An unapologetic plant geek shares advice and opinions on gardening, the contrived and the natural landscape, as well as occasional topics from the other side of the gate.

February 15, 2015

Bloom Day - Ante Freeze

     It's Bloom Day, but it is not supposed to get above freezing today, and I don't want to go outside, so you will have to make do with photos I took yesterday. Some of what you will see was pretty yesterday, but looks a little stressed today, and will certainly look different after tonight. The weather people are predicting the coldest temperatures of the year and are calling for 12ºF (that's -11ºC for any of you in the rest of the world). I am ready to go back to Florida.

     Despite the cold, my garden is in swelling and bud mode at the moment, and fortunately most things that are still pretty tight will be fine. I have lots of Narcissus foliage pushing up, but the only ones open are the paperwhites. I expect them to be flat on the ground tomorrow morning.
Narcissus 'Ziva'

     I am not sure where I put the tag for these violas, but they have been real troopers all winter.
Viola

     Chaenomeles x 'Hime' (Flowering Quince)
Chaenomeles x 'Hime'

     I did have three Euphorbia 'Ascot Rainbow', but two of them did not survive the summer.
Euphorbia x martinii 'Ascot Rainbow'

     Mahonia x 'Winter Sun' is at the end of its bloom time, but fruits will follow, which will make the mockingbirds happy.
Mahonia x 'Winter Sun'

     Arum itlaicum
Arum itlaicum

     I've tried this plant before, and have never gotten one to live this long, nor look this good. Out of fear, I will not speak its name.
Daphne odora 'Aureo-Marginata' (2)

Daphne odora 'Aureo-Marginata' (1)

     I have already had a couple of Camellia japonica buds open, but freezes earlier in the week were not kind to the flowers. You will just have to use your imagination to visualize how delicate and lovely the first 'Magnoliaeflora' blossoms were, because they are no longer ready for a close-up.
Sabal minor

     The star of this month's Bloom Day is my Edgeworthia chrysantha. I am happy to see it in more garden centers now, and I don't miss an opportunity to recommend it.
Edgeworthia chrysantha (3)

Edgeworthia chrysantha (2)

Edgeworthia chrysantha (1)

     How has this winter treated your garden? Good or bad, you can share it on Garden Bloggers Bloom Day, hosted each month by Carol at May Dreams Gardens.

(Check back here later in the week, as I will be launching my annual Winter Walk-Off challenge.)

36 comments:

  1. Beautiful!
    Happy Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day!
    Lea

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  2. Very nice. Your garden looks a heck of a lot better than ours! You just can't beat Edgeworthia chrysantha. It would surely perish is our zone 5b.

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    1. Edgeworthia has been remarkably tough, but I think 5b would certainly do it in.

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  3. It is nice to see you have blooms in your gardens already Les despite the cold temperatures. We are under a blanket of snow here and spring cannot come soon enough! Happy Bloom Day!

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  4. My Edgeworthia is still wrapped. Temp is supposed to be below zero tonight. I fear another year of survival but no bloom. Hard to believe it's so much milder in your area.

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    1. You should through another blanket on your Edgeworthia; I might need one too.

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  5. Happy GBBD! I hope your gorgeous blooms survive Maine type temps. I hadn't realized it got that cold down there. I enjoyed your flamingo park too. I can see why you're missing Florida.

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    1. Sarah, like much of the east, we will be even colder tomorrow night. They are call for single digits.

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  6. Fifteen sounds awful chilly for your neck of the woods. Looks like your garden is in great shape for this time of year, hope you have a great and successful gardening season. Making any traveling plans for the summer?

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    1. Greg, no plans yet. This might be the year I need to keep any vacation cheap. I am spending too much at the dentist and the doctor.

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  7. No, we shall not speak its name. I worry that taking photos of new plants is the perfect jinx. That edgeworthia is the closest thing to a rock star among plants. I read its praises quite a bit. Kind of a sunflower/shower nozzle effect with the face-down blooms. What a beauty.

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    1. I hope you are wrong about a photo jinx, because I do believe these were the first shots I've taken of the plant whose name I will not speak.

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  8. Your blooms are all so lovely! Are you going to wrap your Edgeworthia blooms for the night? Our winter has felt more like spring except for one cold snap. We had sunny sixty degree days in January, which is highly unusual in the Portland metro area. Stay warm!

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    1. No Laura, I will not wrap the plant. It survived 6 last winter with no visible signs of damage, so let's hope it will be fine this year.

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  9. On the one hand, your low for tonight is higher than my high of 5F for today, and it was already subzero before the sun went down. On the other hand, my perennials are all tucked under 18 inches of snow and all woodies are thoroughly dormant, so I'm not expecting damage from any of this. But finally, all I am growing here are icicles. As Lee said, spring can't come soon enough. It will be May before my violas are blooming as lustily as yours.

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    1. Kathy, I couldn't image 5F for a high. God must have special place in his heart for people like you who live in such a cold climate.

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  10. The same happens at my place: pretty today, frost bitten tomorrow. Good thing is, most hold back some blooms for another warm spell.

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    1. Jean, I think we should be fine. I will know soon enough.

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  11. You want to move to Florida and I want to move where YOU live. lol

    How will your blooming flowers survive that deep cold ?

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    1. Sybil, anything that is wide open will probably turn mushy and brown, but whatever is still tight should be fine. At least that is what I am telling myself.

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  12. Sorry to hear about your impending freeze! Your blooms looked so lovely when you took these pictures! Keep warm, Les!

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    1. Thanks Peter. I am covered in blankets as we speak.

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  13. I bet all your plants and flowers are very glad they live in your area and not mine. This morning is -9 and all my plants are under many feet of snow. It is nice seeing plants happy seeing the sun at least. I just saw Edgeworthia in Seattle but I like your yellow better than the white. It has always been a plant that I wished grew here.

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    1. Donna, -9 will only be 11 degrees away from our predicted low Thursday night. At least we now have a coating of snow for plant insulation.

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  14. I feel sad for everyone on the east coast these days. I will not brag about the warmer-then-usual winter we're having in the PNW, or the near 60° on this president day weekend.
    The "un-named" plant looks magnificent, like it just came out of a green house! I lost a couple myself and decided not to get attached to them again.

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    1. Chavliness, I am on #3 of the un-named one.

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  15. Yikes, spring flowers in winter temperatures. Hope it didn't get as cold as they predicted.

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    1. Loree, it is going to get worse. My tears are turning to ice cubes.

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  16. I hear you with the Florida part. I'm cheating this year, and spending the rest of winter with my parents along the Florida Gulf Coast. Obviously, nothing was blooming in my Wisconsin garden and won't be until late March. But the blooms are aplenty here in the Sunshine State. I just got down here, so didn't have time to pull it together a Bloom Day post. But February in Florida can't be beat.

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    1. Have fun in Florida Beth! Though I do here that the cold will find its way there too, but at least it won't be Wisconsin cold.

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  17. Eleven degrees cold? It is -25 here and in the minus thirties with the wild chill factored in! I'll trade you our Canadian cold for your "cold" down there. Or better yet, I'll hitch a ride with you back to Florida. LOL!
    If I could I would have an Edgeworthia chrysantha in my garden. There is something about the flower that makes me imagine that they smell divine. I have always admired the foliage of Arum itlaicum. It is on my wish list. Happy Bloom Day Les!

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    1. Jennifer, Edgeworthia does smell divine. I am thinking we may need to charter a bus to get everyone to Florida.

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  18. I think my rosemary is a gonner again this year. Everything else looks fine though. 2 degrees tonight (-16 C.)
    Ray

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  19. You are justly proud of those Edgeworthia!

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