Re: Astelia

Jaen Treesinger wrote:
> 
> speaking of silver spear, I have one in a raised rock garden on sandy
> soil, 1/2 block from the Pacific Ocean, which is 10+ years old, about
> 4.5 ft high x 8+ ft. wide. It has always done quite well thru the
> winters of 60 inches of rain and 60-80 mile per hour winds, and other
> than the fact that it has gotten too big for its niche, I haven't had
> any complaints..... yet recently it has slowly lost parts of itself,
> greater numbers of exterior leaves browning, and finally individual
> crowns over the last year + and this winter has completely keeled
> over w/ only one crown alive.  It has flowered more than once over
> the last several years.
> 
> Q:...is this demise and tendency to rejoin itself with compost a
> function of age? or voles? or rain? or flowering?...or merely
> responsiveness to the wishes of the gardener for a smaller version?

None of my books seem to mention any lifespan, but my guess would its
main problem would be be old age and somewhat riotous living (in view of
the huge size it as grown to!)..Ten years seems to me a pretty good
lifespan for a perennial, though perhaps we should be paying more
attention to your skill in communication with plants !!!  If the one
remaing crown seems keen to survive perhaps you could clean away the
debris to give it a chance.

It is a native of the Chatham islands and is is certainly used to lots
of exposure.

Can't help with your secondquestion though.

Moira
-- 
Tony & Moira Ryan,
Wainuiomata, North Island, NZ.     Pictures of our garden at:-
http://mywebpages.comcast.net/cherie1/Garden/TonyandMoira/index.htm
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