I've also been growing Sauromatum venosum outdoors here in NW Arkansas (nominally z6, but with the odd z5 temps to -20 F [-28 C]) for at least 20 years now. No special protection or handling. I know people farther north who also grow them outdoors successfully. They have just finished flowering here. They'll set seed, which I know is fertile only because I germinated a few before offering it to others. I suspect they germinate rarely if at all in the garden, otherwise I'd have thousands by now instead of mere hundreds ... I do have a start of one of the "giant" strains, which I've not yet tested outdoors. Anyone have any experience with these? Are they equally cold hardy? Steve On Fri, 10 Jun 2005 johngrimshaw@tiscali.co.uk wrote: > Jim McKenney wrote: > > > The plants growing here have been outside for decades, and they spread > > themselves around a bit. They're not yet weedy, but the coarse foliage is > > no friend to smaller plants. > > I agree with this statement, but the answer is not to grow Sauromatum with > smaller plants that are in growth at the same time. I find it an ideal > partner to smaller bulbs - when planted deeply, below the other things. It > has yet to emerge here (like Arisaema candidissimum) while all the smaller > bulbs are now more or less dormant. When it shows up it will occupy an empty > temporal and spatial niche in a most convenient way, providing a lovely > foliage display for the rest of the summer and then getting out of the way > again. It has been totally hardy in Maidenhead for the past 14 years, at > least. A damp spot in a warm site will undoubtedly make it very happy, but > my largest patch is in rather arid soil and apparently quite happy there. > > In my various gardens I grow 4 different stocks of Sauromatum venosum, > including one from Kenya, and I could not say that there is any difference > in hardiness between them. There is slight variation in foliage shape and > especially the colour of the petiole and its blotches, but nothing > significant. Flowering is occasional and in the open is comparatively > inoffensive compared to the various other stinking aroids I grow. Fruits > usually follow, but I have not attempted to grow the seed and am not sure if > it germinates in the garden. -- Steve Marak -- samarak@gizmoworks.com