On Tuesdays, Alison at Bonney Lassie invites us to show parts of our gardens that are less than lovely. While plants are resilient and it's a bit too early to throw in the towel on many, there are others that have definitely called it quits during our cold February.
First up are a couple of agaves that were under cover of the back porch and given no water. Several of those hardy to zones six and seven were just fine but for this zone eight lovely, the temperatures were just too cold. Interestingly, those of similar hardiness inside the unheated stained glass greenhouse/round room seem to be fine with only a few degrees more warmth.
Two Agave salmiana, hardy to 15 degrees were placed a few feet apart, again under cover of the back porch. One looks fine while this one, not so much.
Elegia capensis was just sprouting new growth when the cold hit. I've learned that when winter keeps me very busy away from the garden, I'm not so good at pulling plants inside at the last minute. Even if this comes back from the roots (doubtful) it'll take it years to regain it's former glory. Rhodocoma capensis, a more reliably hardy restio in a different part of the garden is fine.
The last of the snow is melting slowly. Nights in the 20's don't really speed the process much.
Brassaiopsis dumicola or Trevesia aff. palmata isn't looking very promising.
Let's end on a more hopeful note, shall we? Fascicularia bicolor appears to have quite a bit of dieback but there may be one or two rosettes of foliage with green centers. Fingers crossed.
The biggest surprise is that Agave 'Mr. Ripple' seems to have handled being outside in a pot in in the cold weather with little damage. He'd become too large to cart inside the greenhouse so I saved a few pups for insurance. If March doesn't do him in, he'll get planted in the ground . By the way, the dead plant in the blue pot in the foreground is my third or forth try with the gorgeous Daphne × burkwoodii ‘Briggs Moonlight.' It's died both in the ground and in pots. I guess I'm just not meant to succeed with that plant. Although if another pops up at a sale...
Now it's your turn to tell the truth.
I am wondering if it was melting snow down in some of these plants and the cold nights that were the killing factor. It is really hard to know for sure when you get weather that is so out of the norm for your area. When your garden starts to burst into bloom, you may miss some things but none of the rest of us will have a clue.
ReplyDeleteI still have too many plants so this will just make a bit more space.
DeleteBy the middle of next week we should all be warming up a few more degrees, finally.
ReplyDeleteNot being familiar with Elegia capensis, I looked it up. It has lovely feathery-airy look to it reminiscent of horse tail, which is truly hardy :-D
After killing two Daphne odora marginata and moved on to Eternal Fragrance. Not as intoxicating, but still alive!
Isn't it funny, we always want what we can't grow. I'm thinking that growing horsetail in that pot might be just the thing! Alive is good.
DeleteOh No! Your Trevesia! What a shame. Maybe at least some of yours will be like the guy on the cart in the Monty Python skit who insists "I'm not dead yet."
ReplyDeleteAnything's possible...
DeleteWhat was the zone eight lovely Agave that you started off with? I wondered about your Trevesia aff. palmata, damn. Do you want to take the one you gave me back? Last night we were down to 25, which is close to the coldest night of the winter (24). I was looking at my Edgeworthia flowers this morning, through the window, and realized this is the first year in memory that I haven't been out there gardening while the flowers were perfuming the air. What a wacky year.
ReplyDeleteI don't remember which agave that was but the shape was sweet. Maybe the tag is buried in the pot somewhere. I still have a Trevesia palmata in the greenhouse like the one I gave you so you need to keep yours. The one outside is/was the hardier one. It was pretty sad in January because it had thrown a root down through the drain hole of the pot and was drowning. I had to pull the root to drain the pot a month ago but probably having it's roots in an ice cube in February didn't make it happy. I won't dump it yet as plants sometimes surprise us.
DeleteYour poor plants. I bet it was the wind that got it. Like here today it got up to 23° but the wind chill was 9°. brrrrrr My whole garden is less than lovely now. I am pretty sure I have lost a Silverbell tree. So far that is all I know for sure. The crocus in the lawn might have drown but I am not giving up on them just yet. They might come around if the ground ever thaws.
ReplyDeleteOh well, it was time to thin out the collection a bit anyway. I bet your crocus will be just fine as they're pretty tough customers.
DeleteOuch! While it's cold here by our standards, the plants aren't complaining about the temperature (well, except the wimpy coleus) but I'm beginning to have concerns about losing some succulents to rot, even though my soil is heavy on sand.
ReplyDeleteI hope your temperatures rise so that the succulents will be able to handle the water a bit better.
DeleteSince we have fewer zonal denial plants than you do, most of ours were in the green house and are OK. We do have some sad looking shrubs in the garden. Today we crawled around clipping off all of the sword ferns - we have lots- and encountered pockets of unmelted snow.
ReplyDeleteI guess the upside of your losses is that now you might have room for more plants!
The upside is that now there's more room for the stacks of plants already waiting in the wings.
DeleteStop on by from AM and wow a possible gardening let just use the word "party" on Sunday I use to take part in posting and sharing my garden with others. Right now nothing going on with garden, we have three feet of snow in my yard.
ReplyDeleteHope you find the time to stop in for a cup of coffee.
Yikes, that's a lot of snow! Glad to find your blog.
DeleteI feel your pain. I have likely killed over $100 worth of tulip bulbs this winter.
ReplyDelete