Jim: I helped a friend move from Southern Minnesota (Zone 4b) last year and he was growing several great Asarum species including A. takoi, A. debile, A. nipponicum, A. sieboldii, and more that I can't remember. His area had inconsistent snow cover, so these were regularly subjected to -15F. Tony Avent Plant Delights Nursery @ Juniper Level Botanic Garden 9241 Sauls Road Raleigh, North Carolina 27603 USA Minimum Winter Temps 0-5 F Maximum Summer Temps 95-105F USDA Hardiness Zone 7b email tony@plantdelights.com website http://www.plantdelights.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 -----Original Message----- From: pbs-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org [mailto:pbs-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of Jim McKenney Sent: Tuesday, March 30, 2010 1:35 PM To: 'Pacific Bulb Society' Subject: Re: [pbs] Arum hygrophilum, Asarum maximum and A. nobilissimum Thanks, Tony, I'll keep that in mind. When I buy plants, I'm one of those "one of each" guys (I think I can hear Jane laughing now). I grow them under controlled conditions until I learn how to grow them and can propagate them; then I move some into the open garden. There has not been a good track record with either wintergreen Arum or evergreen Asarum here so far in the open garden. Deciduous asarums thrive; evergreen asarums eventually disappear. It might take ten years, but eventually they go. I've tried various species from eastern North America and various Asian species. I've never known them to thicken up into handsome clumps here. I have friends only ten miles away who do well with both genera, but there is something about my garden which evidently does not suit them. I notice that when we bring up the topic of these marginal plants, there are rarely positive responses from north of here. Here in the greater Washington, D.C. area there is a strong NW to SE gradient in climate superimposed over the broader SW to NE zone 7 conditions. Gardens to the SE of my garden evidently experience much milder winter conditions based on the performance of marginal plants. Jim McKenney jimmckenney@jimmckenney.com Montgomery County, Maryland, USA, 39.03871º North, 77.09829º West, USDA zone 7, where Fritillaria raddeana is blooming handsomely. My Virtual Maryland Garden http://www.jimmckenney.com/ BLOG! http://mcwort.blogspot.com/ Webmaster Potomac Valley Chapter, NARGS Editor PVC Bulletin http://www.pvcnargs.org/ Webmaster Potomac Lily Society http://www.potomaclilysociety.org/