Thank you, Mary Sue, for the last paragraph of your report. You would be surprised at how many people are intimidated when having to pronounce Latin plant names. As you comment, if the person on the other end can understand the plant you are describing, that's all that is important. But he or she can't guess what you are talking about if you describe it as Winter Ice Plant or Blue Curls or Money Plant. That same plant may have 7 or 17 common names, many of which are only known in one geographical area. Stick with the Latin, even if you are not certain how to pronounce it. They know it in China, South Africa, Chile and even California. Shirley Meneice, Zone 9+, Latin ability -. Mary Sue Ittner wrote: > Dear Joe, > > Welcome to our pbs list. My Lachenalias growing in a raised bed which > you'd expect would give them a little more protection than growing in a > pot all turned to mush one year when it got to 19 F. degrees (-7 C.)and > stayed cold for three days. Some of them I saw again in a couple of > year, but most were permanently gone. It has been my observation that a > lot of people who grow this genus outside (southern California maybe > excepted) give it some protection from the elements (overhead cover for > instance). At least that was what I observed on trips to both New > Zealand and even South Africa. And Don's experience using trees for the > cover in Australia is another example. Bill Dijk had a system in New > Zealand that impressed my husband and I enough that we adopted it. Most > of my Lachenalias are on benches that are open all around but have a > fiber glass cover. We have frost cloth attached to the roof of this bulb > structure and rolled up. On those nights when very cold temperatures are > predicted (a handful of times a year) we undo the ties and unroll all > the frost cloth and the structure is then enclosed in frost cloth. It > probably gives us a few more degrees of protection. > > Coastal species of most of the South African winter rainfall species are > more likely to be tender. Plants that grow in the Sutherland region I > would expect to be hardier since that area is much colder. I wish they > had a field guide for that area as when I have talked to people in South > Africa they rave about the delightful bulbs that grow there and it would > be nice for those of us who live in colder climates to know which ones > they are. I know there are some wonderful Romuleas and Daubenya aurea. > > I don't know how Rod and Rachel decide what zone to rate plants they > offer in the Silverhill Catalog. They haven't grown all of these plants > and even if they did, they wouldn't have the temperatures in Cape Town > to test them. A forum like this one is useful because people can share > their experiences. > > I looked through the Color Encyclopedia of Cape Bulbs in the Lachenalia > section, and looked for which bulbs had RV (Roggeveld Center) next to > them. The Roggeveld is an area bordering on the Karoo that is a winter > rainfall area where winter temperatures at the higher areas are low and > frost and snow usual. Rainfall is 125-250 mm (5-10 inches) a year with > the higher amounts along the escarpment. Choosing bulbs from this area > could mean you'd be choosing the hardiest, but you still might have to > test them to be sure. Some of the soils in this area are doleritic clay > so during the rainy season the soil would probably remain wet. > > So here are the species with that label: L. alba, L. ameliae > (widespread, so you might need seed from the colder areas), L. attenuata > (also found in other areas), L. comptonii, L. congesta, L. doleritica, > L. elegans, L. isopetala, L. macgregoriorum (I've never seen seed of > this one), L. marlothii, L. multifolia, L. neilii, L. obscura (also > found in other areas), L. schelpei, L. whitehillensis, L. zebrina. Some > of the members of our group grow many of these I am sure. If any of > these have survived very cold temperatures, please share which and how > cold with the group. Mark Mazer has kindly shared offsets with the BX > from time to time and I was the lucky recipient of L. zebrina which has > the most wonderful leaves. It was good that I had a chance to admire the > leaves since it rotted before it bloomed to my dismay. It is probably > one of those with leaves that need protection from excessive winter > humidity and dew. > > On another note I particularly am thrilled that you are enjoying our > archives since more hours than I care to remember went into getting our > old archives from our previous list transferred over to the new list. > That discussion about pronouncing Latin names was especially memorable. > In fact we edited a line out of it when we didn't get permission in > time to include it. I will never feel embarrassed again as I struggle > over a name and always reassure people that it doesn't really matter how > you say it as long as the person on the other end can figure out what > you mean. > > Mary Sue > > > Mary Sue Ittner > California's North Coast > Wet mild winters with occasional frost > Dry mild summers > > _______________________________________________ > pbs mailing list > pbs@lists.ibiblio.org > http://www.pacificbulbsociety.org/list.php > > . >