Tag Archives: low maintenance

drought tolerant, evergreens, garden visits, months 01-03: winter, months 10-12: fall, perrennials

Red-Hot Pokers in Winter

01/31/2018 svseekins 1 Comment

A blooming swath of red-hot pokers (aka torch lily, aka Kniphofia) caught my eye last November. Seriously – November!

red hot poker kniphofia garden Victoria, Vancouver Island, BC, Pacific Northwest — photo by SVSeekins

That seems crazy. Its broad, strappy foliage resembles the Kniphofia that blooms in our garden in May– six months earlier. Who knew there were such varieties? And how can I get some??

In the cool overcast of autumn, these kniphofia flowers stand up much longer than our spring bloomers.

red hot poker kniphofia snow garden Victoria, Vancouver Island, BC, Pacific Northwest — photo by SVSeekins

When it starts to snow on Christmas Eve, I’m concerned. On Christmas Day, the snow sparkles on the garden, telling the world that winter is here.

In my experience, snow cover is the tipping point when red-hot pokers disintegrate into a slimy mess. (Fortunately, they come back in spring! Some Kniphofia are actually cold hardy to zone 5 – that’s to -25 C 🙂 I can’t imagine them growing in the Tiffindel ski area of South Africa, but apparently, that’s home. )

By Boxing Day, the snow is gone. I’m ecstatic. Don’t get me wrong – there is something magical about a White Christmas — but followed by a Green Boxing Day is perfection!

Mysteriously, all of the Kniphofia survive– leaves and all! Relief!
Now, I’m curious to know which temperature precisely brings on their disintegration.

In Victoria, we have a School-Based Weather Network. Most schools host tech monitoring the individual climatic pockets around town. It’s very handy. There’s a station just a block away. I prefer to confirm rainfall & temperatures uber-locally and not count on the information coming out of Victoria Airport, 25 km away.

As it turns out, the temperatures through the storm barely dipped a degree below freezing. We’ve had plenty of mornings like that through December, just without the snow. Perhaps it’s temperatures like -5 or -10 C that knocks the Kniphofia back? We get those temperatures here, but rarely. Any idea?

Now, at the end of January, the blooms around the corner from us are just wrapping up. It’s amazing, really: 3 months of colour. I admit they’re looking a bit ratty, but I’m desperate for flowers at this time of year. 🙂

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PS– Fast-forward to January 2024… It’s snowed again. (It’s snows each winter, but the Kniphofia stayed green.) This time, the temperatures dipped to -10 C. That did it. The Red Hot Pokers collapsed. Some went a bit slimy, others just seemed dehydrated.

red hot pokers knocked back by -10 C, kniphofia, torch lily, tritoma, poker plant, garden Victoria, Vancouver Island, BC, Pacific Northwest — photo by SVSeekins

Temperatures on one side of the shrub border seem to have been colder than on the other side. Perhaps wind direction made a difference? By early February, the Red Hots on that ‘other side’ are already starting to recover…

red hot pokers recovering from -10 C, kniphofia, torch lily, tritoma, poker plant, garden Victoria, Vancouver Island, BC, Pacific Northwest — photo by SVSeekins

By early April, I’m not seeing new shoots from the colder side of the shrub border. My fingers are crossed. I’m hoping that by May, they’ll be happily blooming again.

blooming red hot pokers, kniphofia, torch lily, tritoma, poker plant, garden Victoria, Vancouver Island, BC, Pacific Northwest — photo by SVSeekins

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bulbs, drought tolerant, months 01-03: winter, perrennials, urban deer

Top 5 Deer Resistant, Early Spring Bulbs

12/11/2017 svseekins 3 Comments

The deer in our neighborhood of Victoria (the Mt. Tolmie black-tailed deer) have shown no interest in these blooms.

An added bonus is that all 5 picks have proven themselves drought tolerant through our long dry summers (even 100 days without rain).

1- Snowdrops (Galanthus) bloom as early as December, but are more common in January.

galanthus bus stop snowdrops in January, garden Victoria BC Pacific Northwest — photo by SVSeekins

6-9 inches high
naturalizing
Full Sun – Part Shade
zone 3

special notes
– Divide snowdrops during their bloom instead of after the leaves die back.
– see also
Snowdrops – January Gems
Embarrassment of Riches
Snowdrop Meadow

2- Cyclamen coum present foliage in September, and often bloom from December through March.

hardy cyclamen coum, persian violet, eastern sowbread, round-leaf cyclamen, C. coum, Cyclamen orbiculatum, garden Victoria, Vancouver Island, BC, Pacific Northwest — photo by SVSeekins

4 inches high
naturalizing
Part Shade
zone 5

special notes
– The autumn-blooming Cyclamen hederifolium is a bully that will out-compete C.coum (and most other hardy cyclamen). I avoid planting the two in the same bed.
– Ants are purported to spread the seeds. In our natural park areas, cyclamen are unwelcome. I can think of several other foreigners that would make my list long before Cyclamen.
– see also
Joy In The New Year
Winter Magic
Cyclamen Coum – February Romance

3- Reticulated Iris (Iris reticulata) is another exotic looking surprise in the February garden.

iris reticulata, reticulated iris, dwarf iris garden Victoria, Vancouver Island, BC, Pacific Northwest — photo by SVSeekins

4-6 inches high
naturalizing … or at least catalogs claim this. Our old neighbor Don Smart said his spread like crazy, but mine hasn’t taken off
Full Sun – Part Shade
zone 5

special notes
– catalogs also claim these are fragrant. Perhaps this is the reason the deer ignore them even when there is so little else growing
– see also
Flower Count – Day 4 – Iris
10 February Faves

4- Winter Aconite (Eranthis hyemalis) the blooms appear in January & February, just before leafs join the show.

winter aconite, eranthis in early February garden Victoria BC Pacific Northwest — photo by SVSeekins

4-6 inches high
naturalizing
Full Sun – Part Shade
zone: 3

special notes
– The only way to divide these beauties is during their growing season. The corms look like tiny clumps of dirt, so they’re impossible to find during dormancy. Sometimes I’ve shifted them unknowingly while moving something else.
– see also
Flower Count – Day 1 – Eranthis
Deer Proof

5- Crocus & Snow Crocus appear in lawns and borders during moments of February sunshine.

crocus cluster gardem Victoria BC Pacific Northwest — photo by SVSeekins

4-6 inches high (depending on cultivar)
naturalizing
Full Sun
zone:4 (a few are zone 3)

special notes
– Snow Crocus top out at 4 inches high, so are great for naturalizing in lawns. Regular crocus are just a touch taller – – they don’t survive when the first mower cuts the grass, so they’re safer in beds.
– All of the Crocus in our yard are proven drought tolerant.
– see also
Flower Count – Day 5 – Crocus
Dandelion Dilemma
Meadow Blooms – Crocus

And yeah, I know, all of these super-early gems are called spring flowers even though, in this mild climate, they bloom before the spring equinox. Don’tcha just LOVE the promise of spring?

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bulbs, months 01-03: winter, perrennials

Winter Magic

02/14/2017 svseekins Leave a comment

Life is magic. Two days after the heavy winter storm, life proves itself.

And magic begins.

The snow has melted! In just 2 days? Even here on the coast, that seems crazy-fast.

I tentatively wander through the yard assessing the damage.

snowdrops galanthus primula wanda after the big snow garden Victoria BC Pacific Northwest — photo by SVSeekins

My muscles certainly remember shoveling sidewalks & shaking shrubs. But the winter blooms? They’re like children in a hospital ward. Perhaps a little bent & broken, but mostly they’re just happy to be alive and enjoying the sunshine.

snowdrops and primula after the big snow garden Victoria BC Pacific Northwest — photo by SVSeekins

The yellow cups of the winter aconite (Eranthis) don’t seem to have noticed they’ve survived 33 cm of snowfall since they showed themselves in January. (That’s more than 12 inches – a full foot – – radical for balmy Victoria BC!)