pbs Digest, hardiness, cold temperatures
Tony Avent (Wed, 29 Dec 2004 04:29:30 PST)

Joe, Ken, John, etal:

I think we might be talking about the same thing. Most plants going into
winter need to be hydrated. This does not equate to having moist soil or
precipitation. A classic example was winter 2003/4 when large numbers of
reliably hardy trees in the midwest died during the winter. Their fall had
been abnormally dry and the plants were simply not hydrated. All of these
trees had experienced much colder temperatures in earlier decades but were
well-hydrated. The best example of dry winter assisting in survival can be
seen at the Denver Botanic garden Zone 5/6, where they can grow bulbs and
agaves outdoors which are not hardy in our warmer Zone 7b, but wet cold
winters. Additionally, hydration in bulbs and agaves is quite different
than hydration in shrubs and trees.

Tony Avent
Plant Delights Nursery @
Juniper Level Botanic Garden
9241 Sauls Road
Raleigh, NC 27603 USA
Minimum Winter Temps 0-5 F
Maximum Summer Temps 95-105F
USDA Hardiness Zone 7b
email tony@plantdelights.com
website http://www.plantdel.com/
phone 919 772-4794
fax 919 772-4752
"I consider every plant hardy until I have killed it myself...at least
three times" - Avent