Hi All: Just a quick comment. During the last ice age, the ice sheet stretched across much of eastern North America. This had the effect of shifting the temperate zones well into Mexico. At least some of the higher elevation plants collected in Mexico retain those cold hardiness adaptations and some grow successfully as far north as Minnesota (Quercus polymorpha). Perhaps with more experimentation we can learn if all of these Mexican taxa can reaclimate to cold temperatures or if we've just discovered some of the exceptions to the rule. Boyce Tankersley btankers@chicagobotanic.org -----Original Message----- From: Jim McKenney [mailto:jimmckenney@starpower.net] Sent: Wednesday, July 21, 2004 8:35 AM To: Pacific Bulb Society Subject: Re: [pbs] Manfreda At 10:16 PM 7/20/2004 -0700, Lee Poulsen wrote: >They all mostly do well at my place, although a couple seem to want even >warmer conditions than we get--two species are only now coming out of >dormancy. If someone were to give me a plant from Mexico, my first impulse would be to crank up the heat for it. But I want to say again that the plant I have of Manfreda singuliflora has gone through two winters here in an unheated, leaky coldframe. Last winter we had a six week period when the daytime temperatures did not get above freezing - in other words, for six weeks 24/7 the temperature was below freezing - and this was, for the most part, without significant snow cover. Because the cold frame in question was packed with plants, the light (lid) did not fit tightly: any breeze would have swept out any accumulated warmth from the sun. Yet Manfreda singuliflora survived and went on to bloom. Pasadena in the winter must be pretty toasty compared to Maryland, right? I can't help wondering if some of those sulking Manfreda might benefit from a bit of real winter. Lee, you also mention two species which are only now coming out of dormancy. I have a plant here, acquired under the name Manfreda virginica but so far unproven, which is also just now coming out of dormancy. Well, that's not quite right. It started to expand months ago, but has grown very slowly: even now it looks like a newly awakened plant. Typical Manfreda virginica growing nearby under similar conditions expanded their rosettes months ago. This pokey plant seems much stouter than the others. Maybe Pasadena and Maryland have something in common of which I'm not aware. Jim McKenney jimmckenney@starpower.net Montgomery County, Maryland, USA, USDA zone 7, where the spotted forms of Manfreda virginica are my favorites. >John, > >You should check Yucca Do <http://www.yuccado.com/> every year. They >always offer several different Manfreda species, often some that aren't >even named yet. They don't offer every variety they have every year, >but I've gotten about 8 or 9 different species so far. They all mostly >do well at my place, although a couple seem to want even warmer >conditions than we get--two species are only now coming out of >dormancy. Plant Delights <http://www.plantdelights.com/> also carries a >few, but most of them are Yucca Do accessions (although they sometimes >offer some that Yucca Do is not offering the same year). > >--Lee Poulsen >Pasadena area, California, USDA Zone 9-10 > >On Jul 20, 2004, at 3:26 PM, Floral Architecture wrote: >> I would like to get more species of the Manfredas >> since they are mostly Mexican, they should fair >> extremely well with my lax watering practices. > >_______________________________________________ >pbs mailing list >pbs@lists.ibiblio.org >http://www.pacificbulbsociety.org/list.php > _______________________________________________ pbs mailing list pbs@lists.ibiblio.org http://www.pacificbulbsociety.org/list.php