On 2009-09-25 17:44:41 +0100, DaveP said:

On Sep 25, 4:18*pm, Sacha wrote:
Taking a deep breath, we're going to try a Hedychium outside this year.

The time to plant this in in spring when the new shoots are starting
to appear. A nice sunny spot and well-manured soil are all it
needs.... plus copious supplies of water when growing strongly. It
does well in Manchester, York, Leicester, Cambridge, Ipswich, Norwich,
North Wales, South Wales and Birmingham. There's every reason to
assume it will grow perfectly well near Ashburton. It is a very tough
plant and well tested in areas with winters far more severe than we
see in the South West.

This is going from greenhouse in a pot to a larger pot in the garden,
on the edge of the tea room lawn, opposite the back door if you can
visualise that, David. In fact, I've just been out there and I see two
have gone in. ;-) Some are flowering now in the greenhouse and
smelling like heaven. Once that's over, they'll be for the chop! The
Lonicera hildebrandiana is going to have to move back into its winter
home soon but at present is still quite sheltered and warm against a
wall. It's grown like a mad thing there, putting out enormous numbers
of new shoots and having flowered like crazy. I'm patting myself on
the back a bit there because it was my idea to put it against the tea
room wall this year and not against one of the posts on the lawn. It
seemed a lot happier in this new place, though I think the roses there
have almost given up in despair! It's a massive thing now and if only
we could be sure of a mild winter we might risk it outside but after
last year...... It would break my heart if we lost this one because
it's just so splendid.
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.com
Shrubs & perennials. Tender & exotics.
South Devon