Tecophilaea
Jim McKenney (Sat, 08 Jul 2006 13:14:17 PDT)

Roger Whitlock touches on a topic of interest to me when he writes (of
Tecophilaea cyanocrocus) " They can handle some frost."

Can anyone cite some empirical data which gives us an idea of how much
"some" is? I've read that this species spends the winter under the snow in
at least some areas of its natural distribution.

Has anyone in USDA zone 7 or lower successfully wintered them outside? I
wonder if this is one of those plants which might do better for someone such
as Ellen Hornig who has terrific snow cover - better than they might do for
those of us who do not have dependable snow cover.

My plants spent last winter outside in pots and went on to bloom (but not
set seed after my clumsy attempt at hand pollination); it was an
exceptionally mild winter.

Any thoughts?

Jim McKenney
Montgomery County, Maryland, USA, USDA zone 7, where I checked my summer-dry
Tecophilaea only yesterday and they look fine.