frozen Nerines
John Grimshaw (Tue, 20 Feb 2007 23:19:23 PST)

It happened here at Colesbourne Park in the hard winter of 1962-63 when the
greenhouse containing the historic collection of H.J. Elwes' Nerine
sarniensis selections collapsed in the snow and the plants froze to death
overnight.

It is a bad sign that the roots are gone & it may well be that the bulbs are
also dead (but less obviously so). I would investigate closely and if there
seemed to be signs of life keep the pots dry to minimise the chance of rot
spreading in affected parts. Then repot in summer and invest in a
non-electrical heater!

It is well to remember that not only tender bulbs can be affected in this
way; in 1991-92 almost my entire snowdrop collection was killed by being
frozen in pots. Even the few that survived lost all their roots and took
several years to return to normal strength.

John Grimshaw

Dr John M. Grimshaw
Sycamore Cottage
Colesbourne
Nr Cheltenham
Gloucestershire GL53 9NP

COLESBOURNE PARK SNOWDROP OPEN DAYS 2007
Every Saturday and Sunday in February
(3/4, 10/11, 17/18, 24/25) and 3/4 March

Gates open 1pm, last entry 4 pm
website: http://www.colesbournegardens.org.uk/

----- Original Message -----
From: "Diane Whitehead" <voltaire@islandnet.com>