Dragon Arum Update ... it's Close!

I know it's been a while since I updated on the progress of the Dragon Arum (Dracunculus vulgaris). A lot has been due to the weather being so rainy, which continues tonight (see previous weather post), but that hasn't slowed down Mr. Stinky one bit! Fernymoss got these shots tonight before the storms moved in, and it's getting very close to blooming within a few days. (Click one of the labels below for last year's posts on this plant.) As of today, the bloom spike is over 2 ft long, and the plant itself is about 4.5 ft at this point.

In the first shot you can see a wider view of its area in the Woodland Garden ... pay close attention to the base of the plant and you can see most of the 6 new offshoots that appeared this year. We doubt that they'll do much other than produce leaves this year, but next year ... who knows? As you can see, the peonies are nicely synchronized with the Dragon Arum again this year. We wish we had gone ahead and cut these tonight, because after these rains we're currently experiencing, they'll likely be on the ground tomorrow ...

The second shot shows a lot more detail of the leaves and rapidly emerging bloom ... you can also get a better idea of its growing context ... to the upper left you can see one of our Toad Lilies, the Jack in the Pulpit, the Trilliums, a Leatherwood and Maidenhair Fern, and of course the Peonies who are just starting their annual show. Come back for further updates in future days ...