tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8720234.post-1100395110380437872004-11-13T16:59:00.000-08:002004-11-13T17:18:30.380-08:00Arum creticum<p>Arum creticum has shown up in the catalogs of a few bulb dealers, and also in a few nurseries local to me. I don't think that it is hardy enough avoid damage in climates much colder than about USDA zone 8 or so, but where it is hardy, it's a useful plant like other species of Arum.</p>
<p>Arums are generally natives of mediterranean or maritime climates, and they leaf out early, most of them in the Autumn, and go dormant during the summer. In my own maritime climate, that means I don't have to irrigate them. It also means that their leaves will help hold down weeds during the winter, and prevent bare muddy soil when other things go dormant. For that reason I like to interplant them with things that are winter-dormant.</p>
<p>Arums often have smelly flowers but the scent is usually not particularly appealing; at best they smell like mushrooms or compost and at worst they are downright stinky. Arum creticum stands out for having blossoms that are not only more colorful than those of other Arums, being yellow or off-white instead of plain green or some lurid color like dark dull purple, but they also happen to be pleasingly fragrant. The spadix (the “Jack” that stands in the “Pulpit”) is either yellow or purple. Overall, the blossom looks very much like that of a Zantedeschia, otherwise known as a “Calla Lily”. All the specimens of it I have seen have plain green leaves, without the patterns of species such as Arum italicum.</p>
<p>I'm trying it in a few different spots. In one spot it will take over for Hedychium greenei when it freezes back in the winter, and in another spot it will take over for Pelargonium sideroides in a rock garden. Going dormant in the summer, it doesn't mind exposed situations like that.</p>
<p>I haven't had it long enough to comment about its exact cultural requirements, but it seems to be happy so far. I suspect it is probably a bit more sun-loving than its more northerly relations, but otherwise seems tolerant just like they are. I've got them in richer soil than they probably need.</p>
<p>Arum creticum is native to the islands of Crete, Karpathos, Rhodes, and Samos, where it grows on rocky hillsides.</p>Atarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09845221495990410926noreply@blogger.com