So that was a normal reaction then. Its my first time reacting like this to an arisaema so I got freaked out. Oh yes, I forgot to mention why I'm doing this. Its to avoid the plant from rotting in the wet winter. The owner of the nursery that I bought this arisaema from told me that to ensure you don't lose them over the winter you should dig them up and store them for the winter and replant it back outside in spring.

I don't think that's necessary..my lot is moist..it's lower than neighboring lots and we even get standing water in some areas in the spring but I haven't lost any plants..it seems like I've had plants in the same spots ever since I moved in (2005)..I would do some research..why do extra work if you don't need to..especially with a poisonous plant..

Apparently arisaema mayebarae is one of the more rot susceptible arisaemas. This is the information and advice I got from the arisaema grower I bought this arisaema from. He lives in Indianapolis just like you and he apparently grows this arisaema in 8 inch high pile of pure rotted wood chips and so far this is the only method that works for him for that arisaema in terms of avoiding rot. I've already lost one of that arisaema earlier this summer due to rot for no apparent reason. What kind of arisaema is yours?

I don't know lol..that pic above was taken in my yard..is it different than what you have?..I have nice soil from years and years of leaf litter..

Heruga, if the stems were juicy it sounds as if the plants were not yet dormant.

Mine is arisaema mayebarae and it certainly is not what you have. Maybe arisaema heterophyllum?

Oh.. Well would the plant be harmed in any way by trying to store it when it hadn't gotten dormant yet?

mine seem to be arisaema tryphyllum..I took 2 screenshots..

first.. how did you dip them if you werent using gloves??? .. plz be more careful ...

when i dug dahlia and canna for winter... we dug them.. and left them on top of the soil for a week or so.. to dry in the sun ... usually one weekend to the next ....

and then they were inspected for size reduction.. and removing parts that were damaged etc .... you dont store things with open wounds..

and then they were left to dry another few weeks.. but protected from frost or freeze not going into the basement until a few weeks later ...

dad always said.. we had to let them dry ....

you cant stack and store gooey stuff ...

ken

I used gloves when dipping but I took it off to cut the remaining green on the tuber. Tbh I have no idea why I did that.

But Ken, what if my arisaema wasn't completely dormant yet like floral mentioned? Would extreme dryness kill the plant if it is still active and seeking water, even if it's only a little bit?

I hadn’t come across this particular species, or subspecies, Heruga, so I looked it up. According to this source it is hardy in your zone, so perhaps you are making life more difficult for yourself than it need be. I also looked at a UK source Here which said the rhizomes would be dispatched between November and April, ie planted in winter. So I’m not sure why you’re digging yours up now.

We've had this discussion before :-) ALL arisaemas like good drainage and that species is fully winter hardy in your zone. Provided it is planted in well-drained soil there is no earthly reason it needs to be dug and stored over winter......in fact, IMO that would lead more likely to rot than leaving it in place in the garden!!

I know, I am not worried about winter hardiness. I am worried about winter rot. The grower I bought this from told me he is only successful in having this particular arisaema survive the winter (not temperature but wetness) only if it is grown in a raised bed of rotted wood chips. No other method seems to work. So I thought of creating a berm to transplant my arisaema just like you said Gardengal but currently I am in a tight budget and I cannot afford to buy hundreds of bags of topsoil/compost/woodchips whatever and make a berm. So I thought just this year I will store it indoors and starting from next year I will make a berm when my budget isn't too bad.

So wait, by cutting out all the roots I basically killed them? What is the next immediate step I should take? Currently it's in a bag of perlite in my basement

Growing it permanently in a bed of rotting wood chips is a very different proposition from digging the poor thing up and putting it in the fridge! You’re overthinking again and you may well have lost your plant. Whatever made you think it needed digging up? Did you do any reading about it? The link I tried to post before didn’t work but just google your plant. All you need to do is make a mound of well drained soil with plenty of organic matter. Just use the soil in your yard and add lots of something like leaf mold or compost.

As I said many times, I am digging it up because it went dormant(for the most part) and therefore it's not absorbing any more moisture which makes it more susceptible to rot. So I dig it up and try to store it to avoid rot. My other arisaema is not yet dormant so it's still in the ground. Btw I've done enough research on this plant both online(Japanese websites as well) and asking experts like the grower I know of.

As much as I like to think I'm over thinking again, this time for this plant, I don't think I am. The grower himself told me this is one of the hardest arisaemas to grow and his only succession in surviving the wet winter is having this plant in an 8 in high bed of pure wood chips. My other same arisaema rotted in summer, even before it was time for dormancy and was still actively seeking moisture! And my soil isn't even clay. So what does that say? I never lost any other plant to rot in my soil. So I think this is what I'll do: mix up compost, pine bark nuggets, perlite, and some native soil to create a 12 in bed and plant my arisaema in those. Since I don't really trust woodchips I'll try this method

IMO you are overthinking :-) I used to grow a whole host of different arisaemas back in the day and never had any issues with rot in winter. And we tend to be wetter in winter than at any other time of year, receiving 85% of our annual rainfall during that period. Just make sure these are planted in well drained soil. If your soil does not drain well naturally, then plant in some sort of raised mound or berm, deep enough to accommodate the arisaema tuber and roots. Doesn't need to be a big production....just a generous enough mound to accommodate the plant.

But have you grown arisaema mayebarae? I was told this particular one needed exceptional drainage. And the one thing that is just stuck on my mind and not being able to convince myself even a typical well draining soil will do for this arisaema is the grower's statement on how this arisaema only survived for him in raised bed of rotted woodchips and nothing else. So my overdramatic thinking is that there is no such soil(other than the native ones in Japan which I have no idea what type it is) that can keep this arisaema alive without rotting.

Yes, but how did you get from planting in a mound of rotting wood chips to digging it up, chopping off the roots and stems and putting it in the fridge? That’s like cutting off your head to stop yourself catching flu!

I didn't plant in wood chips. I don't even have any. That's another person that suggested me using that.

I know you didn’t plant in wood chips. I was referring to the idea of planting in wood chips. It surely can’t be hard to find wood chips where you are? Next time you see tree cutters at work stop and ask for a bagful from their chipper.

I think part of the issue is that you are taking one grower's word....and one who lives in distinctly different part of the country with a very different climate and with very different soil conditions......as the gospel.

If you research this plant, there is nothing in the literature that indicates it is more difficult to establish and grow than any other sort of Asian arisaema or that it requires very specialized circumstances. It grows well in all sorts of diverse areas - I saw notes of it growing in MA, AL, PA, CA. And it grows perfectly well here in WA state, which I have already indicated is a wet winter climate.

MOBOT does state that it does "poorly in heavy clay soils"............but it says the exact same thing for all other Asian species. And all that really says is that good drainage is a requirement, as it is with any other species (and with virtually any other geophyte you plant!!). I really believe you are getting all worked up unnecessarily.

Well this is what I did. I made a 10 inch raised bed with compost, mini pine bark nuggets, and 1 bag of gravel and buried the tuber 3 inches deep. Then I covered it with a net and pinned it so critters don't dig it up. All the bags of pine bark nuggets, compost, and gravel cost 65$ for 2 arisaemas to go in. So 65$ just for 2 arisaemas. Gardening is a pretty expensive hobby isn't it. Just realized that

well..no one can say that you didn't try!..good luck..

Yes, good luck. I really hope they thrive for you given the outlay. I hope that the digging up and cutting back haven’t damaged them too far.

But I have to disagree that gardening is necessarily an expensive hobby. There’s no need for it to be. I’m pretty sure you could have given those Arisaemas a good home for nothing just using stuff lying around your yard. Starting with the leafy debris underneath the bamboo in the background of your picture and some of those stones alongside. Do you have a compost heap? If not get one started. Do you make leaf mold? If not start. You’ll save money forever.

Thanks. Well I was thinking of making a raised bed with bricks too but that means I gotta go buy more bricks which is more money and plus I think the bricks may cause more colder soil in the winter because the bricks tend to get colder. I do have a compost heap that we dump leftover decomposable food(not meat) but I barely use it because there are so many bugs inside it and I don't want to risk myself for any pest bugs that can potentially harm my plants. Also you don't know what harmful funguses there may be in it from rotting food

I think you need to start doing some research on compost - how it works, what it does and the benefits it adds. Even unfinished compost, as your appears to be. Bugs that live in compost are not bugs that will harm live plants.....they are what helps to create the compost in the first place. Ditto with the fungi that inhabit rotting food.......same types of fungi that feed on any other rotting organic material.

Have you taken any Soils classes yet in your studies? If not, I would encourage you to do so as soon as you can. Understanding the soil and what lives in it and how the soil interacts with cultivated plants is paramount to developing successful gardening skills. And a Pests and Disease class would not go amiss either :-) You have a lot of misinformation and misapprehension stored up that needs to be corrected!!

But what if I threw some chopped off green onion scallion bulbs in it. It would eventually rot in there and the rot organism would stay there which means I can't dress my bed with it if theres anything in the allium genus, won't it? I took a soil class in college but it wasn't about what lives inside it and stuff, it was more about the textures of it. We even went out on couple class trips and dug quite some holes to examine it. But again, nothing about soil organisms. I am taking a horticulture class now but not specifically on soil. Our compost is pure black and very rich, and not really brown like yours. Theres also quite a bit of chunk left in it that hadn't fully decomposed too.

"But what if I threw some chopped off green onion scallion bulbs in it. It would eventually rot in there and the rot organism would stay there which means I can't dress my bed with it if theres anything in the allium genus, won't it?"

Can you explain what you mean by this comment? I think I know but would like your confirmation :-)

When I cook with scallions I chop off the bulb end of it as we don't eat that part and we dispose it in the compost. Now the bulb end that was cut off will eventually die and rot in the compost bin as it has a lid on it and no sunlight enters it. Now I am not sure what kind of fungus or organism is causing the rot of the scallion and therefore I do not want to use the compost on a bed where any allium species are. This is just one small example though. Maybe there might be other harmful funguses that was a on a vegetable that we weren't aware of and just threw it in the compost bin.

Btw I said I have a compost heap on above comment but its actually a compost bin

OK, that's what I thought you meant :-) And here's my response:

Rotting happens with any once living organism - dead bodies, dead trees, dead plants or plant parts or any other nonliving vegetative matter.....like the remains of your onions. That is what decomposition/composting is all about. The microorganisms that promote the rot - bacteria and fungi mostly (but a lot of other microscopic and larger creatures as well) - are completely natural and for the most part exist as well in the live organisms. But they do not initiate the decomposition process unless the organism they inhabit is no longer alive.

Think what compost is........it is the mostly decomposed remains of plant matter. Kitchen waste (like the onions), grass clippings, tree leaves, twigs and brush or tree prunings and other plant parts. And yet the stuff is used extensively around the intentional plantings of all these things. If the fungi, bacteria or other promoters of rot and decomposition were harmful to growing plants then no one anywhere would advocate its usage!!

Wood chips and bark decompose over time yet they are still used to mulch woody plants all over everywhere. Mulching lawn mowers are highly recommended, returning the lawn clippings back to the ground to decompose and nourish the living lawn. And compost made from kitchen waste, last season veggie garden remains and all manner of other stuff is routinely returned back to the veggie garden and elsewhere without fear that those decomposing organisms are somehow going to encourage the decomposition of actively growing plants! It just doesn't work that way.

Read up on composting, take a class or two or spend some time asking questions on the Soils Compost and Mulch forum. There is A LOT for you to learn

I don't have gardengal's knowledge but I wanted to tell you that when I took some gardening classes EVERYONE (students and several instructors) preferred open piles over tumblers..just letting you know..I put every fruit and vegetable scrap, coffee grounds and filters (brown) and debris..no meat, dairy or eggshells..eggshells are ok but I don't like them here's my compost pile..this was after we chipped last year..

Ok I fully get it now. Maybe it's time I stop wasting money on compost if already have one. But wait, why shouldn't there be a lid on? Is there something bad that could happen by having a lid on?

You can lid it or not as you wish. A lot depends on your climate and local conditions. Do you need to keep out excessive rain? Do you have animals which might dig into it? I suggest you spend some time on the FAQ of the soil, compost and mulch forum.

I like an open pile so the sun and rain can hit it..I have more wildlife than most but it hasn't been a problem..what excited the animals the most was my neighbor's Halloween pumpkins..it was broken in lots of pieces but still in the bin..I can tell sometimes that scraps have bites but it's not a problem to me..I'm still amazed how that everything breaks down completely..I used some compost today and it's so great..in the class those that tried tumblers said the compost was too wet, had an unpleasant smell and didn't fully break down..there are some on the compost forum that like tumblers..I'm happy with the way we do it..

I always used a piece of welded wire fencing formed in a circle and held together with cheap metal shower ring clips. I put them in convenient spots tucked away around the garden and filled them as I had material. It was easy to pull the fence off the pile when it was full and start another next to it or in another spot. The pile usually stayed in it’s cylindrical shape even without the fencing. you could make the circle as large or small as you wanted it. Very cost effective too.

Saypoint..a simple practical idea..