survivors

Sue had a Thunbergia gregorii last year and against (my) better advice she left the pot out all winter (it is in the courtyard area by the back door against the east facing wall). To my utter embarrassment it has survived and shoving new shoots out from the roots and bottom 40cm of the plant. Here I can salvage a little pride as she did take my advice and not cut it back last autumn!

In my garden Fuchsia "Blacky" which is sold as tender has come through the last two winters - one hard and one mild.

Today I plant Bomarea edulis (hirtella) in the ground, so here's fingers crossed for next winter.

 

I noticed another survivor today. Acanthus mollis is obviously hardy, but what is surprising is that a flower spike that started late last summer but stopped growing at 20cm'ish in the autumn has been sat under the foliage with zero damage. Better than zero damage it now has a main stem of about 40mm diameter and the one stem now has eight flower spikes coming off it!!

 

Had a surprise to day.
My pretty large Acacia pravissima appears to be shooting from the old stumps.
It was hacked back, badly, by a "friendly"allotment holder next to me, who decided within an hour or two of the roots moving, that it needed to be cut down.

I really must tell him the good news.

 

The protea bud is not quite fully open, but very nearly.


Aloe striatulas are now flowering.


Aloe aristata is doing its stuff.

And the Washingtonia might just get back to looking how it did in 2008, before the hard winters.

 

@pete - are you growing the Protea outdoors?

 

Yes its outside, but I cheat, its next to the Strelitzia and gets the same blanket treatment on cold nights.
Survived all the rain last winter with no problems.

 

That is still rather impressive!

 

I had a Silver Tree, Leucadendron argentuem which I grew in a pot for a few years.

One spring I was away for a week on business, we had a warm spell, and it dried out and died
Perhaps I could have tried it outdoors?