Any Ideas?

Hi folks. Whilst out digging in the garden, I found these.

 

Thanks M/F. They look a bit uninspiring, but I`ll just replant them somewhere to see how they go. Cheers...freddy.

 

Hmmm.....a much different perspective there. Maybe I can make a nice spot for those. Thanks M/F Cheers...freddy.

 

We have them too, freddy, seeded themselves. I call them my Exotic Weeds, lots of people consider them weeds.

 

Hi Kedi-Gato. Thanks for posting the pics. I`m still not sure what I`m going to do with them, or where I can put them. Seems like they need somewhere with a woodland `feel`. Time will tell. Cheers...freddy.

 

They are lovely I have them, the leaves are there throught the winter and in late spring summer you get red berries. They are not weeds!!

 

Unfortunately I don't have them. I've seen them and like TO love them. I've tried to get some but no one seems to sell it even as seed. But that's what they are.

 

Sarraceniac - I'm just in the process of emptying pots and moving the plants into a new bit of garden. I'm sure that i've got a clump of these in a pot somewhere. If you want some, PM your address and when I get to the pot, i'll split them and send some off to you. It could be a couple of weeks/months but I'll get round to it sometime soon! :D :D

 

Thanks Glen. I wasn't hinting honest but I would love some. PM on way.

 

freddy - this is a good article that I found in the latest P Allen Smith Newsletter. The picture didn't copy over but it is the same one as in the post above from shiney and what I have too.


Arum Of Italy
Arum italicum

Categories: perennial, shade lover, winter interest

Zone: 6,7,8,9

Bloom color: white spathes followed by bright reddish-orange berries

Bloom time: spring

Height: 6 to 12 inches

Light: Sun/Partial Shade

Good bedfellows:
� Daffodils

Description

This arum features arrow-shaped foliage marbled in glossy greens with silver veining. In late April an almost translucent sheath emerges from the clumps of foliage. They are usually few and far between and only last for a short time. They are so ethereal and ghost-like they can easily come and go without notice. In the fall the arum's open flowers give way to clusters of red berries. These clustered berries will slowly turn from green to a bright red-orange.


Planting tips

As its name implies, Arum of Italy is not one of our natives, but it has adapted itself so well in shady gardens from zone 6 to zone 9 you might think it has been part of fine gardening since before, well, there was fine gardening in America. This carefree plant will thrive in soil full of organic matter that stays moist. Conditions that are too dry will eventually take their toll on arum. However, during its period of dormancy from June until September, dryness does not seem to bother it.


Suggestions

In the quiet stillness of winter it is always exciting to see signs of life. While most of the perennials in my garden follow the standard cycle of growth in spring and summer then dormancy during the cold months, some others take a different path. Arum italicum or arum of Italy is such a perennial. Mine puts forth its foliage in October through the fallen autumn leaves. This foliage persists throughout the winter. Even when temperatures drop low into the teens, the foliage appears undaunted. At first glance, you might think someone was trying to play a trick by planting a houseplant in your flower garden. The leaves of arum look very similar to the spathiphylum. The bold, variegated, spade-shaped leaves are a nice contrast to evergreen ferns and groundcovers. Its period of dormancy, when the foliage dies back completely, lasts from June until September. Then in September, you are reminded once again of its presence by stalks of berries suddenly appearing in the same fashion as the blooms of surprise lilies.


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From the P Allen Smith Newsletter