There are some plants, which fall into the "Love 'em or Hate 'em" catagory, here is just such a plant. Friends, meet Dracunculus Vulgaris, the "Dragon Arum". Most gardeners would probably see this as a novelty plant, something unusual to show their friends. For Aroid lovers like me however, it's really something special, in more ways than one. It is native to the Mediterranean, growing in Crete, Greece and Southern Turkey amongst other places. Its most notable features are its size, they grow to 5ft. and when in flower, the smell. This can last from 24 to 48 hours depending on how long it takes for flies to pollinate it and it's yuk! It reminds me of rotting flesh. Don't let this put you off because its well worth growing for the foliage alone and you can always cut off the spathe before it opens. The picture shows the spathe on one of my plants, it measured 18 ins. in length the day before it opened.
Cultivation is easy. A well drained spot in full sun or very light shade is best. Dig out an area of soil about 6 to 9 inches deep. Fork over the bottom of the hole to loosen the soil up. Other than some bonemeal, I don't put anything beneath the corm. Place the corm in the bottom of the hole and replace the soil. Other than adding more bonemeal and a dash of well rotted manure to the topsoil I don't do anything else. Water and fertilize well when in growth, but otherwise leave it alone. As noted above, these can grow tall, so they might need staking in windy conditions. In my garden, they tend to show themselves around about the end of March and once the weather warms up a bit they're off. Other than flies on the spathe doing their stuff, I've never seen any pests on my plants and slugs seem to give them a wide berth. Can't say I blame 'em. One final point, good drainage is most important as any standing water will cause them to rot.
I lift the corms when the plant has died down completely. Allthough offsets can be grown on in deep pots, using a well drained mix of J.I. no 2 and gravel, I prefer to plant them out in the garden. I dig out a small area about 6 ins. deep, loosen the soil in the bottom and place the corms about 4 ins. apart. I replace the top soil and leave them alone. Put in a marker so you remember where they are. When the first growth appears I begin watering and I give heavy feeds of high nitrogen fertilizer to bulk up the corms. After a couple or three years I switch to a high potash fertilizer to harden the corms up a bit and promote flowering.
Fresh seeds should be planted immediately, in a well drained mix of J.I. seed or no1 compost. Seed that's been stored, should be soaked for a couple of days, then potted up as for fresh seed. The best place to keep them is in a shaded coldframe until they germinate. Seeds and offsets grown in pots can be fed high nitrogen fertilizer to bring the corms up to flowering size. Roughly 3 yr's plus for seeds and 1 or 2 for offsets. Posted by Mike.
This Blog, subtitled "All, or nearly all you need to know about planting out your Treasures." is for those who are new to palm growing. It's all text I'm afraid, no pretty pictures. In it, I've tried to cover most aspects of planting out your palm, from getting it home in one piece to the initial after care. To start with though here are a few common sense do's and dont's. ( At this point, you're allowed to pour yourself 4 fingers of your favourite tipple. Mine's a single malt please. )
Before I go any further, I should make it clear that this Blog is about planting palms of a manageable size. The sort you'd bring home in your car or small van. Say up to a 10 inch tub. I'm not on about palms which need the use of block and tackle, mobile cranes or a "Chinook" helicopter to airlift them in.
First the "dont's". Don't go to the garden centre or nursery, buy a palm, bung it in the back of your car and then decide to go for a day out. Why not? How would you feel if you were cooped up for hours in a tin box, which gets boiling hot in the sun and has little ventilation? I'll bet you wouldn't be very happy and neither will your palm. Buy your palm on the way home or make a special journey. If your palm has been kept in the shade, don't dash out and put it out in full sun. Even sun loving palm's can get sunburnt leaves, move it into stronger light gradually. ( Leave shade lover's in the shade. ) Don't be in too much of a hurry to plant your palm. If you've got a particular spot lined up for it, put it out in the tub and leave it there for a day or two. Let it acclimatize itself to its new surroundings, you never know you might decide that it would look better in another part of your garden. ( Keep in mind its basic requirements, some like sun, others like shade and some don't mind either way. )
Now for some "do's". Buy your palm and plant it out in late spring or early summer. This gives it plenty of time to form new roots and get at least part way to being established before the onset of winter. Palms bought after midsummer are best over wintered in their pot's in a sheltered spot outdoors to plant out the following spring. When you get home, give your palm a good drink of water, either with a watering can or put it in a bucket and fill it up. I've seen too many palms which look well watered but they're not. The top's been moist but the bottom of the pot has been bone dry. Also remember that palm root's invariably take up most if not all of the pot, give 'em a good soak. Do make sure that your garden soil is in good order, add plenty of well rotted compost or manure. Make sure the drainage is in good order, palms don't like wet feet. If your palm needs staking, make sure you've got one or two available. Soil preparation and drainage should have been sorted out prior to planting, not when you're just about to start digging the hole. ( The best time for soil preparation is autumn. This allows the soil to settle a bit and for the winter weather to break it down into a nice tilth. )
Now for the planting. ( You can all gather round and watch, but bring your own shovel to lean on. ) Over the years, I've seen any number off uprooted trees and palms and the one thing they have in common is the way their roots grow. By far the majority of roots grow on or very close to the soil surface. I'll call these "feeders". These then taper down to the roots which provide the anchorage. If you can visualize an inverted triangle as representing the root growth, with the bulk of them towards the top and gradually tapering down you've got it right. The "feeder" roots will also travel far and wide in their search for moisture and nourishment. My way of planting tries to provide the best possible way for the roots to spread out and down quickly and establish themselves.
Let's assume I've got a palm in an 8 inch pot and I'm about to plant it out. How do I go about it? First, I dig out an AREA between 2 to 4 ft. square and ONLY as deep as the pot. The soil in the bottom of the hole is then thoroughly loosened with a garden fork. I don't put any manure in the bottom of the hole I leave it for backfilling. ( If your palm needs staking, now's the time to put them in. ) I knock the palm out of the pot, tease out some roots and place it in position, with the top of the pot level with the top of the hole. I then start to refill the hole with a mixture of soil and well rotted manure, firming it down gently as I go. You can also use bark chips, but not composted bark, this stuff takes too much nitrogen from the soil. When I've finished the planting, I give the area a thorough drenching. I use the excess soil and manure as a mulch, covering the planting area. ( Don't mulch right up to the trunk, leave a gap. ) I don't use high nitrogen fertilizer for the first year, I want root growth not top growth. Instead I use a good general purpose fertilizer at one third full strength, I keep it well watered at all times and I never let it dry out. That, is how I plant my palm's. The whole idea, is to provide the roots with a loose, friable, airy soil which holds moisture without getting water logged and which will enable them to establish themselves quickly and get the palm back into full growth.
I'll be the first to admit that planting out palms this way is time consuming and that it might not appeal to everyone. However, I do believe that it's as close as I'm ever likely to get to the ideal and I can assure you it's worth the time and trouble. Posted by Mike.
Note. If you're going to try out this method and need any advice send an e.mail to bhutia2006@hotmail.co.uk