Wonders never cease

We just went through the coldest winter in history here. We had 30 consecutive hours below freezing once in January and 4 days below freezing in February. When it became obvious that cold weather was coming I took cuttings from the begonias to bring inside and covered the plants outside in the bed with hay.

None of the canes, well established large plants, have come back. They may still emerge from the roots but it is doubtful. However, a couple of rhizos have popped up and that blew my mind. One is Island Magic, I think one is Mikado and I always forget the name of the bright green one. I never would have thought they would withstand the cold we had.

Agree on the third one being Island Magic. I don't see Mikado though. Great that they've come back. Don't give up on the canes - they usually will surprise you.

the light green, middle pic, is fantastic. Have not seen one like that before

You are probably right on the Mikado but everything is still covered with a blanket of hay and I don't remember what was where. What is it with squirrels and why do they love to snitch labels???

Thanks Nery, whatever that light green one is, I love it too.

'Barbara Rogers' is coming along nicely too. She is a hardy lady.

The cucullata hybrids (I suspect that Barbara Rogers is a hybrid from cucullata) usually seed all over the place so even if they don't come back from the roots, more than likely you will get seedlings if the ground is acceptable for the seeds to germinate and take root..

I bought it at PDN years ago.
http://www.plantdelights.com/Begonia-Barbara-Rogers-for-sale/Buy-Barbara-Rogers-Hardy-Begonia/

I knew it originally came from PDN and the story behind the name and now seems to be sold everywhere.

Kind of like Verbena 'Homestead Purple' - I think Alan Armitage spotted it from his car and stopped to ask the owner if he could get a piece. The rest is history. Same for Bath's Pinks - found by Jane Bath and trialed and advertised at Goodness Grows. I like stories like these.

http://www.greenhousegrower.com/varieties/verbena/vivid-verbenas/

http://www.georgiaperennial.org/newsletter/article007/index.htm

:-) I remember hearing Alan talk about finding the verbena back in the 80s, wasn't he riding down the road with Vince Dooley or some other notable gardener from UGA when he slammed on the brakes and talked some sweet old lady out of a cutting? I love Bath's Pinks and was growing them when I lived in Columbia. It is too hot down here for them.

The Barbara Rogers seems happy here; since neither the heat, humidity or cold bothers her I plan on spreading it around so she can multiply here and there.

Yes Allan was with another gardener/professor from UGA I think. Interesting story.

There are prettier pinks than Bath's Pinks but Bath's is reliable while others just disappear.

I have had a couple of canes come up on the compost heap last year and I have had parviflora come up two years in a row but will it be back this year. Even though single digits is not that much colder than the teens, it does seem to have affected some of our plants such as cross vine 'Tangerine Beauty'. It looks like mine is dead. Of course there is always grandis that always seems to come back from bulbils and more. This was my cross vine last year in early May. RIP?

Your crossvine is beautiful and I expect it will be back better than ever. I have such a time dealing with the native ones that pop up everywhere and are hard as can be to get out. I hope you are right about the canes, I do have healthy rooted cuttings but would still love the parent plants to come back.

I wished I had a native one. Saw it in the woods off a little side road in TN. Couldn't get as close as I wanted due to all the poison ivy between me and it. So I cropped the picture to get a good view of it. Shame I didn't have my bigger lens with me when it was in bloom.

Yeah, canes can be tricky at times but usually pretty tough. I moved out about 150 of them a couple of days ago. A lot of them got burned though but they will leaf back out in no time.

I have found them very difficult to transplant but if I get one out alive I'll save it for you.

I brought some cross vine from my old house but it is in deeper shade but eventually it may climb some trees and start to bloom. It may be native. I will wait a couple more weeks for Tangerine Beauty to come out but after that I may cut it down and go buy a new one.

If you like vivid colors I highly recommend the new flowering quince (the Storm series). I was so impressed with Scarlet Storm that I went and bought Orange and Pink Storms last year.

Here is Scarlet Storm in its 3rd year where it threatens to take over a good sized corner. I think Orange Storm and Pink Storm are a little weaker for now since they are only in their second year.

They really are pretty. Quince only do OK here. They live and bloom but they are never very healthy looking like yours. Our soil is too salty and our humidity is too high.

This hybrid is not your grandmother's flowering quince and might do wonders for your climate and coastal setting but then I'd wait to see if they show up in your garden centers.