RE: Trevisia palmata hardiness-refutation.
- To: m*@ucdavis.edu
- Subject: RE: Trevisia palmata hardiness-refutation.
- From: P* M* B*
- Date: Tue, 03 Apr 2001 10:15:18 -0700
Dear List, and Especially the Crazy Envelope Pushers, April 3,
2001
Trevisia palmata has survived 19F in my garden in 1990 when it was
reduced to a pool
of hardened goop-form which a leaf emerged 18 months later. The tree is
now 22' tall
with a tight, gorgeous canopy. While I was hospitalized durinmg the
winter of 1999
it lost its entire canopy. A friend cut the trunk below the mush and
in six months
I had four branches at the top. A sucker which I had separated from it
in 1997 was
a hardened pool in the autumn of 2000--it is now 3' tall with three
branches. This tree
is much hardier than has been previously understood, both species and
variety.
Cusonia paniculata has been on my dry slope for 22 years. It too
became a dried
pool of goup in 1990---five day freeze---temps. 19F, 22F, 23F, 27F,
33F with the
ground solidly frozen down three feet and no thaw until the fourth day
when it hit
45F in the mid afternoon. Eventually two stems emerged and right now
one of the stems,
eight feet tall is a mass of bloom and hopefully I will be able to offer
seed in the very
near future. This is an especially silvery clone and very hard. A few
dead leaves at
24F. I understand the top of the stem that's blooming will die and
down the stem it will
bifurcate. The shadows this plant throws are incredible and up lit at
night (if we only
had electricity) is a miracle.
Semi-tropically yours,
Michael D. Barclay
Push the envelope
Work magic-Plants are Life and Light
operatic@earthlink.com
