Chasmanthe
Tony Avent (Sun, 07 Dec 2003 13:59:27 PST)

Dave:

Very interesting results with chasmanthe. We have Chasmanthe bicolor
ready to plant out in spring. Winter temps to -13C would be considered a
mild winter here. We are also trialing many watsonias. So far W.
pillansii has been fine for two winters, but we've got 10 additional
species that will go into the ground in spring. I often wonder if there we
need to make higher elevation collections of many of these species to get
better winter hardiness.

At 09:25 PM 12/7/2003 -0000, you wrote:

We are preparing some winter hardiness trials and am curious what are

the
lowest temperatures that anyone has had luck growing any of the chasmanthe
species?

Hi Tony,
Chasmanthe bicolor should be hardy with you, but you'll have to try the rest
three times.

Chasmanthe bicolor corms are planted outside here 4 inches deep, south
facing and under the protection of a crown lifted Buddleija salvifolia. The
flower and scape colours are much stronger if grown outside, and indeed I
now prefer to grow it this way.

I have found this to be the hardiest species and will survive temps down to
at least -5C, and windchill to -11C, it is also more wind tolerant than
other species. There's one thing about it though, you'll have to plant a
large number of bulbs in one area to be successful with it. I've tried
planting the odd bulb or odd group of bulbs here outside for a few years,
and these all failed. When I planted a group of about fifty they
overwintered beautifully, obviously the larger group provided better
drainage and afforded the colony amassed protection from the elements. I've
had similar success with Watsonia here, and planting them in the same
manner, but much deeper.

I have tried C. floribunda here outside, and under the cover of a tree, and
with the support of a Euryops chrysanthemoides. However it does not like the
cold or the wind. Sadly I haven't the space to plant 50 floribunda bulbs in
the garden, some of which can get over 9 inches across.

Best Wishes,
Dave

David Fenwick
The African Garden
96 Wasdale Gardens
Estover
Plymouth
Devon
England
PL6 8TW

01752 301402

---
Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free.
Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com/).
Version: 6.0.544 / Virus Database: 338 - Release Date: 25/11/03

_______________________________________________
pbs mailing list
pbs@lists.ibiblio.org
http://www.pacificbulbsociety.org/list.php

Tony Avent
Plant Delights Nursery @
Juniper Level Botanic Garden
9241 Sauls Road
Raleigh, NC 27603 USA
Minimum Winter Temps 0-5 F
Maximum Summer Temps 95-105F
USDA Hardiness Zone 7b
email tony@plantdelights.com
website http://www.plantdel.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