a question regarding climbers.

[glacier1]

Hi there

We were in Mojaca Playa a year ago, got carried away with the beautiful flowers and brought back some ground covering plants with fantastic star like red/yellow flowers with aloverra type green leaves.  They are thriving.  It is not the same case with some of the climbers we bought.  They came on very well.  I do not know the name of them, they had silky purple flowers and one had silky yellow flowers.....the stem is woody with thorns.  It came on excellent last year, I made sure to cover it around the stem making sure that all the frosty days during winter didn't get to it.  Then we had a spell of warm weather towards March where the buds started.....then the snow came.  Long story short, it didn't look as if it liked the frost, even though it was covered.  Now it's heating up here, it is still not looking like any sign of life is visible.  I cut it back to the stem, getting rid of the dead growth. 

My question is do I still keep it until next year, will it come back to life?  What do I do?  It seems a shame to loose such a beautiful climber....with so many different colours. 

Does anybody have any advise?  They are in a South exeption, with a veranda to the North blocking the cold winds....it is idealy situated for warmth, Spanish plants should thrive here....I'm just wondering what kind of damage the frost has done, and should I pull them up because they are dead?

Thanks!

David

[ukhostland]

Hi,

the groundcovering plants sound like Mesembryanthumum....the flowers open in the sun and close when the sun is not shining aand at the end of the day.

The climber sounds like Bouganvilla, a conservatory / greenhouse plant in the UK, but you dont say where in France you are: they are OK on the Med coast, for instance. leave them for a while longer to see if they grow from ground level; my Lergestrimia, planted this autumn, looked as if it were dead but if you put your nose to the ground you can just about see new growth!

Colin

[glacier1]

Hi there Colin,

The climber is this one here:-

http://healingmagichands.files.wordpress.com/2008/04/med-flowers-bougainvilla-and-wisteria.jpg

I see it often in the south coast.  I'm in the Drome, South East France.  Rhone Valley if you like.  I have my fingers crossed that it will come back to it's former glory.  What do you think?

Summer here 38oC +

Winter between 10oC and -20oC (extreme)

David

[Jo]

Give it a bit longer before you write it off, some most unlikely looking things take a while to get going again but eventually sprout[:D]

[hakunamatata]

I'm in the S as well and have a Boug which I am talking to daily! It put on lots of growth last summer and then the frosts came. I wrapped it in fleece and straw but several branches died off, however it is coming up from the very bottom (where the straw was) and I have cut out the dead wood.  A good test is rub the bark with your thumb nail, if it shows green the plant is alive. Good luck

[glacier1]

ah hah! that's a good idea!  All my branches died off, but it's funny for all 3 of them to have died off at the same time.....I'll try and look at it now.  OK, I had a look at it with my nail, couldn't scatch it, I took a sharp stanley blade, and scratched it, it looks dry and white.  Mind you, it is not the same variety as the one's we buy here in France, they are dryer stems, maybe this is normal.   I'll give it to next year, I love the plant, it's a joy to see growing on the south wall.....fantastic flowers.  Fingers crossed, will see what happens!  Thanks peeps.

[dragonrouge]

Glacier 1 slightly off subject area.  But I know the Rhone very well from Hermitage Cornas Cote Rotie in the North down to Gigondas and the like in the south.  Been there in the winter and as you say sometimes its very cold and then add the Mistral.  However 38+ in the summer does it really get that hot. I have been for over 30 years to the area in June and September but not the very busy time and whilst warm it has never ever hit those heights.

I envy you for I love the Rhone