RE: Trevisia palmata hardiness-refutation.

What I didn't make sufficiently clear for Michael is
that these estimates were based on conditions in my
own garden and elsewhere in the Berkeley/Oakland
flats.  Michael got much colder than my location, even
though just several miles apart and possibly close to
a 800-1000 foot difference in elevation.  My estimates
of hardiness are based on the above ground portion of
the Trevesia staying alive.  Sure, if you want to lose
all above ground growth every winter, plant away.  The
point I was trying to make is that it is tender to
frost, will often return from the roots, but is slower
growing than Tetrapanax or Cussonia to make up for
lost trunk.  I do still feel that Cussonia is
marginally hardier to below freezing temps than
Trevesia, but I certainly never reached the lows that
Michael did, and my Cussonia was not felled to ground
level at 24/25F like the Trevesia was, although there
was some damage to the tip, and complete defoliation. 
During this same period, the temps remained at
freezing for 10 days, never allowing frozen water in
full sun to thaw out, while Michael's garden
apparently did thaw out after the 4th day.  How being
on a hill rather than in the flats can make a
difference!  People located mid slope in the Berkeley
Hills fared much better, not as absolutely cold at
night, nor as long below freezing during the 10 days
of cold.  Whether being able to regrow from the roots
18 months later qualifies as being hardy, that is a
judgement call for the person willing to assume the
risks.  Aa an aside, I know it was truly cold in the
1990 freeze, but frozen ground down to 3 foot depth
sounds a little exaggerated Michael!  (Unless you have
very specialized soil conditions on your hill...)

Water only froze about an inch to inch and a half
thick in my garden, and I didn't see any signs of
frost heaving, (although it was also very dry during
this freeze, and many uninsulated water pipes above
ground did crack). I don't mean to step on your toes,
Michael, but I guess we do have differnet
interpretations of the great freeze of 1990. 

--- "Prof. Michael Barclay" <operatic@earthlink.net>
wrote:
> 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
> 


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