hi all.
well with winter a'coming im worrying about the plants i have (albeit a small collection) could someone please tell me if they will live through the winter ?

i have two ugni flambeaus (ones already burned and probably dead but i havent thrown it out yet)

2 rhododendhrons

2 rose bushes
and the rest are small inexpensive plants that will re-seed

could someone please tell me whether or not they will live through the winter and if not will they grow back ?

also.. can someone go through the logical steps of 'winter sowing' do i have to water them through the cold winter and possibly snow.

i'd be really greatfull for any help from anyone smarter than me :P

THANKS ALL IN ADVANCE !!

the roses and the rhododendrons should be fine. The roses will lose their leaves, so may the rhododendrons, but they'll grow new ones in spring.

Winter sowing - what are you planning to sow?

"zuhayr-123" wrote

well with winter a'coming im worrying about the plants i have (albeit a
small collection) could someone please tell me if they will live through
the winter ?

i have two ugni flambeaus (ones already burned and probably dead but i
havent thrown it out yet)

2 rhododendhrons

2 rose bushes
and the rest are small inexpensive plants that will re-seed

could someone please tell me whether or not they will live through the
winter and if not will they grow back ?

also.. can someone go through the logical steps of 'winter sowing' do i
have to water them through the cold winter and possibly snow.

i'd be really greatfull for any help from anyone smarter than me :P

You don't say where you are in the world but as you have posted to this
Newsgroup via a UK web site I will assume you are in the UK.
Ugni molinae 'Flambeau' should be hardy down to -5°C or so and unless you
live in northern Scotland or up a mountain it shouldn't be dead yet.
Rhododendrums and Roses are as tough as old boots in the UK if planted in
the ground so just prune the roses now to stop wind rock over winter and
leave the Rhody alone.
If any or all of these plants are in pots they will need protection over
winter, move them up near the house and wind bubble wrap around the pot to
stop the roots freezing, but still allowing rain to get in.

--
Regards. Bob Hobden.
Posted to this Newsgroup from the W of London, UK

In article ,
Bob Hobden wrote:

Rhododendrums and Roses are as tough as old boots in the UK if planted in
the ground so just prune the roses now to stop wind rock over winter and
leave the Rhody alone.

Er, not really. SOME roses are, but not even R. ponticum can handle
the coldest parts of the UK. I don't know what its exact limits are,
but I know that cold is one of the reasons that it has not spread
further than it has.

However, it won't have been affected by any of the light frosts that
are the worst that even the Scottish mountains have seen so far.
My guess is that it can take sustained -10 Celsius, which implies
the soil is frozen to a few inches.

And, of course, outside the colder areas, you are correct, and most
rhododendrons are happy (temperature-wise) in even the colder areas.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

In article ,
Janet wrote:

I've known R.ponticum take -24 C (in Scotland) without a blink. I've
also known well established plants blown out of the ground in windspeeds
over 100 mph.. wind exposure is probably the greatest inhibition it
faces in Scotland :-)

How deeply did the ground freeze? That is often a more important
factor than the low temperature.

It seems that the hardier forms of R. ponticum are actually a hybrid
with R. catawbiense and that it is often fairly tender:

http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/sci/li...ory_eh2006.pdf


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

In article ,
Janet wrote:

I've known R.ponticum take -24 C (in Scotland) without a blink. I've
also known well established plants blown out of the ground in windspeeds
over 100 mph.. wind exposure is probably the greatest inhibition it
faces in Scotland :-)

How deeply did the ground freeze? That is often a more important
factor than the low temperature.

Our underground water supply pipe on the moor was frozen for 10 days
:-(. It's supposed to be buried 3 ft deep but probably shallower in some
rocky sections. Trees and daffodils survived.

That's cold.

A farm neighbour had a large deciduous woodland heavily infested with
Rp which he was trying to eliminate, but that exceptionally cold spell
did not affect it at all.

The hardy forms are much hardier than I had realised, then.

It seems that the hardier forms of R. ponticum are actually a hybrid
with R. catawbiense and that it is often fairly tender:

http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/sci/li...ory_eh2006.pdf

Interesting article, thanks. To think they actually bred it to be
hardier :-)

Yup. Much of what it said was news to me. I think that there are
a lot of poorly-studied oddities about the adaptation of plants
and animals to the UK. We know that there are several plants that
have hybridised (or been bred) and have naturalised only in that
form, but the indication of that paper is that this isn't a simple
cross. And, of course, there is the question of why and how rabbits
changed from an animal that needed help to survive the winter to
one which most definitely doesn't!

It's also unclear how many of the claims of ecological harm are
actually justified. Japanese knotweed is, in many places, and
R. ponticum can be, but I have never seen Himalayan balsam form
monocultures. My suspicion is that even R. ponticum is only a
major ecological problem in a few areas - though it may be a
bloody nuisance to humans more widely, just like nettles, bindweed
and so on.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

In message , writes
In article ,
Janet wrote:

I've known R.ponticum take -24 C (in Scotland) without a blink. I've
also known well established plants blown out of the ground in windspeeds
over 100 mph.. wind exposure is probably the greatest inhibition it
faces in Scotland :-)

How deeply did the ground freeze? That is often a more important
factor than the low temperature.

Our underground water supply pipe on the moor was frozen for 10 days
:-(. It's supposed to be buried 3 ft deep but probably shallower in some
rocky sections. Trees and daffodils survived.

That's cold.

A farm neighbour had a large deciduous woodland heavily infested with
Rp which he was trying to eliminate, but that exceptionally cold spell
did not affect it at all.

The hardy forms are much hardier than I had realised, then.

It seems that the hardier forms of R. ponticum are actually a hybrid
with R. catawbiense and that it is often fairly tender:


http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/sci/li...-schmutz/rp_hi
story_eh2006.pdf

Interesting article, thanks. To think they actually bred it to be
hardier :-)

Yup. Much of what it said was news to me. I think that there are
a lot of poorly-studied oddities about the adaptation of plants
and animals to the UK. We know that there are several plants that
have hybridised (or been bred) and have naturalised only in that
form, but the indication of that paper is that this isn't a simple
cross. And, of course, there is the question of why and how rabbits
changed from an animal that needed help to survive the winter to
one which most definitely doesn't!

People are now beginning to take up the name Rhododendron x
superponticum for the wild British rhododendrons.

URL:http://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/RHS-Pub.../Hanburyana/Ha
nburyan-issues/Volume-5--June-2011/Naturalised-rhododendrons

It's also unclear how many of the claims of ecological harm are
actually justified. Japanese knotweed is, in many places, and
R. ponticum can be, but I have never seen Himalayan balsam form
monocultures. My suspicion is that even R. ponticum is only a
major ecological problem in a few areas - though it may be a
bloody nuisance to humans more widely, just like nettles, bindweed
and so on.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

--
Stewart Robert Hinsley

On 11/4/2012 8:08 PM, Janet wrote:

It certainly is an ecological problem in west Scotland; in woodland
it smothers natural regeneration of native plants, particularly worrying
as older trees die naturally. It's also a host plant of phytopthera
kernoviae and ramorum

http://ucanr.org/sites/sod5/files/147415.pdf

I know shepherds on the north coast, who dislike it because of the
effect it can have on their animals.

In article ,
Janet wrote:

It's also unclear how many of the claims of ecological harm are
actually justified. Japanese knotweed is, in many places, and
R. ponticum can be, but I have never seen Himalayan balsam form
monocultures. My suspicion is that even R. ponticum is only a
major ecological problem in a few areas - though it may be a
bloody nuisance to humans more widely, just like nettles, bindweed
and so on.

It certainly is an ecological problem in west Scotland; in woodland
it smothers natural regeneration of native plants, particularly worrying
as older trees die naturally.

I accept that it can be - what I am saying is that the frequent
claims that it usually (or even always) is are almost always made
without any attempt at providing justification. Inter alia, it
is an undershrub in most climax woodland, and I have have both
seen it NOT smothering regeneration and seen no data that it does
under such circumstances.

It's also a host plant of phytopthera
as older trees die naturally. It's also a host plant of phytopthera
kernoviae and ramorum

http://ucanr.org/sites/sod5/files/147415.pdf

As are many plants. It's unclear to what extent that is demonisation.

I have looked at several papers describing its harmfulness, but all
of the decent ones have pointed out that quite a few conditions are
needed for that, and several describing its distribution. But I
have never seen one analysing how widely it is an ecological problem.
I have seen it being so, myself, but only on a small scale - however,
that is also true for Japanese knotweed.

And, as I say, as far as I can discover, several plants (mainly
Himalayan balsam and bracken, but also Oxford ragwort, Buddleia
davidii and others) have be claimed to be ecological problems, but
without any attempt at providing evidence and (in my experience)
without justification. Yes, they can be bloody nuisances to humans,
but that is not the same.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

well i wanted to sow a selection of perrenials like lupins and some annuals that i like, ill pick up what i can find in my local garden centre really (unless anyone is giving any seeds away ?).

im sorry i should have said. i live in south east England. so it is slightly warmer i dont really know why the ugni flambeau has shriveled up and turned orange already. the other one is growing nicely but its in a pot. should i put it in the shed once the freezing temperatures start ? or should i put it in the ground and pot it again in spring or will that be too stressfull for it ?

i also have a 2 round topiaries in a brick pot but im not too worries about them.

again could someone go over the steps of winter sowing for me please.
thanks again in advance.

Annuals are usually sown in the spring - in my area I'd sow april or may. Perennials normally grown as annuals can be sown in the autumn, ie Sept or Oct.

Not much will grow at this time of year because there isn't enough warmth and light outside to support growth. And it's no use sowing them indoors, because there's even less light, and you'll get spindly leggy growth.

This is a generality, of course - there are, for example, some varieties of broad bean that can be sown now. But for annuals and most perennials, you'd be better waiting until spring, so you can get them into quick and strong growth.

what kind of seeds can be winter sown ? from what i gather winter sowing doesn't mean growing seedlings in the winter, i think it means sowing the seeds in the winter so theyre 'chilled' for the spring. am i right in saying this ?

Ah, that's slightly different. Some seeds need the cold of winter to stimulate germination. But it's usually more reliable to keep them in the fridge for about 6 weeks, either sown in a small pot, or mixed with sand for sowing later. If you sow them outside, they're likely to be eaten or two rot over the winter.

Most seeds don't need this treatment - it usually mentions it on the instructions on the seed packet.

In message , zuhayr-123
writes

kay;972356 Wrote:
Annuals are usually sown in the spring - in my area I'd sow april or
may. Perennials normally grown as annuals can be sown in the autumn, ie
Sept or Oct.

Not much will grow at this time of year because there isn't enough
warmth and light outside to support growth. And it's no use sowing them
indoors, because there's even less light, and you'll get spindly leggy
growth.

This is a generality, of course - there are, for example, some varieties
of broad bean that can be sown now. But for annuals and most perennials,
you'd be better waiting until spring, so you can get them into quick and
strong growth.

what kind of seeds can be winter sown ? from what i gather winter sowing
doesn't mean growing seedlings in the winter, i think it means sowing
the seeds in the winter so theyre 'chilled' for the spring. am i right
in saying this ?


There are some plants whose seeds require chilling (look up
"stratification") for germination. These are usually perennial plants
(including trees and shrubs).

There are some plants whose seeds germinate in autumn and which flower
the following spring. These are known as winter annuals, and (among
ornamentals) are typically Mediterranean plants taking advantage of the
availability of moisture in the winter.
--
Stewart Robert Hinsley

On 05/11/2012 18:12, zuhayr-123 wrote:
kay;972356 Wrote:
Annuals are usually sown in the spring - in my area I'd sow april or
may. Perennials normally grown as annuals can be sown in the autumn, ie
Sept or Oct.

Not much will grow at this time of year because there isn't enough
warmth and light outside to support growth. And it's no use sowing them
indoors, because there's even less light, and you'll get spindly leggy
growth.

This is a generality, of course - there are, for example, some varieties
of broad bean that can be sown now. But for annuals and most perennials,
you'd be better waiting until spring, so you can get them into quick and
strong growth.

what kind of seeds can be winter sown ? from what i gather winter sowing
doesn't mean growing seedlings in the winter, i think it means sowing
the seeds in the winter so theyre 'chilled' for the spring. am i right
in saying this ?




My sweet peas are going great guns outside, hanging in their plastic
bags on a south facing wall. Curious that one or two seeds from the same
pod have just germinated a whole month after the earliest ones.
Part of a group of hardy annuals that need *some* protection

http://apps.rhs.org.uk/advicesearch/...e.aspx?pid=390