Surprising survivors

Jane McGary janemcgary@earthlink.net
Sun, 07 May 2017 08:59:42 PDT
Norman's note on recent and earlier differences in the climate of the 
southern Adriatic suggest that plants native to that area may be better 
adapted over the centuries to "intense cold" (a phrase that may cause 
some of us to smile) than the Southern Hemisphere species that may have 
been introduced to gardens there in the 20th century. There are a number 
of Mediterranean-region plants among those that survive cold snaps here 
in the Pacific Northwest USA with greater success than reference books 
suggest they would. This includes some shrubs as well as bulbs and 
herbaceous perennials. It's also possible that plants of the American 
Pacific coasts (both North and South American) have some "hidden" 
hardiness. For instance, two species of Leucocoryne (from western Chile) 
are about to flower in my bulb house, where they experienced 18 degrees 
F (about minus 7 C) for at least 5 days last winter, protected only by a 
high roof.

Jane McGary

Portland, Oregon, USA


On 5/6/2017 11:04 PM, Norman Woollons wrote:
> The intense cold experienced in the Mediterranean over the winter was
> unprecedented in modern times. ...
>
> Much like previous writers, the history in this area, taken from the local
> village school log book, suggests that in the late 1800's and early 1900's
> winters were different, with the school having to close for days at a time
> because of snow.  There has not been snow like that here in living memory.

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