Re: L. cardinalis hardiness in UK was: Cannas plus Lobelias and Crocosmias

On Sat, 26 Aug 2000 01:32:00 -0400 "Marge Talt" <mtalt@clark.net> writes:
> Only reason that occurs to me that these plants might not be
> considered hardy in the UK is the lack of really hot summers to 
> ripen
> them....but I always thought they were plants who actually 
> preferred
> cooler weather.
> 
> Or, wonder if some myth is being passed down through the ages about
> the hardiness of this species...happens...


Marge --

This is often a topic of conversation at gardener gatherings here in
southeast Michigan.  The consensus seems to be that there a few
particular British gardening authors who seem to define "winter hardy" as
meaning that the plant does not die down to the ground.  If it dies down
to the ground, it's not winter hardy, regardless of whether or not it
comes back in the spring.  I was first introduced to this theory when I
read in one book that Baptisia was a "tender perennial."

This may be the result of gardening authors who aren't actually
gardeners, or who rely too much on second- (or third-, or fourth-) hand
information.  Who knows.

Dean Sliger
Warren, Michigan, USA
Zone 6B

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