Surprising survivors

This is the time of year when those of us who garden in climates that
experience winter frost take stock of what has survived the trials of
winter. In western Oregon we've had a winter that was slightly colder
than normal, with several periods of snow cover (one of about one week),
and very heavy and prolonged rainfall. This was a real test of plants
known to be marginally hardy here.

I don't have a heated greenhouse, though I move a few potted plants
under lights in the garage in winter. My bulb house is never more than a
degree or two above ambient temperature, since it has a roof but no
solid sides. I also moved many bulbs into the open garden last summer.
Some of them are mentioned in books (mostly books published in the UK)
as requiring frost-free cultivation. Nevertheless, some marginal species
are now in growth and even in flower.

I didn't mean to plant Ornithogalum reverchonii (from the French
Riviera) in the open, but I mistook its bulbs for Ornithogalum
narbonense. Yet O. reverchonii is opening its crystalline white flowers
now; the foliage, which is winter-growing, is a little bedraggled but
definitely alive. Amaryllis belladonna turned to mush, but new leaves
have emerged -- I may never see any flowers but it's not giving up. The
shining yellow flowers of Anemone palmata (from Portugal) light up both
the rock garden and the bulb lawn. Even the Crinum plants given to me by
another PBS member last year are putting out new growth; I did mulch
them heavily but thought they were gone for good.

Most everything in the bulb house survived (low temperature, 18 F),
except for some Babiana. Another African species, Oxalis obtusa, is all
too lively -- I even spotted one that got into the open garden,
fortunately back in the shrubbery where it can't do much damage. The
lovely North African Asphodelus acaulis dutifully produced its
peach-colored flowers in early March, a little later than usual. I think
the survival of marginal plants under a roof is aided by the fact that
their foliage is dry; on the other hand, they got no snow cover. I
suspect that the many species I'm trying in turf also enjoy a little
extra protection in winter, when the grass here is in active growth.

So far the only big Alstroemeria outdoors, A. angustifolia, has not made
an appearance, but in the bulb house the little species Alstroemeria
hookeri came through fine, despite being in growth during the cold
snaps. I'm also happy to see Alstroemeria patagonica there, but it is
more cold-adapted, though not really easy to maintain.

The first Calochortus here is always Calochortus uniflorus, and it's
opening now. Others are in bud. Most of them flower rather later than
other bulbs. I have sometimes thought that native bulbs from the Pacific
Coast of North America are particularly well adapted to surviving
extra-cold winters.

Have you had any pleasant surprises like these? Let us know.

Jane McGary

Portland, Oregon, USA

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