Rhodohypoxis

[Hoy]

Impressive!
It seems you are growing Diascia and Jovellana in pots too. Are those hardy in your climate?

[RickR]

And may I say Matt, spectacular and impressive!

The Chapter member here in Minnesota that grows them sifts through the soil each fall to find the subterranean structures to overwinter dormant inside.  It would seem just growing them in a pot or trough and bringing in the container for winter would be a lot simpler.

[McDonough]

Matt, impressive planters indeed!  In the photo named "rhodo3.jpg", is the pale bluish-white shrubby plant a Prostanthera (Australian mintbush) or a Calamintha, looks like a Lamiaceae to me.

[Hoy]

Mark, I think you are right. I first took it for a Jovellana but Prostanthera cuneata is a better candidate.

[James R.]

James, 9 degrees F seems pretty cold even thought the bulbs are underground.  Is the ground frozen, and to the depth of the "bulbs"? And how deep are the "bulbs"?  Did you say you knew the species of your Rhodohypoxis?

Hi Rick,
Sorry It took me so long to reply I have been busy with school. But yes, the ground was frozen solid for three days last winter and about a week the winter before. I plant mine about 2-3 inches deep, but the ones that I had growing in clay soil were only about 1 inch under the soil line. I am still very surprised the ones in the clay soil lived. The ones I grow ouside for sure is Rhodohypoxis baurii.  I will say that nearly all the ones that I forgot to take into the garage that I was growing in pots did die. (the cold snap came with very little warning and it was not reported to get that cold) So now the only ones I have left are the few that lived the winter in the pots and the others that I planted out in the ground. 

[RickR]

Thanks James. That gives me a good idea of how cold the soil really got.  (not very, compared to Minnesota standards)  But about what I might expect there. 

[Mattus]

Hi folks, yes, it is a Prostanthera cuneata, one that I purchased in Portland, OR at the WWSW in 2008. I keep three species of Prostanthera in my cool greenhouse, they do so well since they can handle a little freeze every now and then ( when the gas runs out!). The diascia is not hardy here, I purchase young plants in late winter, and they bloom until mid-July, when it gets hot and humid.

[Kelaidis]

I've enjoyed the comments about Rhodohypoxis hardiness: obviously much to learn there...

Many Diascia are moderately hardy in Denver if pampered in a perfect site and soil: after all, the perennial sorts almost all come from high altitudes in the Drakensberg...

BUT One species is Very Tough: Diascia integerrima, particularly in the dwarf race that was introduced through Plant Select called 'Coral Canyon' is tough as nails. I've been ransacking my computer (apparently I don't have pictures on it here..dammit!) but there are lots on the internet: check out this URL:

http://www.google.com/images?hl=en&safe=off&biw=1090&bih=442&gbv=2&tbs=isch%3A1&sa=1&q=Diascia+integerrima&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=

I collected seed from which 'Coral Canyon' was selected in 1998 with Jim Archibald a short distance above Rhodes on the way to Naude's Nek in the East Cape mountains (very cold area). Typical integerrima can get to be a yard tall, this race stayed much more compact, in the wild only a foot tall or less. In the garden it can get bigger, especially in rich soil. It has persisted for ten years in some sites for us here, and is one of the most long blooming and gratifying perennials. Many Plant Select cooperators sell plugs: you must try it!

[Hoy]

Some Diascias even make nice plants in Northern Norway and are sold by nurseries far north:


http://www.stewo.no/stauder_d.htm


They sell Delosperma basuticum too: