DG Site Updates: What does it mean on DG: "this plaint is said to grow..."?, 1 by nomosno

nomosno wrote:
If, on the same page, DG states that plant is hardy upwards of zone 9, meanwhile people put in reports that they "grow" the plant in a zone 6 location then the page is a confusing source of information. I understand that this is not a scientific enterprise but since DG is the most popular gardening site on the internet, it is important enough that it should be useful for new gardeners.

To the responders: perhaps people can be discouraged by putting in reports of successfully growing something as a houseplant by a disclaimer that states just that, such as "please do not report growing indoors as success" or something like that. (After all, it is Dave's GARDEN and not Dave's Houseplants.) Or, posters could add a note to theis zip code reports in a separate field in which they can clarify if the plant grows only as an annual etc.

Another thing: perhaps one should wait a few seasons before posting "success" with a plant. Some years ago I got some ground cover succulents (sedums) from someone in NYC. I was sure they will be happier than ever in the SoCal succulent haven, but only one made it (sedum sarmentosum) thru 2 years so that it now clearly thrives and grows, the rest struggled for a few years, shriveling gradually, eventually disppeared. They probably need cold winters. I also have a dieffenbachia (someone threw it away in my office and I can't bear seeing plants in the garbage) that I stuck in somewhere, into a protected corner actually. I think that most houseplants "grow" in an average San Diego GARDEN but not dieffanbachia, it practically liqufies by each spring, the leaves turn into a mush and sort of drip off the stems that themselves start to look like overcooked asparagus that turns into mush upon touch. Most of this yuck dries up and falls off, only a short stump remains, from which new leaves come out by May and the process starts again. On the picture, the number 1 is the level at which this plant died off 2 winters ago, the number 2 is where it died off one winter ago, the two #3s are the branches that grew in 2008 and liquified by now, during the currently ending winter. #4 is the liquified leaf that has dropped (dripped?) to the ground from the branch above. There are some small leaves that survived very close to the ground but they also show some damage (i.e. cold damage).

So this is my experience with dieffenbachia. I don't think I should report it as dieffenbachia successfully growing in San Diego. Another person may think that he/she should. The problem with the zip code reports, in my opinion, is that it does not define what DG considers "sucessfully growing".