Re: frost and toast

At 11:23 AM 12/22/98 -0700, Patti Anderson wrote:
>We're over in Menlo Park and while we covered a lot of things that
survived, we
>forgot to cover my variagated hydranga and boy did it get blasted.

I was shocked to see my Hydrangea marcrophylla variegata hanging limply
in my garden as well!  I also have some Plectranthus which I'm surprised
faired as well as they did though those stems which did freeze seemed to
have frozen completely.  Hopefully some of them will make it through.  I
am not physically up to moving anything inside for protection, but I have
moved a few pots into some shelter against the building and under the
few overhangs.  They'll just have to get by on their own.  Our area is
often warmer than Berkeley, a little to the north and more in line of the
cold air flowing in or out the Golden Gate.  When we lived there, I was
very surprised at how many plants I lost due to cold air draining from the
hills and the central valley behind those hills.  My garden's current
advantage lies in its orientation - south-west, being warmed at the end of
the day and also being close to the building which acts as passive mass to
keep things a bit warmer.  Still, this is definitely a bad year.

Up the street, several Ipatiens oliveri look like seaweed draped over
sticks, but Crassula ovatas are holding their own.  Citrus in our areas
(including my yard) are looking very 'crisped' and wilted as the cold
days continue, even with evening covering.  A neighbor has taken to
covering his entire yard with black plastic at night, even though most of
his plants are tough enough to make it through easily - he's just not
taking chances.  I'm amazed at how complacent I am!  Guess I've been
through this before and know nothing is so rare, precious, or important
to get upset over.  Or maybe I see this as another phase in the 'process
of elimination' towards the selection of climate appropriate plants
(too many people try and grow too many tropical plants for even our
mild climate!).

Through it all, my 20ft Furcraea foetida spike is still flowering away!
I wondered if I'd lose this guy during this chill but I think its going to
be fine!  It is really impressive - lots of people still stop and look up
in surprise.  The central, ram-rod straight spike has lateral and
equally straight branches which are now hung with waxy white bells -
quite a delicate contrast to the stiff, spiky, 8ft rosette from which they
emanate.  Not a plant for all gardens but certainly appealing to those
(like myself) who enjoy drama!

Happy Holiday to all of you!  Thanks for making the year so interesting
and worthwhile with your friendly and informative chat.  Here's to a
new year of great possibilities and realizations!

Regards,
Sean O.

Sean A. O'Hara                       sean.ohara@poboxes.com
h o r t u l u s   a p t u s          710 Jean Street
'a garden suited to its purpose'     Oakland, CA 94610-1459, U.S.A.
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