Hardiness of Themidaceae, was fall planting and storage

Hannon othonna@gmail.com
Sat, 10 Nov 2012 11:33:26 PST
Regarding hardiness, some years ago I heard about an experience with
seedlings of a woody plant (I don't recall the name) that were accidentally
left outdoors over a cold Eastern winter. The surprise was that the
survivors were the smallest, weakest looking plants; the largest and most
robust members of the group perished. Similarly, clones with the most
appealing flowers (for us) are often weak growers and a plant that seems to
lack vigor may have the best resistance to certain diseases.

Variation in hardiness and other attributes can be expected over the
geographic range of a species. Edaphic aspects-- individuals in a deep
shaded canyon versus a sunny ridge top within a very small area-- and other
results of interactions between the organism and its environment can also
be significant for horticulture. As we all know, a 'sport' or variant can
occur even in a genetically narrow sample that has been cultivated and
reproduced from seed for many years: all of a sudden there is a different
flower color or dwarf individual, etc.

The more growers cultivating a given species from different latitudes or
elevations the better, since any one grower is not likely to have a species
from more than one or two origins. If those origins are known and passed
along, so much the better.

Dylan Hannon



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