultural information, I think you'd really enjoy the book.

Jacks are pretty hearty. They are ephemeral and may just go dormant due to the disturbance. They may do nothing this year... but should come back just fine next year. They like moisture, rich soil, leaf mulch and shade.

Arisaema seed need about 3 months of cold stratification, below 40°F. and then warm temperature, to germinate. Easiest method to start them is; plant seed in a pot of moist soil, enclose in a sealed plastic bag and place in the refrigerator. After 3 months, remove from refrigerator and remove the plastic bag. Check for moisture content of soil and water if necessary. Place pot in a warm location, 68°F+/- and they should begin to germinate. Don't become discouraged if all of the seed do not germinate at the same time. I have had fresh seed that required two or three periods of cold/warm stratification before germination. Fall sown seed can be left outdoors in colder climates and should begin to germinate in the spring. Protect from rodents and birds with a screen. of course! Hope this helps. :Rb

My understanding is there are many variations on the single species tryphyllum. Some taxonomists/botonists even classify them as three distinct species or subspecies with many different variations within the three A. atrorubens, A. triphyllum, and A. stewardsonii some even use another A. quinatum to encompass triphyllum and atrorubens into a single ssp. Triphyllum also supposedly hybridizes naturally in some places with A. dracontium, I'd like to see one of these. Whatever the taxonomy there are many different color variants. Sounds like you have stewardsonii which is a more northern variant. A VERY nice plant.