"Sacha" wrote in message
...
On 2010-08-28 10:21:50 +0100, said:
I was extremely surprised by the hardiness of Acca (Feijoa)
sellowiana, which I wasn't expecting to survive its roots freezing.
I was less surprised by pomegranate, but my pip-grown one hasn't
flowered.
Ray is still letting his Acca grow before risking it outdoors. I don't
know how it will do with us because we often find that things will go
through two or three winters quite happily and then suddenly be killed off
in another winter.
Acca is a lot hardier than it is given credit for. Only in this very cold
winter has mine lost some of its upper leaves, and looks like it will
replace those before too long. After such a hard winter, it still surprised
me by having around a dozen flowers (one may be turning into a fruit).
True, it is only 3 metres from the house (SE-facing side) and has the
protection of some other evergreen shrubs, but it is not bad for a Brazilian
shrub.
Quite a lot of things are much tougher than the books say, but often
don't flower or fruit, which is why they are described as needing
proptection. Figs, for example - ours lost all of its new growth
late on and produced no fruit buds at all, but every significant
branch resprouted vigorously.
Regards,
Nick Maclaren.
I'm not at all sure what *does* kill off a fig tree!
--
Jeff