Tell the Truth Tuesday - Bring O ut your Dead Part the First

On Tuesdays, Alison at Bonney Lassie invites us to show parts of our gardens that are less than lovely.   While plants are resilient and it's a bit too early to throw in the towel on many, there are others that have definitely called it quits during our cold February. 

First up are a couple of agaves that were under cover of the back porch and given no water.  Several of  those hardy to zones six and seven were just fine but for this zone eight lovely, the temperatures were just too cold.  Interestingly, those of similar hardiness inside the unheated stained glass greenhouse/round room seem to be fine with only a few degrees more warmth.

Two Agave salmiana, hardy to 15 degrees were placed a few feet apart, again under cover of the back porch.  One looks fine while this one, not so much.

Elegia capensis was just sprouting new growth when the cold hit.  I've learned that when winter keeps me very busy away from the garden, I'm not so good at pulling plants inside at the last minute.  Even if this comes back from the roots (doubtful) it'll take it years to regain it's former glory.  Rhodocoma capensis, a more reliably hardy restio in a different part of the garden is fine.



Let's end on a more hopeful note, shall we?  Fascicularia bicolor appears to have quite a bit of dieback but there may be one or two rosettes of foliage with green centers.  Fingers crossed.

The biggest surprise is that  Agave 'Mr. Ripple' seems to have handled being outside in a pot in in the cold weather with little damage.  He'd become too large to cart inside the greenhouse  so I saved a few pups for insurance.  If March doesn't do him in, he'll get planted in the ground .  By the way, the dead plant in the blue pot in the foreground is my third or forth try with the gorgeous Daphne × burkwoodii ‘Briggs Moonlight.'  It's died both in the ground and in pots.  I guess I'm just not meant to succeed with that plant.  Although if another pops up at a sale...