Trees, Shrubs and Conifers: Cold hardiness: crazy idea?, 1 by malusman

malusman wrote:
I have had this idea about cold hardiness floating around in my head for a while and thought it a good time to air it out to see what y'all think of it. Not being formally trained beyond a couple of years at a junior college, it seems logical in it's simplest sense. Usually when things seem logical, they have already been thought of or discovered so I may be 60 years late with my idea. It started last Nov. 12th (birthday trip to myself) as I stood in southern IL admiring the state champ Quercus falcata pagodifolia, thinking how long it had been there. For whatever reason, the memory of reading about the Little Ice Age that occurred in the past few hundred years popped into my head and how this tree probably withstood at least part of it. After thinking and rationalizing for a minute or less, I began scrambling around in the leaves like a squirrel, stuffing my pockets with acorns. Thankfully, I had arrived at daybreak when most sane people were still in bed and as such, my crazed actions were not reported to the authorities. Q. f. pagodifolia had long been on my 'like to try list' but I hadn't given it much thought since it's usually listed as 6a/b at best. I rationalized that if it had withstood some cooler winters of the past in it's youth, it would be more cold hardy than what is typically listed. However, since I have yet to experience the refining influences of the opposite sex, I put the acorns in the garage and forgot about them until late spring. Needless to say, the experiment failed. The idea about cold hardiness sat dormant for a while and then began bouncing around again when I was going through pictures of Baldcypress from the same area for a post here. To narrow my hypothesis down: plants old enough to have weathered some of the colder winters of the 1600's-1850 could possibly be naturally selected cold hardy forms. What is now Zone 6a/b now may have experienced 5a/b temps during the global cooling that occurred in the past. Perhaps this would explain why plants can grow in colder areas than their native range? Sort of a residual genetic heritage. In Dirr's book, he will mention plants growing north of their native range (Leitneria) so perhaps this is another instance. The Little Ice Age was said to have lowered mean temps in North America up to 1.5 degrees Celsius with some exceptionally severe winters. So, what do you think? Already been discussed, of merit or full of bunk? I've attached a picture of the oak with yours truly in front of the oak. Note that I have not yet hypothesized about this oak as my pockets aren't yet full. Also wearing a Mr. Greeley hat from a fine KY thoroughbred farm, Gainesway. The weird look on my face is from arriving to the parking lot at 2 A.M., then sleeping in my truck the rest of the night and from lugging 30 pounds of camera stuff around.

Regards,
Ernie