Whenever I entertained the idea of writing a "what if" post (“what if” winter never really happens) then, as if on cue, the weathermen would start talking about a cold snap. Not wanting to tempt Mother Nature I held off on posting. Of course now wouldn’t you know there is chilly weather coming in for the weekend a 28 degree night in the forecast? (but it is only 28, not exactly arctic conditions).
As with many parts of the country our winter here in Portland has been incredibly mild. Every Fall I take stock of the garden, a making metal note of the borderline hardy plants and where the holes will be come Spring. However with the
exception of the Agaves, winter has been very good to my garden. Remember the
Echium whose passing I pre-mourned last fall? It's still alive! I did nothing to protect it; in fact I even lobbed off two of its arms last Fall wanting to give the plants under it a bit of light. It powered on…
Actually all five marginally hardy Echiums lived thought the winter; I'm hoping this means several crazy blooms will grace the garden this summer. Hummingbirds from miles around will stake their claim…
The saddest of the lot is the variegated Echium candicans 'Star of Madeira' it was hit hard…
But still alive! This is my 3rd or 4th plant (good not to pay close attention to death) and the first to live through the winter…zero protection too!
There are a couple of other plants in gardens here in town (not naming any names but they belong to my
plant lust partners) that look way better than mine, but I’m not complaining because it’s alive!
In addition to my Echium collection the Salvia clevelandii lives on to perfume the garden for another summer.
Of the original three Puya coerulea that I planted in June of 2010 one lived through the winter of 2010/11…so naturally it powered right through this winter. What if I actually had Puya blooms someday in my garden?! I can’t even imagine how cool that would be.
There wasn't any “Phormium melt” Portland this year, for the first time since the winter of 2008/09.
Naturally, since I didn't replant any large specimens in the ground.
Prior to the winter of 2008/09 we had a row of three 6ft + tall Cordylines, that winter knocked them back to the ground. Even though they have responded with growth from the roots every year since they’ve never exceeded being a 2-3 ft tall plant by November, which again gets killed to the ground and the cycle repeats. Not this year! They didn’t get zapped at all; I wonder what they’ll look like this November?
Tetrapanax not knocked back by winter…it could be a jungle by August!
Here are a couple of plants that should have died back to the ground, but did not. Disporum cantoniense 'Green Giant'…
And Rubus lineatus…
I’ll admit I was moderately worried about the Schefflera taiwaniana, especially when we got the wet snow. But it’s fine…
My Abutilon hybrid ‘Fairy Coral Red’ not only is alive…but has little flower buds on it. I guess I better take it out of its too-small container and plant it properly.
Most surprisingly the Anigozanthos 'Amber Velvet' (Kangaroo Paw) is still alive. Granted it doesn’t look like much, and I doubt it will bloom (which is the only point in growing it as far as I’m concerned). Since I thought it was dead for sure I only cared about keeping the pot from cracking so I stuck it in the garage last fall. No light, no water (until a couple of weeks ago when I realized it was alive). Amazing!
What are you surprised is still alive in your garden?