Zantdeschia hardiness
Steve Marak (Sun, 14 Jun 2009 13:18:18 PDT)
On Sun, 14 Jun 2009, Jim McKenney wrote:
Jane McGary quoted me as saying “>I've had problems with Z. aethiopica too,
but I think the root of that is that this species is a winter grower
which only very reluctantly changes seasons.”
And then commented “This is news to me.”
...
Planted in the garden in the autumn, such plants surged into growth, only to
be cut severely by subsequent cold.
Similarly, the problem with Z. aethiopica here (NW Arkansas) seems not to
be cold hardiness per se, but the wildly variable spring temperatures.
I tried Z. aethiopica from a number of sources, planted at various times.
It always went dormant on schedule in the fall and survived the coldest
nights of the winter, but them broke dormancy far too early in the spring
and was cut back by a hard frost. Some plants bounce back quickly from
spring frosts, but not this one, at least not for me, and two or three
cycles was enough to do it in. Of all my trials, only one plant made it
through a first spring; it seemed to grow well during the summer (and was
given lots of water and care), but never returned the second spring. Maybe
someone in a less variable zone 6 climte could grow it, but I can't.
The others species and hybrids I grow don't start up until well after our
last frost.
Steve
-- Steve Marak
-- samarak@gizmoworks.com