Re: Trevisia palmata hardiness-refutation.
Dear Diane and Mad Planters All---I cannot vouch for the depth of
freeze. I was so sick
from the entire experience. My two mature Aloe barberae (formerly
bainesii) which
soared over three stories high both died and Marcia came by, dug them
and took them
to the dump. They had been tented but not mulched and she said the
roots went down
3'+ and had an enormous spread and all the roots had been killed.
Of course I've got three new ones in the ground-one 12' tall and just
dichotomizing
and 2 smaller ones, one of which is growing very fast. I pray for 23
years w.o. a
freeze up here near 1,000'. This property was freezeless from 1932-72
and then the
first freeze of the century occurred. Another in '89 of brief duration
did tremendous harm
because it has been in the low 70's for nearly a month and then plunged
to 22F1st night,
25F 2nd and 32-33F on the third. Everything looked blow torched.
I can't comment of the several freezes during the very wet winter of 99
because I was
in the hospital being paraplegic but i gather nights below 32 were
common for several
months. By the way all of you who've been praying---I'm starting to
walk indoors
w.o. my crutches or cane. I'm coming back. Thanks everyone.
Karoline and I will be in NYC till next Tuesday going to 5 operas in
four days---and leading a tour. I will try to get to Stufano's
garden, somethingHill, perhaps Wave
to enjoy the aconites and very early H. atrorubens, the real one with
leafless stalks
carring blooms dark red-purple on their back with surprising bottle
green faces.
Have a good week and don't let the world come to an end---I want to be
in the garden
for that!
Michael
operatic@earthlink.net
Diane wrote:
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Prof. Michael Barclay.
>
> > Dear List, and Especially the Crazy Envelope Pushers,
> April 3,
> > 2001
>
> > 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.
>
> Hello Michael,
>
> You have written before about the ground being frozen down
> 3 feet. I don't think this is possible in five days of
> "mild" freezing temps. I can't recall now but I think you
> need something like one degree of frost x one day for 100
> days or so to freeze about a foot.
>
> In your 5 days, assuming you had 30 degrees of frost over
> 5 days, I doubt it froze 6 inches even. You just didn't
> have enough frost degree days.
>
> I spent 16 years in the high Arctic regions of Canada
> where the surface soil thawed and froze each year on top
> of the permafrost. It took a number of fall freezes to
> freeze the surface. Peat bog areas are the last to freeze
> due to the great insulating quality of peat.
>
> Here on Vancouver Island where we haven't had a freeze
> much over a week for some years, the soil only freezes on
> the top, sparing the roots of some fairly tender plants.
> Most things can be protected with a layer of mulch. In
> past years of prolonged freezes of two to five weeks, the
> frost depth doesn't even reach our waterline which is
> buried at only 1 - 2 feet over a distance of 170 feet.
>
> It is repeated freezing and thawing which causes most
> damage to plants as well as dry cold without
> precipitation. More plants succumb to dry cold and wind
> than frozen roots. I have yet to lose a rhododendron, for
> example, in 30 years here due to freezing. I grow nearly
> 300 including some fairly tender ones.
>
> I wanted to bring this up the last time you mentioned your
> 'big freeze'.
>
> I enjoy your postings very much and your infectious love
> of your plants.
>
> Diane Pertson
> Otter Point Haven
> Vancouver Island
> (where it varies from Zone 7 to 9 over 30 years)
