On 25/03/2014 19:42, Nick Maclaren wrote:
In article ,
Spider wrote:
On 25/03/2014 11:19, Sacha wrote:
I've just popped out to the Nursery and this climber is growing on
pillars along the path. The scent is astonishing! It always amazes and
delights me that such wonderful smells come from such little flowers!

I have often admired this climber, but have read conflicting advice that
it is "tender, requiring shelter" and "hardy, H7. Surely, they can't
both be right? Has yours ever seen a really hard winter, Sacha?

Well, I grow the ordinary one. It is fully hardy here, and
would regrow from the ground if cut back, though I don't know how
it would handle the ground freezing more than an inch or so down
(because I have it in a protected spot, for my garden). But it
flowers very early, and I have seen the flowers frosted.



Thanks, Nick. That's useful to know. I quite like the ordinary one, as
it happens, and it fits in with my colour scheming. Now that there's a
chance I could grow it, I'll do more research. The frosted flowers
sound a bit worrying :~/. I may be able to rig up some kind of
protection in one of my more sheltered corners. Good to know that it
may come back from the crown if damaged.


That's my problem with Holbellia. It loses its young shoots every
winter - big deal! - but it also loses its flower buds. But as
far as its leaves and stems are concerned, it's fully hardy.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.



Holbellia is a familiar name, but I can't picture it. I'll look it up,
but if it loses yound shoots and flowers when faced with winter, then it
may not be the plant for me on high ground.

Thanks for your help, Nick.

--
Spider.
On high ground in SE London
gardening on heavy clay