Growing Dierama in Zone 9

Lee Poulsen wpoulsen@pacbell.net
Mon, 24 Feb 2014 22:45:55 PST
I've thought about trying them in the ground because I know that the soil can stay cooler there, and I think Gastil is correct that soil temperatures are more important than air temperature. But it's curious to me that I don't see Dieramas being used anywhere in the inland valleys or in the 3 major botanical gardens right near my home (Huntington, L.A. Arboretum, Descanso), just like I don't see Fuchsias being grown much here. (They can be grown; I have several, but I do have to take care that they don't ever get overheated--cool root zone, morning sun only, planted only on east side of house with lots of stone or concrete to keep the coolth in.) Maybe that's what Dieramas want, too. The whole coastal strip from Camarillo through Santa Barbara a beyond is always a marvel of coolth to me here in South. Calif. I was doing a project at Vandenberg Air Force Base which is coastward from Lompoc even further north of Santa Barbara, and it was always very chilly all the time even in mid-summer, except for a couple of really curious evenings as the sun set where it warmed up from the 50s or 60s F (12-18°C) up to about 80°F (27°C) right as the sun was setting. You could feel it warming up in real time while you stood there. I'm going to make a guess that Dieramas will grow well where Fuchsias don't mind the summer daytime temperatures (here in Calif. that would be the Palos Verde Peninsula and the Santa Barbara coastal strip in southern Calif. and the Bay Area up around the San Francisco Bay, as well as points further north).

I think I'm going to try them in the ground in a location Fuchsias also survive. Thanks.

--Lee Poulsen
Pasadena, California, USA - USDA Zone 10a
Latitude 34°N, Altitude 1150 ft/350 m




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