In article ws.com,
wrote:

In q27Qc.206473$%_6.41784@attbi_s01, on 08/04/04
at 03:13 PM, "Pam - gardengal" said:

I guess the conditions for its potential invasiveness tend to be more
pronounced here in the PNW than elsewhere, but seeds fallen from the
mother plant will eventually germinate and root readily under the same
growing conditions. Allow the seeds to fully ripen (a deep coral-red)
then direct sow in humusy, moisture rententive soil in part to full
shade.

My seeds are orange, and the spikes have broken and fallen over. Are the
seeds ripe? If not, will they still ripen disconnected from the roots?


Alan

Typically they fall over later in the year than this, so they might not be
ripe, & if not won't continue to ripen once the stem has gone soft. But it
is normal that they fall over when ripe, so that ants or beetles will find
them on the ground & cart away the individual fruits in the "cob," eat the
pulp, & leave the seeds elsewhere to take root in new locations. If the
seed is good, you should be able to clean the pulp off them yourself &
plant them in pots or coldframes to get them started. They can't be stored
long but need planting as soon as they are ripe. They take an eternity to
germinate & sprout, a year is not unlikely, another year before they look
like much; it is faster to get more by digging up an older clump, divide
it, &amp separate baby corms toward the end of summer when dormant, &
plant the corms in coldframe or pots.

In chillier zones the seeds don't seem to ripen well so the plant isn't
invasive, & in warmer zones unless they're right by a stream or in a boggy
location the plant goes summer-dormant before the seeds ripen. But in the
narrow ideal slot of cool winters, warm summers, & not too much dryness in
summer, they can become nuisance plants. Fancier italian arum cultivars
that are somewhat dwarfed & mottled or speckled are less invasive than
large plain-leafed arum. It can take a few years before one knows if
they're going to be burdensome. In conditions that don't permit them to
become invasive, they still flourish as tame restrained clumps, with great
winter leaves & spring flowers even if the seasons aren't quite right for
the cobs of seeds to completely ripen.

Here are my pages about them:
http://www.paghat.com/arum.html
http://www.paghat.com/arum2.html
http://www.paghat.com/arum3.html

-paghat the ratgirl

--
"Of what are you afraid, my child?" inquired the kindly teacher.
"Oh, sir! The flowers, they are wild," replied the timid creature.
-from Peter Newell's "Wild Flowers"
Visit the Garden of Paghat the Ratgirl: http://www.paghat.com