John and others: FYI, we are growing two wild collected forms (2005) in addition to the many named cultivars of Z. aethiopica. Both have fared well through out 2008/9 winter, which hit 7-9 degrees F in this section of the garden. One is from Eastern Cape Province: Stutterheim; 3330' elevation and the other is from the West. Cape Prov.: Swartsberg Pass 4346' elevation. Both are growing very well, but the Western Cape plant is much taller and more robust. I will put these on the list to divide in the future and it will be interesting to see how they fare where other clones have failed. Tony Avent Plant Delights Nursery @ Juniper Level Botanic Garden 9241 Sauls Road Raleigh, North Carolina 27603 USA Minimum Winter Temps 0-5 F Maximum Summer Temps 95-105F USDA Hardiness Zone 7b email tony@plantdelights.com website http://www.plantdelights.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 John Grimshaw wrote: > Jim McKenney wrote: > >> I've had problems with Z. aethiopica too, but I think the root of that is >> that this species is a winter grower which only very reluctantly changes >> seasons. >> > > This issue has been touched on but I think not yet fully explored. > Zantedeschia aethiopica has a wide range in South Africa, encompassing both > winter and summer rainfall areas. > > It seems sensible to me to assume that most importations of Zantedeschia > aethiopica have been from the area around Cape Town, where it is very > common, even growing at the very tip of Cape Point. These winter growers > would certainly be tender in northern Europe, necessitating the glasshouse > culture/underwater techniques to survive. > > I have collected seed of Z. aethiopica on the Sani Pass, in Kwa-Zulu-Natal, > a classic summer-rainfall location and source of many hardy plants for UK > gardens. The seedlings are absolutely hardy here and flower in midsummer. > > Mulling over it, I came to the thought some time ago, that the generally > reliably hardy clones in the UK, e.g. the old but unspecial 'Crowborough' > and the recently named 'Glencoe', are probably from the summer-rainfall > area, though this is impossible to prove. If so, it demonstrates the > importance of provenance when selecting South African material for garden > use. (Another plant with similarly wide distribution in SA & reputation for > tenderness is Melianthus major: again, one suspects that most seed has come > from the Western Cape, and one wonders how material from the Drakensberg > would fare.) > > The pink-throated form of Z. aethiopica also seems to be entirely hardy > here, and occurs in eastern south Africa somewhere as a wild plant. > > Z. albomaculata survives outside here, but is late to emerge, and does not > flower very freely. > > John Grimshaw > > > All messages in my Inbox received between September 2008 and 30 May 2009 > have been deleted: please resend anything you feel is important! > > Dr. John M. Grimshaw > Sycamore Cottage > Colesbourne > Cheltenham > Gloucestershire > GL53 9NP > > Tel. 01242 870567 > > _______________________________________________ > pbs mailing list > pbs@lists.ibiblio.org > http://pacificbulbsociety.org/list.php > http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/ > >