Dear Pamela, How very sad to hear about such a loss! If there is any plant material that I might be able to help you replace, let me know. On a much smaller scale of loss, last year we had temps down to 23 F after things started to emerge. I lost all buds on a clump of Erythronium ‘Pagoda’ and the emerging leaves on Bletilla striata were frozen along with the flower buds inside. Oddly, a young Manchurian apricot tree which was in bloom seems to have froze to death. This year, so far, we have got down to 25. The fully blooming E. ‘Pagoda’ has not been touched, but the Bletilla is once again brown. And emerging lilies, crinums, and the old-fashioned bleeding heart (Dicentra sp.) have been badly nipped. This weekend could be the worst, though, when one prediction calls for 20. Dell, in Zone 5 – 7 West Virginia Sent from Mail for Windows 10 From: Pamela Harlow Sent: Thursday, April 7, 2016 10:45 AM To: Pacific Bulb Society Subject: Re: [pbs] Late freeze songs of ice and fire... Last June my nursery burned to the ground. I lost three greenhouses. Virtually every plant in or near the greenhouses was destroyed. Only the plants on tables in the yard made it through unscathed. I also lost every piece of equipment, every tool, every supply and a house and garage. (We were not living there.) I had two decades of work in some of those lost plants. I had special forms that no longer exist anywhere. Plants will break your heart. One just has to carry on. Pamela (Seattle) On Thu, Apr 7, 2016 at 6:52 AM, Nicholas plummer <nickplummer@gmail.com> wrote: > Hi Bob, > > Sorry to hear about the lycoris. It would be incredibly discouraging to > lose the product of nine years effort. Similar to your Oxalis, I left a > pot of Agapanthus seedlings outside all winter and am amazed to see that > they survived the winter. Seed came off a plant growing at Disney World. > > I'm Orange County, near Hillsborough, but we seem to be in a chilly > microclimate. We often have snow when Chapel Hill and Durham get rain. I > don't have a garage and the greenhouse is overcrowded, so my living room is > currently full of summer growing bulbs that overwintered in the crawl space > and had been outside during the past few weeks -- I really jumped the gun. > Should have left them to sleep until later in April. I figure my wife's > tolerance for stepping around pots will only last a few more days, so > hopefully Saturday's freeze will be the last. > > Nick > > > > On Thu, Apr 7, 2016 at 9:11 AM, Robert Pries <robertpries@embarqmail.com> > wrote: > > > Nicholas: I feel your pain! I live in Roxboro, NC where the Raliegh news > > media comes to take pictures of snow each winter. When I first moved here > > the temperatures were zone 8 for a couple of years but recent winters > have > > put us back into zone 7. When I moved here I had an extensive breeding > > program with Lycoris (ongoing for 9 years) and another with Zephyranthes. > > But one harsh winter wiped me out. The Lycoris would have made it but for > > the fact they were all in pots. > > > > We had the same freaky weather as you this week. I am not sure where you > > are in NC. The Lorapetulums lost their flowers and new growth but other > > than some new pots fresh from Lowes of Hydrangia the the Hydrangia in the > > ground were fine. All around me people reported 27 degrees F. but it > seems > > my hilltop must have shed much of the coldest air. The Crinums look OK. > > > > Before the cold I moved a couple hundred pots of various bulbs into my > > garage and plan to keep them there until Sunday. Saturday night may be > the > > last freeze, I hope. Your venting gave me some encouragement. Sometimes > it > > seems that gardening is barely worth the effort. I am still mourning the > > nine years of Lycoris breeding lost a few years back, but I should have > > brought those pots in. I feel this time I at least partly dodged the > > bullet. I can not wait to bring out the several hundred bulb pots that > are > > dormant in my basement, mostly caladiums and achimines. Of special note, > I > > left about a dozen pots of Oxalis triangularis out and they weathered the > > cold with no damage. > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > pbs mailing list > pbs@lists.ibiblio.org > http://pacificbulbsociety.org/list.php > http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/ > _______________________________________________ pbs mailing list pbs@lists.ibiblio.org http://pacificbulbsociety.org/list.php http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/