Re: giving plants what they want
- Subject: Re: giving plants what they want
- From: "Annies Magic Garden" m*@swbell.net
- Date: Wed, 8 Jan 2003 01:35:35 -0600
Linda, Ohio, said:
> A lot of the great plant hunters are introducing plants from China.
> Elevation is frequently mentioned in their descriptions of where the
> plants were collected. How do any of you use this information,
> compensate for it in your gardens? Anyone have a formula?
I have not discovered any particular formula but did finally find which
other parts of the world most closely resemble my climate. It wasn't easy
since south central Texas is a zone all unto itself. Turns out that the
northern tip of Argentina and a small part of Pakistan has a climate nearly
identical with temperature ranges, long dry summers, and wet (normally)
winters. Good luck finding plants that originate in Pakistan, not.
Anyway, just poking around with this information I started thinking about
elevation. We see plants from Peru, Brazil, and other 'equitorial' areas
and think they will be tender tropicals, forget it. Turns out that many of
these tropical places have very high mountains which get cold and snow in
the winter. That told me that a plant from there should be winter hardy in
my climate. An example is Salvia from Mexico. Nearly all Mexican Salvia do
very well here in a normal garden. Only a few need special conditions, some
extremely dry, others very wet soil.
You can bet that anything growing on the side of a mountain will want good
drainage. Some plants grow only in crevasses where silt has collected so
those will need rich soil. Those growing on the north side of a mountain
will want shade, and so forth.
As for humidity lovers, that one is actually harder to determine. It's hard
to determine if a location would be humid just because it's in a jungle or
near a large body of water. I've been in a rain forest at Victoria Falls in
Zimbabwe and yes, it was wet from the spray of the waterfall but it wasn't
humid. Ditto for Bermuda where it rains every 15 minutes. Here I can
sweat rivers in 60 degree temperatures when the humidity is high and no
rainfall for 3 months.
Some of my test plants include a Mucuna which is native to New Guinea and
tropical Asia. I planted it next to my small pond by my deck on the east
side of the house so it would get extra humidity. It froze to the ground
the first year but came back and grew to about 6 feet. Last year it froze
to the ground, survived record cold temperatures of 14 degrees in March, and
came back even stronger and is now about 8' tall and 6' wide! All the books
say it can't have temperatures less than 59 degrees. My foot! We have
already hit 28 here and the Mucuna is still perfect. Ditto for Bird of
Paradise, ornamental bananas, and are you ready, a variegated Pothos ivy!
Thunbergia grandiflora is rated zones 10-12. Mine has come back for years,
is not protected, and as we speak is blooming out the top of a couple of 50'
Hickory trees. (From India, close enough to Pakistan to do very well here I
guess.)
I have learned that books tell you the ideal temperatures for plants in
their native habitats. That plant might be evergreen in Papua New Guinea
but could be a deciduous perennial here. Salvia guaranitica is from Brazil
and it is normally evergreen here too! If the native habitat is very cold
most of the year such as Alaska, Siberia, northern Europe, etc., then I
don't usually bother since the plants will burn up here in the summer or not
get any rest in the winter. Acanthus mollis for example is a winter
perennial here, totally dead looking and dormant in the summer, gorgeous all
winter and often blooms in the spring. I can't grow Lilacs or Peonies
either.
Most people think that houseplants are tender tropicals. Almost everything
listed as a house plant is labeled that way because they tolerate dry
conditions and low light levels. It doesn't mean that they can't tolerate
humidity or withstand winter temperatures just that they need shade. Many
of my experiments started out as a house plant that I got sick of dealing
with and stuck it in the yard. I will find out this winter how much cold my
Madagascar Jasmine can take.
The point is, go for it, try it, you never know what surprises you may have.
Yes, I have killed a lot of plants, froze to death, burned up in June,
rotted from to much water, to shady, to sunny, died of thirst, whatever.
It's fun to keep trying and when they succeed, it's fantastic.
Sorry to be so long winded.
Linda
Leming, TX
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