Posted by David on April 30, 2007, 6:59 pm, in reply to "Re: Lets get this board going again!" Brunsvigia grandiflora - OK. Top growth hardy down to mid teens! I only have about 5 more years to go until I could see flowers! (they take about 10 years and can get almost as big as a soccer ball) Cyrtanthus stenathus - OK. Picture from my indoor "backup" plant, which bloomed in winter: Cyrtanthus epiphyticus - OK. Crinum lugardiae X bulbispermum from Shields - OK. Amaryllis johnsonii - ok. All of the above were deliberately NOT given a heavy mulch. Failures: Persimmon from South Africa - dead. Rated zn 7 by Rachel. Leonotus - almost sure it's dead. Not a great loss, I could have taken cutting but I found it was not as visually appealing as I thought it would be. My clone was very floppy and haphazard looking. Phormium cookianum. Big disappointment 'cause some say this is hardier than P. tenax. It was a plain green form. P. tenax survived 2 similar winters in my former garden with not even a complete kill of the top growth, so that's what I'll stick to trying again. Can't really think of anything else antipodal but I'm sure there's something I'm not remembering. Oh - I know...Chusquea from Ian. It's regrowing aften taking a beating...hopefully it will be ok. And Fabiana imbricata. More damaged than I expected - about 50%, but regrowing vigorously. (I forgot about Chile apparently) I was pleased with success in keeping an Arum pictum alive. It was killed back during the coldest periods but regrew. My house has 2 stone terraces along the front and what I'm finding about them is their "windward" sides are a very harsh environment while their "lee" sides have the sheltering and warmth retention you'd expected. The Arum pictum was on the lee side. I had some surprising loses on the windward side, and yet some surprising successes. An Erica 'Kramer's Rote' which shouldn't be THAT hardy did just fine and bloomed right through the 7F weather. A Hebe pinguifolia in the same area was fine! That soil had to be frozen absolutely solid. Yet an Erythrina herbacea...a native plant that should be hardy and forms a deep root - died. A few other things that should have been hardy died...I just can't remember now. Plants - always a surprise!
72.85.8.97
low of 7F, extended freezing, dessicating winds
Eucalyptus glaucescens from Ian did better than E. neglecta from PDN even tho it was a smaller plant.
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