What's dead so far? *Early/Mid winter update*
Posted: Mon Jan 12, 2009 8:40 am
In traditional fashion I'll go through the plants that look bad already. Low has been around -20C.
Agave parryi from California based nursery (not sure of source) feels mushy already. Not a very hardy form. I can't say it's dead since it needs to warm up still to confirm. 10% chance. FYI my A. parryi couesii still looks 100%. 50% chance!
Agave palmeri: Long dead. 0% chance
Agave touymena: Looks OK, 50% chance.
Agave chrysantha: Mush. 0%
Agave parryi (high form, Arizona/New Mexico): All of the 'hardy' forms may still be alive, the ones with moisture protection look fine. 50% chance.
Agave neomexicana (a couple different sources): Those in wet areas are DEAD. 5% chance that one or two will survive. Those with moisture protection look good. 50% chance.
Yuccas: The following look like they will be fine (90% chance)- glauca, filamentosa, elata, arkansana, nana, neomexicana, harrimaniae (some tip burn, as with every winter.) I might be missing some that are also fine.
Yucca baccata (larger plant, new): Unprotected. Looks good so far but these have a tendency to rot out in late winter. 45% chance.
yucca recurv. x filata: All 3 plants look good so far. No idea what to expect. 50% chance.
Yucca thompsoniana sucker: Not sure what to say about this. The main plant rotted last winter and has sent up 2 off shoot that both look 100% so far... Maybe I should baby them??? 50% chance.
Yucca rostrata: Moisture protected. No a sign of stress. 75% chance.
Cacti, too many to list, I'll only note the ones that look bad. Unfortunately all of my attempted crosses failed
Opuntia macrocentra: Looks mostly dead. 5% chance.
Opuntia sp. 'large' (engelmanii form?): Mostly dead, the base is still green, 5%
C. kleinae: New form. Looks alive, which beats the one I tried 2 years ago. 50%.
Sabal minor vs. Sabal minor 'Mccurtain': So far both a completely green with a leaf pile enclosure covering most of their foliage. Hopefully I'll be able to draw some conclusion on these come spring.
Bamboo (P. aureosulcata (3 forms), P. angusta, P. nuda, P. bissetti) all bent to the ground and mulched are fine. Hopefully the snow will insulate the roots enough!
Magnolia virginiana 'Henry Hicks': Looks good so far. The foliage is perhaps 10% burned. Second winter.
Acubua (2 forms). Leaves on both burned before I warpped them. Stems are still green.
Basjoo: Leaf pile enclosure, trunks wrapped in lights. The tops had frozen down about 5" or so. I cut this off during a mild spell and redid the protection. Hopefulyl I'll be able to get the P-Stems through, I want to see a flower next summer!
Rhodo's: All look 100%. Breeding with tender large leaf types begins this summer or next. Should be an interesting experiment!
My palm house enclosing the late planted Sabal minor and R. hystrix has hit -15C. I think the cables might have shorted out, and/or the wind tore through the insulation.. In prepartion for the upcoming cold blast I've added a tarp and some blankets to help insulate.
I think that's all for now.
Agave parryi from California based nursery (not sure of source) feels mushy already. Not a very hardy form. I can't say it's dead since it needs to warm up still to confirm. 10% chance. FYI my A. parryi couesii still looks 100%. 50% chance!
Agave palmeri: Long dead. 0% chance
Agave touymena: Looks OK, 50% chance.
Agave chrysantha: Mush. 0%
Agave parryi (high form, Arizona/New Mexico): All of the 'hardy' forms may still be alive, the ones with moisture protection look fine. 50% chance.
Agave neomexicana (a couple different sources): Those in wet areas are DEAD. 5% chance that one or two will survive. Those with moisture protection look good. 50% chance.
Yuccas: The following look like they will be fine (90% chance)- glauca, filamentosa, elata, arkansana, nana, neomexicana, harrimaniae (some tip burn, as with every winter.) I might be missing some that are also fine.
Yucca baccata (larger plant, new): Unprotected. Looks good so far but these have a tendency to rot out in late winter. 45% chance.
yucca recurv. x filata: All 3 plants look good so far. No idea what to expect. 50% chance.
Yucca thompsoniana sucker: Not sure what to say about this. The main plant rotted last winter and has sent up 2 off shoot that both look 100% so far... Maybe I should baby them??? 50% chance.
Yucca rostrata: Moisture protected. No a sign of stress. 75% chance.
Cacti, too many to list, I'll only note the ones that look bad. Unfortunately all of my attempted crosses failed
Opuntia macrocentra: Looks mostly dead. 5% chance.
Opuntia sp. 'large' (engelmanii form?): Mostly dead, the base is still green, 5%
C. kleinae: New form. Looks alive, which beats the one I tried 2 years ago. 50%.
Sabal minor vs. Sabal minor 'Mccurtain': So far both a completely green with a leaf pile enclosure covering most of their foliage. Hopefully I'll be able to draw some conclusion on these come spring.
Bamboo (P. aureosulcata (3 forms), P. angusta, P. nuda, P. bissetti) all bent to the ground and mulched are fine. Hopefully the snow will insulate the roots enough!
Magnolia virginiana 'Henry Hicks': Looks good so far. The foliage is perhaps 10% burned. Second winter.
Acubua (2 forms). Leaves on both burned before I warpped them. Stems are still green.
Basjoo: Leaf pile enclosure, trunks wrapped in lights. The tops had frozen down about 5" or so. I cut this off during a mild spell and redid the protection. Hopefulyl I'll be able to get the P-Stems through, I want to see a flower next summer!
Rhodo's: All look 100%. Breeding with tender large leaf types begins this summer or next. Should be an interesting experiment!
My palm house enclosing the late planted Sabal minor and R. hystrix has hit -15C. I think the cables might have shorted out, and/or the wind tore through the insulation.. In prepartion for the upcoming cold blast I've added a tarp and some blankets to help insulate.
I think that's all for now.