Well, Wbender again..... small world... better late than never...... Yeah Bender, I been growing-killing these Hesperaloe parviflora here in soggy OR for several years... most Yucca sp seem to tolerate it here, some thrive....... so figured worth a try.... I found some H. parviflora gallons, in one of the local wholesale nurserys and couldn't resist.... I have killed a couple trying to keep in plastic pots.... but have since been advised they don't like that environment.... managed to barely overwinter one under the house this winter, and planted out this spring... and it started to send up new green shoot last couple weeks, which just got snipped off by some critter, ...no-two-or four legged....?? Boys will be boys I suspect........ Anyway its native to Texas and N. Mexico.... so can likely handle some dry freezing, just not cold soggy feet..... rated Z5-10 by some... and a very knowledgeable local grower advised they will survive here in the ground, but not in plastic pots...... so hopefully the planted out one will try again... showing promise....... later
It's got to be something else. Here in Austin, TX we have dense alkaline black clay that is the definition of SOGGY in most Winters. Cold is relative, but we remained below freezing 70+ hours this Winter during a January freeze with no ill effects. Lows to 16F and 13F., last year. They rarely succumb to anything but shade. Maybe it's the darkness?
Hey Salt yeah thanks for the insights.... shade may be an issue, as we often cloudy-foggy during winter, .......rarely temps in the teens F, upper 20's in typical freezes, hovers in low 30's-40's most winters.... with frequent showers or rain, we generally stay damp and chilly........ But may also be soils, as we are generally acid soils here, and local potting mixes often half or mainly bark mixes, so likely acid also.... and then also may be fungi populations in our acid soils, that you lack in the alkaline soils??? I have noticed the leaf stalks tend to rot out at the crown..... when I have tucked them under the house in a dimly lit, damp, warmer spot.... hopefully 'my planted out survivor' will recover and I can gain more insights... at least the root crown seems to have survived this time.... I have a patch of Yucca sp out back,.... in partial shade now, which has survived many years, from a planting before I moved here... and know of a 'hedgerow' of same in Portland area, ....and I have kept a couple variegated varieties potted here, too long, but they have survived...... so the yuccas are making it, and maybe I just shouldn't 'protect' the Hesperaloe.....just killing them with my dim kindness?? later
Yeah give them all the light you can and add a cup per container of dolomitic lime. Before you freak out at that amount. I have to relate that I've got ~500ft of limestone under my house and the pH of my tap water is 9! Soils here average less than a foot and a half deep so most plants have their roots in limestone rubble under the clay.
I've grown it in a sand bed under a Leyland cypress hedge and still had it freeze out, once it got cold enough. If it was some other factor, why did it live until a sharp winter?
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/31558/ This plant has been said to grow in the following regions: Irrigon, Oregon La Pine, Oregon Does seem they like the dry side of the Cascades. May be that it's too gloomy where you are.
Well guys not real sure, but it seems the combination of wet and cold....... and maybe lack of sun and the acid soils.... It seems to be root rot, crown rot........ likely some Phytoptera strain is getting to it, in prolonged wet cold conditions.... and the effects of Phytoptera may not be immediately obvious....... here's a quick review..... http://onlinegardener.com/disease/Phytophthora root rot.pdf Two very major impacts of Phytoptera strains in this region, include the SOD epidemic, and the Chamaecyparis lawsoniana root rot....... certainly the later is more endemic...... but we seem to have a wealth of Phytoptera sp, that thrive in these cold wet winter conditions....... Seems good drainage, and shallow or raised plantings in order, ....anything that will keep them dry in the winter..... maybe more allkaline soils will throw off our more acidic adapted Phytoptera strains, in these areas west of Cascades.... east side will typically be more alkaline, drier, and colder..... also the prolonged freezing of the east side, locks up the moisture during the cold months...... And yeah Salt, dolomite would probably help, only problem with it is some areas here already high in Mg, me ??..... but normally that CaCO3, also helps break up the heavy clays.... valley grass seed growers here, apply mountains of it, from paper processing byproduct, ......as well as 'tiling' acres of grass fields for winter drainage...... it does get wet here at times....... we saw some windsurfers out on some flooded grass fields about 5 years ago..... But Hesperaloe parviflora sounds like a marginal species here in the wetter PNW... likely drier, colder eastern, and maybe southern OR, it will fare better...... thou drier southern OR has a wealth of Phytoptera sp to be sure......... The trick may be to start from seed, and select for more locally adapted cultivars...... worth a try for such a fine little flower.... meanwhile I think I have selected my ideal site, along the top of my concrete retaining wall in full sun.... now if it just resprouts again, and survives the critters...... sounds like deer might be a problem...... but don't think we'll need to worry about the pecarry around here...... How long has your's fared there on the Sound, Ron??..... There is a naturalized patch of Optunia out there on the San Juans, at the old horse track, right on the shore line........ and they seem to manage down here in the valley...... so maybe just getting the right cultivar of Hesperaloe, as it seems to survive across most of the eastern states.... I have seen a number of fine, smaller variegated yucca of late....... but a word of caution I have had yucca rhizomes just blow out the sides of plastic pots.... and my wild patch has spread to an area of maybe 4x6' over the years...... not sure I want those yucca on top my retaining wall.......Hesperaloe too, seems to cover some ground in the wild...... may require regular division if it adapts... but that flower is a treat...... later
I always mention Dolomite as it's commonly available, but any agricultural lime would work. I worry that someone will use quicklime (burnt lime, slaked lime) and kill all their plants! Remember our Winters are much shorter than yours which is a factor even here in Texas. We can be 15F one day and 90F two days later. Fall lasts til mid-December and Spring starts in mid-February here. Lack of Summer heat is also a factor for some plants. Not a issue for most of the Eastern US.
