Moving Jack

Hi, I need some advice on moving Jack-in-the-Pulpit seedlings that came up. This will be their second year, and they need to be moved since they're all in the same area. When would be the best time to do this? TIA :D

Steve

Right now! Try your best to not disturb the roots by possibly transplanting entire clumps. I went on a rescue once where jacks were present and they instructed us to bag the entire clump. That's what we did, we bagged entire clumps and placed them in the backs of pick up trucks that hauled them off to who knows where... presumably to be planted back elsewhere.

Thanks Equilibrium! So its alright to keep them together? Some of them are right side by side.

Steve

I don't think you need to seperate them... but I have found them to be pretty hardy and do okay when moved around... sometimes after moving they will shrink back to nothing, but then will sprout just fine the following year.

The moving is now finished. I had 13 all together. One I found still germing when I was digging and I killed two by accident. But I still have 10 and thats a good number :) I hope they don't shrink away, but if they do, as long as they sprout again. I marked them with little sticks.
Thanks both of you for your help!!! :D

Steve

This message was edited May 12, 2006 10:22 AM

they will disappear as it heats up - spring epehemrals just do that - but they will be there next year. I've even planted things over one of my clusters and they just pushed up through - I moved the misplaced plant. Enjoy them now and anticipate them next spring.

Congratulations Steve! You are the new Daddy of a clump! Your clump will die back but it will come back to greet you next year... same time... same place.

Don't worry, Steve. They're not dainty at all. You will have yourself a nice clump of them next year...which you can then divide.

Yay! Even though the parent died, it still turned out pretty good. Instead of 1 I now have 10! I can't wait till they flower....how long should that take? I'm pretty sure the seeds first sprouted late last summer.

Steve

This message was edited May 14, 2006 10:59 PM

My mom's jacks are huge suckers and they grow straight through till fall. They almost look like mutant tropical plants by the end of the summer. She grows them on the north face of her house which is shady and moist all year long, I think the jacks just think its spring there all year long....

Those same plants when transplanted to my house go back to being normal ephemerals. My mom just has a quirky microclimate condition right there that is jack heaven.

The jacks have a root bulb. In my opinion growing and transplanting them is not unlike a tulip or daffodil bulb...

They do have a "tropicalesque" look to them now that you mention it. Mine never last as long as your Mom's plants though. I'd sure like it if mine did last longer as I do very much like the looks of them. They are an exceptionally attractive plant. So much deviation in type too which I find amazing. I've got them ranging from virtually black in one area to anthocyanin free in another area. Interesting, very interesting given these exist on the same property which in the larger scheme of things is not all that large all factors considered. I've often wondered how such wild deviations ended up a couple hundred feet away from each other. When I've visited other properties, their jacks share common traits but mine are all across the board.

OK Equilibrium, now you've made me run to the dictionary. Anthocyanin - any of a class of water- soluble pigments that give flowers the colors ranging from red to blue.
My Jacks are varied in color also , from pale green to chocolate, all in the same small bed. I can trace the variation to the two different sources I obtained them. One, the green, was from a vacant lot being developed and rescued, and the other I purchased. Both have spread quite nicely. In stress years, drought conditions, few fruit. But they do last almost to fall for me in an area that starts out in more sun, then remains shady after the oak leafs out.
Pixie

Don't be suprised if more pop up in the same area. I wonder if ants spread the seed the way they do trilliums? I'm getting them where they never were.

Billyporter - Hope more come still, and if the ants spread the seed thats even better. I was thinking that since the seedlings I just moved sprouted late last summer, it wasn't last years berries that grew, so I might still get more coming up this year.

Steve

I started out with one plant. It suprised me by showing up in ferns I transplanted a few years before that. I moved all the tubers. I thought. I also just laid the seed pod on the ground and hoped the ants would take them. I think you will always have!

If they stay here always, I will be very glad! Then I could start sharing them with friends.

Steve

Those that are by the side of my southern rock bed were planted by the former owner's grand parents - well over a hundred years ago - they are definitely there for the duration.
As to moving around, there are two in the rock bed that have been just leaves for 7 or 8 years that have this year put up a jack, and there is at least one new plant there.

Ha! made you work on that one Pixie! Just teasing with you and sorry about using that word. I couldn't think of another word off the top of my head to indicate that some of my Jacks were devoid of colorful pigmentation. All I could come up with at the time was anthocyanin free but that would be an accurate description.

Oh oh oh! Is somebody interested in how this plant is really pollinated and how the seed is dispersed? I love this plant and it is by far one of my woodland favorites. Check this site out. It takes a while to load but the illustrations are good. http://www.msu.edu/~ewynicho/jack_present_files/jack_present.ppt

So what does this mean? This means that Arisaema triphyllum is pollinated by gnats! How cool is this? triphyllum emits scents that trick the gnats into thinking it is a nice big juicy mushroom. This lures the gnats into the pulpit. Slick walls prevent them from climbing back out the way they entered. Male A. triphyllum have one escape hole at the bottom that opens after the pollen is ripe. Gnats can exit through this built-in escape hole of male plants. Female A. triphyllum do not have this escape hole so gnats coated in pollen do their thing to help perpetuate the species. If you take a magnifying glass and look closely at the plant you will be able to find the escape "hatch" yourself on male plants and this is really exciting to kids. The trapping mechanism of this plant is not all that dissimilar to the trapping mechanism of Sarracenia spp. which is another favorite plant of mine. Forgot to mention that triphyllum is a sex changing plant. Most of the juveniles are male and swap over to being female when they are mature enough to support those heavy bright red berry clusters. And I don't think ants are responsible for seed dispersal on this species. Those berries are heavy. From what I have seen, critters and wind seem to knock them to the ground and then heavy rains move mine around and about a little bit. I don't think many critters eat the seed of this plant because the plant leaves and pulp contains calcium oxalate which is nasty. Wood Thrushes (Hylocichla mustelina) and a few other birds are said to eat the berries although I've never seen this- go figure. This means that the seed can in fact be dispersed farther away from the parent plants in ready made fertilizer packs as a bird eliminates so there is one possible answer to how the seed is disseminated and why plants ended up where they never were by billyporter. And if you want to share this plant, try propagating it yourself by gathering some berries this fall. The seed of Arisaema has been double dormancy for me when I have attempted to propagate it. If anyone tried to winter sow Arisaema and had no germination the following spring, don't give up. Keep the seed damp and give it another year. You could always forgo winter sowing the seed in favor of broadcasting it in areas where you would like to see more of it. Then you can let Ma nature do her thing.

I am really glad there is interest in this plant. It truly is magnificent.

Pulpits are just neat to see. I've never read too much about them except the usual basic info so the gnats were interesting! Mine get good moisture and are huge! I used to have Dutchmans Breeches but they never did as well. I need a spot that doesn't get disturbed. I got them from ''Jungs'' who said they were not wild dug.

That's really interesting Equil, about the escape hatch.Thanks for sharing. I took a picture earlier today of one of my babies :D

Steve

Really sorry about your Dutchman's Breeches. Those are a plant that I introduced here two years ago and they are hanging in.

I am not a proponent of field collection unless the land is slated for development. Most developers will give permission for an organization to go in and gather what they can.

Nice looking baby Steve. I'll try to take a few photos of mine a little later if it stops drizzling to show you what I meant by the deviation in color forms present here. Pretty wild that they all occur in such close proximity to each other. Hmmm, Wood Thrushes flying over head?

Nice babies!
I moved all the Jacks from this spot and these all came up.

And these came up on their own. I never had them here.

Very nice Billyporter. They look very happy and healthy ")

Dontcha just love it when you get volunteers of good plants! Very nice surprise to have those popping up to brighten your day! Bet you were doing a happy dance over the appearance of those.

No photos of any of mine today. The drizzle turned into rain and it is supposed to carry on through tomorrow. We do desperately need the rain.

I love volunteers, not only are they a nice surprise they help add a nice natural looking touch to the garden.

Steve

Here is a picture of one of my Jacks, and friends. I just found the macro button on my camera and realized I could take close-ups.
Pixie

This message was edited May 19, 2006 6:25 PM

This message was edited May 19, 2006 6:26 PM

Very nice Pixie! Mine never got that big. He must really like it where he is :)

steve

Jacks are lovely plants..and very complex..they change their sex every year or so. Some years, you get bright red berries...some years no.