a manicata) This one isn't mine!
i first discovered Gunnera ( AKA Giant Rhubarb and "Dinosaur Food"! ) when i began leaf casting. i was browsing the Web for articles on the subject, and i could see it was a fave with leaf casters in the Pacific Northwest (far from me), so i decided i HAD to have one, too! It is not hardy in my region, (that rarely stops me from trying things, though), and i knew the leaves wouldn't get anywhere near the 5-6 feet across that they would if the plant was happy, but, really, did i WANT to try to cast a SIX FOOT leaf in cement anyway? So i sent for one last Spring, potted it in an old washtub with a spigot in the bottom, thinking i could hopefully control the water saturation for the soil it was planted in, and set it on the patio. Did very well, i ended up with several nice sized 8 - 10 in (20 - 25 cm) leaves to cast, definitely not huge, but very nice. She lived in my unheated sunroom all winter, except for that VERY cold spell, when I moved her into the house for 3 weeks. Just relocated her outside in a protected spot near the house till the weather really warms up.
...Not bad for zone 5b in April!
No comments:
Post a Comment