[pbs] Chasmanthe floribunda
Lee Poulsen
wpoulsen at pacbell.net
Mon Mar 10 15:25:27 EDT 2008
This is interesting, Jim. I don't know which side of South Africa they
come from, but here in So. California I see them almost naturalized
(even a few up the canyon in the national forest area) and they are
definitely a natural winter-grower/summer-dormant plant in this climate.
(Which could explain the too-early emergence for you.)
--Lee Poulsen
Pasadena, California, USDA Zone 10a
Jim McKenney wrote:
> A year or two ago I described the problems I was having with Chasmanthe
> floribunda in my zone 7 garden. To make a long story short, it grew but did
> not bloom. Back then I was storing them dry inside during the winter and
> planting them out for the summer. At that time various suggestions were
> made. One was that it perhaps needed more heat. That suggestion I'm sure was
> made by someone who has never had the dubious pleasure of enduring summer in
> Maryland. My own thoughts leaned the other way: perhaps it needed a
> cool/cold period.
>
> With that in mind, I planted the corms outside in a protected spot where
> they could remain permanently - or die.
>
> Last year they came out of the ground too early and were severely cut by
> cold. This year, they are now just emerging. I'll protect them if necessary,
> but I'm getting the impression that little by little they are adapting to
> our local conditions.
>
> I'll let you know when they bloom (next year?).
>
>
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