Jim: While Gladiolus tristis has been weak, but surviving in zone 7b, the xHomoglads have been outstanding. Since Homoglossom is no more, I guess it's now a Gladglad. In flower, we see little difference, but the vigor is outstanding compared to the species. It emerges in March (despite cold temps) and flowers in early - mid-April. At 11:57 AM 7/21/2004 -0400, you wrote: >Lauw de Jager wrote: > >>I don't know in what climate you are, but in a mediterranean or maritime >>climate wintergrowers are very good garden plants. > > >Dear Lauw, > >I guess I am going to have to be very careful about how I phrase things; >it's a pleasure to think that my posts are being read by people in Europe, >South America, Australia and New Zealand and who knows where else. And I >have to remind myself that the USDA zone 7 indication which I use in my >signature probably means nothing to many readers. > >For that matter, the Sunset zones used in the western US in my own country >are incomprehensible to me. > >USDA zone 7, as we experience it here, probably does not correspond well to >any European climatic zone. Speaking broadly, it apparently gets hotter in >the summer and colder in the winter than in much or most of western Europe. >And not only does it get hotter and colder, but those conditions apparently >last longer than is usual in much of western Europe. > >Ours is definitely not a Mediterranean climate. When I wrote that Gladiolus >tristis was not suitable for the winter garden, I meant that it was not >suitable for the winter garden here in USDA zone 7. I've been pretty >scrupulous about including my zone information in my postings - maybe I >should put it at the front of the posting instead of at the end! > >By the way, yesterday I was reading the "Contributors" page of the wiki, >and I enjoyed your entry. I spent some time day-dreaming about what it must >be like to garden in your climate. > >Here's a question you can help me with: does the "Olivier" in your >description of your zone [South of France (zone 8 Olivier)] indicate that >you are in the olive growing part of France, or is Olivier the name of the >person who devised the zoning system? > >Jim McKenney >jimmckenney@starpower.net >Montgomery County, Maryland, USA, USDA zone 7, not, as far as I know, olive >country, although this household has an unusually high level of consumption >of olive oil. > > > > > > > > > >_______________________________________________ >pbs mailing list >pbs@lists.ibiblio.org >http://www.pacificbulbsociety.org/list.php > Tony Avent Plant Delights Nursery @ Juniper Level Botanic Garden 9241 Sauls Road Raleigh, NC 27603 USA Minimum Winter Temps 0-5 F Maximum Summer Temps 95-105F USDA Hardiness Zone 7b email tony@plantdelights.com website http://www.plantdel.com/ phone 919 772-4794 fax 919 772-4752 "I consider every plant hardy until I have killed it myself...at least three times" - Avent