Re: help with jacks???

You are in luck!  And, yes, you will see plants from those berries if you
have a bit of patience.  What you need to do with those guys is plant
them:-)

Fresh seed should germinate in three or four weeks at room temperature.  My
records show most germinate in almost exactly a month, some sooner and a
few have taken two months (this for other species, as I recall A.
triphyllum germinates in three to four weeks from fresh seed).  Clean the
seed from the pulpy surroundings.  If your skin is sensitive, wear rubber
gloves to do this.  The word on Arisaema-L is that some people can get a
good rash from this seed.  I've not had the problem, but extend the
warning.

I generally put my berries in a metal sieve and while running water through
them, rub the berries along the sieve, which dislodges the outer covering. 
Then I rinse well to make sure all the pulp is removed and plant
immediately.  There will be several seeds in each berry.

You can allow them to dry before planting, but then you need to soak them
in water, to which you have added a drop of dishwashing liquid, for a day
or so ...rinse before sowing.

I sow in pots on top of my standard seed compost (which is Pro Mix - but
any bagged, quasi sterile medium will do - not soil from the garden) and
top with a quarter inch or so of granite grit.   I then water thoroughly. 
I am a top waterer, I have read posts that swear you should water from
below, but cannot be bothered and have had 85% - 100%  germination from
both fresh and dried seed.  I should modify that a bit.  The dried seed I
have used has come from the AEG distribution, so it would only have been
dried for a few months.  Have not tried seed from a commercial source,
which could have been dried for some time and might not germinate as
readily, or might need stratification, no experience there.  A. triphyllum
(the common native jack) is native to my woods and garden, so seed from
that has always been sown fresh.  I've even sown it without cleaning, but
that was so long ago, I can't remember if I had as good germination from it
as I have from cleaned seed....but, of course, Mother Nature doesn't clean
the seed.  I understand the pulp can contain germination inhibitors, so
best to clean it.

You will need to be able to keep the seedlings going under lights until
they go naturally dormant or until danger of frost is passed in spring when
you can take the pots outside.  I use a fluorescent fixture of uncertain
age set up in my laundry room...a newer fixture might be better, but my
babies seem to tolerate this without much stretching.  You could keep them
in any space with temperatures above 40F, I should think.  At first
dormancy, many on Arisaema-L will refrigerate the tiny tubers for a couple
of months and then bring them into warmth when they will sprout again.  I
just leave mine in the seed pots, keeping them on the dry side of moist but
not allowing them to totally dry out and let nature take its course.  Mine
generally go dormant from say February sowing, March germination,  in early
to mid summer.  I summer the pots outside in the shade and some will wake
up again in early fall and some wait until the next spring to wake up...I
just keep the pots from getting dry and basically ignore them.  They
generally need a cool period after dormancy to trigger regrowth.

After the 2nd season in the seed pot, pot up individually during the next
dormant period.  They are really still quite tiny -  about the size of a
large pea or a garbanzo bean -  to put in the ground but after a season in
their own pots - or two sharing a 4" pot, you can plant them out in the
garden.  They should be about the size of a thumbnail by then.  You could
plant them out earlier, but your losses will tend to be higher.

You can winter the dormant baby tubers in a cold greenhouse, cool room or,
if you have it, a cold frame, plunged in mulch or sand.    In your climate,
I'd be inclined to pick the cool but frost free spot.  In nature, they will
freeze as they will be close to the surface of the ground, but who knows
what the losses are under natural conditions?  I suppose you could sink the
pots in a sheltered spot outside and pile on the mulch, but you would need
to check frequently once spring arrived to make sure you removed the mulch
before they started to grow.

You will see plants that look like jacks from your seed in 3 years...the
seedlings are one leaf children.  If growing conditions are good, 2nd year
seedlings might look like miniature adults, otherwise they will just put up
one leaf again.

A. triphyllum is quite easy from seed and hardy from at least zones
4-9...tough as boots for me and will grow quite happily in clay soil,
tolerating woodland drought.  If it gets too dry for them, they simply go
dormant earlier in the season than they normally would.

Bloom will depend on cultural conditions.  These plants are most
interesting in that the same plant can be both male and female.  When
immature, they are male.  When they are mature enough to bloom, they become
female.  If conditions get poor after that, they will revert to male again.
 As far as I'm concerned, you simply can't have too many
Arisaema...marvelous plants!

If, for some reason, you can't deal with pots or flats of seedlings in the
house over winter, then I'd clean and sow them and put the pots/flats
outside in a sheltered spot and cover them with wire screening (to keep
them from becoming dinner for mice) and pile on mulch a foot or so deep
(leaves, straw, what have you) and remove it once danger of frost is past
and let them germinate as they will...this would somewhat mimic nature's
course.  Have no idea what germination would be like, but note that the
plants in my garden manage to seed around quite a bit on their own hooks
with no interference or help from me.  I suppose, if your weather would
still permit, you could even simply clean the seed and sow in the ground. 
If you choose that route, you should probably still cover the area in wire
screening and mulch, weighing the screen down with bricks or rocks to keep
mice from getting under it.

Whichever choice you take, you ought to sow the seed while it's fresh
IMO...

Marge Talt, zone 7 Maryland
mtalt@clark.net
Editor:  Gardening in Shade
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----------
> From: Pat <pattm@execpc.com>
> Date: Tuesday, November 02, 1999 9:27 PM
> 
> A co-worker gave my husband a bag of *Jack-in-the-pulpit* seeds/berries
> today . . . .No cultivar name, no instructions, no nuthin' . . . .(she
> knows his wife [me] is a gardener)
> 
> What do I do with them and will I ever actually see plants from them?
> 
> I have absolutely no idea what to do with these.  I'm in zone 5, SE
> Wisconsin - cold, snowy winters, short growing seasons, and clay soil.
> 
> Can anyone help in a general sort of way?  Thank in advance!
> -- 
> Pat Mitchell
> pattm@execpc.com

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