We have a small quantity of home-grown seeds for sale this autumn. All seeds offered are garden-grown - none are wild-collected - and we are not retailing any commercially-supplied seeds. These seeds are only available to buyers in the United Kingdom.
Packet of 5 seeds. Unusual Greek native. UK-grown, autumn 2009.
This hardy tuberous perennial is a close relative of the popular garden plant Arum italicum, but is native to Greece, the Aegean and SW.Asia.
The flower spathes are pale greenish-pink to pinkish-purple to deeper purple, followed by spikes of bright orange berries.
The spearhead-shaped leaves do not have the white marbling of commercially available Arum italicum.
Like most arums, the flowers and leaves are small when the plants are young, but increase in size in successive years. The flowers are 30-40cm tall in mature plants, and the leaves 30-50cm tall.
Easy to grow in sun or light shade, in a dryish position. Prefers a richer, organic soil. The leaves can be damaged by wind if grown in a very exposed position.
Sow the seeds in pots when received, for planting out next spring.
The plants that have produced these seeds are a couple of generations on from seed collected in Crete in the 1980s by Lance Chilton, co-author of the Flora Of The Cretan Area.
Only a few seeds available this year (the blackbirds love eating them!), so there are five seeds in the packet.
Lance Chilton and Marengo 2010
Marengo, 17 Bernard Crescent, Hunstanton PE36 6ER, England
