Erythrina zeyheri (Re: NARGS)

Ernie DeMarie via pbs pbs@lists.ibiblio.org
Wed, 14 Oct 2015 15:11:32 PDT
Hi Nick,
Might be an interesting project, I do have E x bidwellii right against the house, it came up late but is still in bloom now. A gawky somewhat brittle and viciously thorny plant but the flowers are striking.   Both it and the one E. zeyheri that were outside last winter got protection via dry grass and plastic plus near the wall (although the E zeyheri is about 3 feet away), same protection got Salvia guarantica Black and Blue thru that tough winter.  The grass wasnt dry when I took off the plastic in spring, impossible for anything to stay dry around here in winter pretty much.  The plant that has the pod was placed in my South African garden (a garden just for African plants, even though there are many SA plants in all my other gardens mixed in with all kinds of stuff) along with another large one.  Its not a sheltered area but it is on a slope and I will mulch with wood chips and plastic just in case.  However forecasts indicate this winter should be a mild one for us here 
 in NY, as they usually are when a strong el nino gets going.  They tend to block the arctic fronts (what the news renamed "polar vortex" b/c it sounds scarier I imagine) which bring the real cold into the coastal regions here in NY.  
I also have seedlings of Brunsvigia radulosa leafing out in another garden in the front by the wall on the other side of the steps.  The foliage took all kinds of abuse last winter but February's extreme cold finally fried them, but the shallow small bulbs survived and are sprouting again now.  If this summer rainfall species had developed summer growing foliage instead of retaining the winter growing habit of most of its kin in the Cape, I am sure it would be bone hardy here.  Guess I'll have to see just how much photosynthesis those leaves can get done in a mild winter, or before really bad cold strikes.  
Ernie




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