Monica...could you tell us more details of your "sand plunge"? And how do you ensure that water doesn't collect at the bottom, rather than drain through the surrounding soil? -Cynthia Mueller Sent from my iPhone > On Jan 26, 2014, at 11:28 PM, "Monica Swartz" <eciton@alumni.utexas.net> wrote: > > Cynthia asked about how winter-growing bulbs respond to the > temperature turmoil in Texas. I live in Austin (zone 8b) though the > microclimate at my house on the edge of the escarpment is > significantly more extreme than in the city. I grow hundreds of > winter-growing species from S. Africa, California, and the > Mediterranean, most with little to no weather protection and I've > been planting loads of winter-growing bulbs into the ground to see > what works. > This winter has provided several events with 80 degree F temperature > swings in 24-48 hours and one rainfall event of over 15 inches in a > few hours. The plants grow when the weather is good, and pause when > it is not. The wild swings in temperature make no difference in when > they flower or go dormant. In my experience, most winter-growers are > far more freeze-hardy than you might expect. > The real killer this year was the first freeze in mid November. I > lost several species and had lots of damage even though it was barely > below freezing. It simply hadn't been cold up to that day and I > believe that the plants need the trigger of some cool nights to make > the heat-shock proteins that protect them. A mild freeze out of the > blue was far more deadly than the recent 15 degree ice storm. > I have only been growing in Texas for a few years and I still have a > lot to learn. This November's lesson was a hard one. On a brighter > note, I've also learned how fantastic a sand plunge is!!! I built a > small plunge in full sun for winter-growing Brunsvigia, Haemanthus, > Boophane, and Gethyllis and all are growing and flowering happily > without the freeze damage shown by the same species on shelves just a > foot away. I think they could go below 10 degrees F before the first > leaf burn on the edges. Even more surprising is that I left the pots > in the plunge all year and let them get summer rain without cover. > They loved it, lots of flowers (the Brunsvigia seed I sent to the BX > came from this plunge) and one Gethyllis split into three. Our rain > is infrequent but heavy (35 inches a year on average). Those of you > in drier climates should have little to fear. I have read about sand > plunges on this forum for years and now I'm more than convinced, I've > started building my second one. > monica expecting more snow tomorrow after 75 F today > _______________________________________________ > pbs mailing list > pbs@lists.ibiblio.org > http://pacificbulbsociety.org/list.php > http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/