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fredsbog

Cleveland Gunnera Survived Winter.

fredsbog
16 years ago

Well I went out last week while the weather was still nice (we had over a foot of snow this weekend)and uncovered several of my VERY marginal plants to see if they survived.

The Gunnera manicata that I bought from the local pond store survived with flying colors surviving a week of below zero weather protected by it's own leaves that I cut off and laid on top of the crowns and a layer of leaves.

A little bit of background, the plant is located at the north side of the house planted against the wall. I'll keep you posted on how it does throughout the season.

Comments (9)

  • kwoods
    16 years ago

    Nice job!

    Pictures when it gets going please?

    How's the bog?

  • fredsbog
    Original Author
    16 years ago

    Well, Easter weekend was a bit dicey, We had temperatures in the upper 20s and a lot of things were frozen. The Gunnera fared really well!
    {{gwi:429064}}

    Additionally I had a number of non-bog plants that shouldn't have survived come back including a ginger (Zingiber mioga), two bananas (basjoo and Musella lasiocarpa), Chilean bellflower (Lapageria rosea), and a couple of oddball southern hemisphere conifers...I'm a real happy camper this season!

  • garyfla_gw
    16 years ago

    Hi
    Good going!! I saw some of these growing wild in Costa Rica only at high altitude of course and in seep areas. I've killed a few of these lol They can't take the Florida heat did great during the winter though. The one cool grower that I would reaally like to grow.
    How do they do during your summers?? gary

  • mountainman_bc
    16 years ago

    What southern hemisphere conifers survived for you, and what did they have for protection?
    Thanks!

  • fredsbog
    Original Author
    16 years ago

    the only southern hemisphere conifer that I had out this winter was Podocarpus nivalis. got to -6 and only snowcover for protection.

    I put out Cunninghamia lanceolata which survived but oddly enough the area of the tree that were protected under the snow were the areas with dieback. the top of the plant was fine!

  • florey
    16 years ago

    How did you do this winter?
    Where were those other non-bog plants? Were they, especially the lapageria, near enough to the house to get some warmth?

  • Mike Larkin
    15 years ago

    It does not appear that the location of the Gunnera is too wet, can you describe the conditions of wher it is planted?
    I killed one last year because I kept it too wet. I just got a second on and would like to keep it alive. I have a green house so a container would be ok .
    Mike

  • fredsbog
    Original Author
    15 years ago

    Sorry for the delay in responding.

    The Gunnera is on the north side of the house next to the foundation. When the leaves are killed in fall I cut them off and lay them over the crown.

    I grow Gunnera just like I do Rhubarb with the exception that I plant it close to the foundation of the house for extra warmth.

    The Lapagerias also are sending up new shoots this spring but are killed to the ground each winter. I was lucky enough to get one blossom last fall before the frost got it.

  • Mike Larkin
    15 years ago

    Appreciate the picture and the info.

    It appears that the ground is not all that swampy, looks like it grows regular garden soil. I thought that gunnera needed a wetter location.
    I am zone 6 and could do the same, also have a greenhouse and can plant in a large pot and bring inside if I needed.

    Just shows that that these plants tolerate a wide range of soil conditions, maybe just give them a lots of water

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