Does anyone grow this plant and if so
are they happy with it,,
Gunera
I'm content with my Gunnera, dilly! Some of them here on the West coast grow absolutely gi-normous! E
I hope you were not planning on growing one Dilly...they are only hardy to zone 7. I have a friend here in St. John's who grows one but he covers it in a wooden frame filled with 2-3 feet of leaves then a wooden lid, to keep the crown from freezing. He is from vancouver and is trying to re-create a west coast garden....surprisingly, he is having relatively good sucess. He has gotten Fatsia japonica through 6 winters outdoors so far!
well I was thinking about it, now would it surivive here in zone 3 with a good muching and cardboard box??
or else could I dig up the plant and over winter in the basement?
any thoughts on this Todd??
Over time it gets massive roots as well of leaves. I couldn't even imagine digging mine up every year. I'm zone 8b and even I cover mine in the winter. With it's own leaves. Mostly to prevent crown rot because of the rain.
dillpickle, I grow Gunnera manicata on the seaside in Zone 8. Even here, we cover the crowns of the buds with its inverted huge leaves for winter. It IS ginormous, and has taken over my picnic arbor. This may be due to my husband trickling the hose over it all summer. I would assume it would not grow quite as big there, but will be work to keep. It is a heavy structure without its leaves--large dense base--so may be difficult to bring in. For drama you can't beat it! If you don't have to pay a huge price, might be worth a try. Good luck.
I picked up one a week ago, for $7.95, and thought even if I have it for only one summer it will be interesting to grow.
seen it here for $8.95 so I thought it would be worth a try,,
I was thinking of growing it for my leaf castings,,
I can always give it to my friend who lives out in the country and have it grow in her yard,, she has allot of space,
Go for it, you guys! $8.00 isn't a bad price for a season even if just for he pleasure of growing it and enjoying it for 6 months, and it would be worth it too, Wilma, if you can use the leaves for casting. Good luck with them. :)
Being so large, overwintering indoors seems impractical. I can't imagine any chance outside in zone 3. Who would be foolish enough to sell that plant on the Prairies?
Todd
they sell all kinds of things to us foolish prairie gardeners,
we buy they supply.
It prolly will be a one summer fling but we will enjoy it.....most plants I buy because I can overwinter them but on ocassion we prairie folk like to see something different (as long as it won't break us;).
lilypon
that for sure,
where are you planting your new plant?
out by the pond?
Out in the large pond.....it's just a little guy now so it will be interesting to see how big it will get before _ _ _ _ _. ;b
:D You go girls!
Yes you should see Dawn's..........looks like a building............absolutely huge! E
Larry Hodgson "PERENNIALS for Every Purpose" lists them in Zone 5 assuming winterprotection (good snowcover in my case) and *excellent drainage*. Apparently drainage is key when your trying to keep it a perennial below zone 7. Perhpase a raised bed etc.... He says they grow very well in his zone 3 garden, but that's in Quebec with what I assume to be excellent conditions and lots of snow.
I planted four around august last year in zone 5b-6a with nothing but good snow cover and their own dead vegitation for the winter (not knowing they needed more). The bed is two feet deep of very nice soil then clay....
Last year I thought so highly of them I planned a bed around them; two of the four survived. What did emerge is still very small - they are just beginning to show on May 14th. Unfortunatly I first noticed the nice new green shoots and heathy roots in the middle of digging one up :(
I'm going to try planting another two this year- but I'll be sure to cover then well before winter comes around again - they recieved 5 hours of morning sun.
This message was edited May 15, 2005 12:00 AM
You Go guys.! I see it as no different from growing large tender palms or bananas here. Why not give it a whirl? Out on the wetcoast they are often $25 a pod. I lose a lot of trops even overwinter indoors that cost me way more and even the new Echinaceas of which I have now lost 3--cost me way more than $10. Although, as we all well know, the money is not the issue, we hate to lose anything we are nurturing, even if we got it for free! If it is satisfying and grows well the first year, treat it as an annual.
Reading what people have posted here I think I'll try putting a large bag of leaves on it (come fall) and really pile the snow on. Can't hurt to try!
Bought my plant the other day,
now just waiting for the temps to warm up to plant it outside,,
have just the right spot for it,,
like lots water grows pretty slow... at least here leave out survives winter..
Wilma,
I had one brought from BC. It survived a couple of years. Can't remember the name - a small leafed one though. Not the HUGE one they grow in Victoria.
With your microclimate, you miht have better luck.
Think SandyV on the cold zone, grows a couple.
Inanda
on the subject of 'hope springs eternal in prairie gardeners' I bought 3 bouganvillea this year. hows that for optimism
LOLOL