Jack of Pulpit, wildflower

[rehric00]

So, I found some interesting looking flowers in the woods and decided to dig a few up and put them in my garden. I just now identified what they are: Jack of Pulpit.

I planted them in similar conditions in which I found them in. They are in dark, rich soil and a shady area. I have been watering frequently.

I noticed they have a bulb-type thing.. Is that how they come back next year? As for this year, I think they went into shock as they are limp and not staying upright.

Suggestions and advice is appreciated!!

[PaphMadMan]

First suggestion - do not dig up native wild plants from the woods. In can be illegal even if it is your own land, they often do not survive which is nothing short of tragic if they are an endangered species, and if it wasn't your own land it was theft.

But lets try to keep these plants alive where they are now...

Yes, the bulb-type thing is how they survive during the winter and come back the next year.

It sounds like you have them in the right spot, but be careful not to water too much. Standing in mud will kill then faster than getting a little dry. Rotten roots = dead.

Yes, they probably did go into shock especially if you dug them up without a large ball of soil around them, and the foliage may very likely die back now as it normally would in fall. But the good news is those bulb-type things (corms actually) have a good chance of living to come up next spring. The best thing you can do for them now is to leave them alone, and only water if the surface soil is dry and you haven't had rain for a week.

Finally, the common name is usually Jack-in-the-Pulpit. The botanical name is Arisaema triphyllum. They are very common plants over a very large range, so the good news is you haven't risked killing an endangered species. Take the time to look up some information about them on the internet, and if they do survive to come up next year buy some appropriate companion plants for them at any good garden center. And please, don't randomly dig up any more plants form the wild, especially before you know what they are and how to care for them.

[Bud]

Edelweiss perrenials is selling this plant for $6.50 each or 3 for $27.00

One account from the Meskwaki Indians states that they would chop the herb's corm and mix it with meat and leave the meat out for their enemies to find. The taste of the oxalate would not be detectable because of the flavored meat, but consuming the meat reportedly caused their enemies pain and death. They also used it to determine the fate of the sick by dropping a seed in a cup of stirred water; If the seed went around four times clockwise, the patient would recover, if it went around less than four times they would not.
Warning :The oxalic acid in jack in the pulpit is poisonous if ingested. Care should also be taken to avoid confusion with poison ivy, which has 3 leaflets somewhat similar in appearance.

[Phal grower]

I have a few growing with my ferns. Neat little plants.