Re: tanecetum and veronica
> The most common reason for wildly incorrect hardiness zones is that the
> person writing the book or article has no experience with the plant in
> colder climates. If you garden in Virginia, or on Long Island, you have no
> idea what a plant will do in zone 4. You have to fall back on quoting from
> another book or a catalogue-and the writer who did that may not know any
> more than you did. Also, I notice that many writers without cold climate
> experience, or nursery/seed house catalogue writers tend to be conservative.
> Better to have a few customers not order a plant they could be growing than
> to have a lot of customers writing to complain that something died and they
> want their money back.
Ed Hasselkus (the guy who was in charge of Longenecker Gardens at
the University of Wisconsin, Madison until he retired a few years
ago) used to get a huge kick out of the Heronswood catalog when it
arrived each year.
One of Ed's passions was growing plants up in Wisconsin that really
shouldn't grow there. :) He had Himalayan mountain pines, all kinds
of hollies, etc. that literature claimed wouldn't grow that far north
(on a hilltop, no less!) Anyhow, Heronswood tends to be one of those
catalogs that errs conservatively, so he would go through the entire
catalog each year and "correct" it for the Madison area...
> >mrwill1@juno.com writes:
> ><< Could any of you tell me why tanecetum niveum "Jackpot" should be listed
> > as zones 7-9 in one catalogue and 4-9 in another?
I don't think that this reflects poorly on a nursery -- it just indicates
a different kind of experience by each grower. I tend to err in the other
direction regarding heat tolerance. Having never lived down South, I
have no idea how plants will fare in higher temperatures and humidity.
When you see conflicting zone reports, check and see where the nurseries
are located. If one further North reports greater cold hardiness,
they're probably basing it on personal experience.
Chris
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