It's 29 here but was down to 22 when I woke up at 6AM. Hopefully we are over the worst of it. My front yard did not even frost but it is on the river side and road side of the property and protected by a fence and the house. Plants tend to grow better in this space than on the hillside because it's also a bit cooler in the summer because of the high shade. If I only had all 3.5 acres in this environment! Amazing how micro-climates can affect the growth of plants.
In looking through the garden yesterday there seems to be a few cultivars that consistently winter damage more than others. Last winter 'Tarita' was killed down to nubs. It did grow back and make a nice clump but I noticed that it looks very sickly again this winter. The seeedlings from it also seem to be damaged although there are two that are less affected, so perhaps a hope for a more winter-hardy version. It is a pretty semp but I wonder if it's one that shouldn't be in the compost instead of in a breeding program. Don't want to make a lot of wimps.
Happy New Year all!
Kevin
