Plants to survive the cold.

[garrymartin]

In the recent past a big fuss has been made about using plants that can survive in hot dry conditions, however I lost alot of my scenic vegitation due to last winters snows & will probably loose more this year . I wonder what our friends in the U.S. or other climates that can be harsh in winter use ?

 

[spike]

Weeds always seem to survive :crying:

 

[trammayo]

Even plants that are supposed to weather the storm (so to speak - any puns intended) don't always survive. We suffer a lot from wind chill and lost two Leylandii and other various plants - plus some that survived (like Hebe) but were permanently disfigured because of (icy) windburn.

It all depends where you live and how sheltered your garden is. And, as Spike says, weeds do really well - they have a survival gene that beats all.

Mick

 

[spike]

Even plants that are supposed to weather the storm (so to speak - any puns intended) don't always survive. We suffer a lot from wind chill and lost two Leylandii and other various plants - plus some that survived (like Hebe) but were permanently disfigured because of (icy) windburn.

It all depends where you live and how sheltered your garden is. And, as Spike says, weeds do really well - they have a survival gene that beats all.

Mick

We lost a 15foot Spruce to windchill/burn in the cold earlier this year.
Two other leylandi near it survived, luckof the draw I suppose.

 

[Rhinochugger]

By and large, plants that are described as 'hardy' will survive sub-zero temperatures.

Semi-mature plants that are hardy species, but that have been grown on in milder climates will often struggle.

Wind-burn on plants is something that isn't easy to deal with, as there's not a lot of empirical evidence about it. It's a bit worse than wind-chill, because it causes the leaves of the plant/tree (there is no definition in nature between a plant and a tree - it's a man made distinction) to dry out as part of the wind burn. Ironically, you get a similar problem when pouring concrete a bit of wind will dry the surface out before the chemical reaction is properly complete, and will cause surface cracking through plastic shrinkage.

Extracted from 'A thousand uselss facts in my brain that you didn't want to know'.

 

[stockers]

Weeds always seem to survive :crying:

Slate chips and gravel are pretty good too.
Actually, we lost a large cypress in the snow - slit in two down the middle.

 

[GrahamMills]

I lost alot of my scenic vegitation due to last winters snows & will probably loose more this year . I wonder what our friends in the U.S. or other climates that can be harsh in winter use ?

It's global warming you know.
Three cold winters in a row.

 

[GrahamMills]

Today? nothing works and people just moan and do nothing---expecting other people to do it for them.

Very true. I remember when it had snowed everybody was out each morning clearing their paths and the section of pavement in front of their house. Today they sit and complain that the council has not done anything.

 

[Rhinochugger]

airports would loose hundreds of thousands if the places were closed (Gatwick this week)...

London City Airport was closed Thursday.

Part of the problem with the trains is not so much the snow, but the lack of adhesion with so many light weight MUs - plus of course our good old network across the south of England relies on third rail leccy. Had some spectacular fireworks leaving Surbiton on Thursday morning

 

[jacobsgrandad]

as a novice with full size train technology how come the high speed trains from ST PANCRAS ran down our third rail route to Ramsgate all week but south east rail couldn,t.

 

[Rhinochugger]

as a novice with full size train technology how come the high speed trains from ST PANCRAS ran down our third rail route to Ramsgate all week but south east rail couldn,t.

I think that's because the new high speed line is overhead 25 Kva :-

 

[Rhinochugger]

Anyhow, it's good to see Jacobsgrandad and Mayhem Grills on the forum this week

 

[stockers]

as a novice with full size train technology how come the high speed trains from ST PANCRAS ran down our third rail route to Ramsgate all week but south east rail couldn,t.

I think that's because the new high speed line is overhead 25 Kva :-

But if it managed to get to Ramsgate it wasn't under the wires????????????

 

[jacobsgrandad]

this is not the international high speed but the one put on for Kent. runs third rail to ebsfleet then overhead to St Pancras.
Thanks for the welcome back, find it difficult to contribute a lot

 

[trammayo]

Today? nothing works and people just moan and do nothing---expecting other people to do it for them.

Very true. I remember when it had snowed everybody was out each morning clearing their paths and the section of pavement in front of their house. Today they sit and complain that the council has not done anything.

Tis all true! But could the "blame" culture have any effect? Clear the pavement outside your house and somebody slips? Me, I blame the Ambulance Chasers - ship them, along with Estate Agents and Bankers, to the North Pole.

Mick

 

[garrymartin]

Alot of interesting thoughts, most of which I agree with. I will try to find a copy of the book suggested on Amazon or some other such site. The slate chippings suggestion, whilst constructive would put me in mind of Blaenau Ffestiniog ,the ugliest town on earth & the worst kind of rivet counting 16miller for whom the world begins & ends in N. Wales & if it does not conform to a prototype Welsh railway then you are just playing at trains & if you use track power then you are some sort of heinous sub human.:'(
Quite a rant , just from the mention of slate!
Cheers Garry

 

[garrymartin]

Hopefully only on the subject of slate, & from pedantic Welsh NG rail fans for whom imagination has no part to play in railway modelling. " if you imagined it it cannot possibly work as a real railway" I was once told. Surely someone must have used their imagination to create the original.
Just don't mention slate!
Cheers Garry

 

[Rhinochugger]

Surely someone must have used their imagination to create the original.

Yeah, and ended up with double flanged wheels

 

[spike]

Nobody slipped outside our old house all those years ago...we put crushed block SALT over the cleared area as did everyone else. They used their brains in those days.
Trouble today is, people are too lazy or might miss an episode of some crap TV reality prog or episode of a soap and don't shift off the sofa.

Thank goodness a number of the legal profession are recognizing the "give me money" culture and are going to make things difficult to sue for stupid causes. On the other hand, there are as many crook lawyers around holding out their hands as well.

Going back to when I was a nipper.
No one ever shifted snow around here, council only gritted when the thaw started.

No change there then!

and I know several people who think the council should cut their hedges, if I said Onslow, you know the type I mean.

Anyway back to plants.
We have a ground cover plant that dies back in winter and has always come back after, trying to find the name of it.
In winter it looks like a mini dead forest but has bright green glossy leaves in summer, survives drought as well.

 

[Eaglecliff]

Two of mine that look like they haven't are the largest non-tree in the garden, a New Zealand flax (Phormium tenax tricolor) and three clumps of "Mind your own business" aka Baby's tears. As the former sat in the middle of my spiral, perhaps there'll now be room for a timber mill, station or something in its place... The MYOB suffered last year as well but this time I doubt there be any resurrection. Still, you never know - and it's cheap enough anyway. If you buy a reasonable sized one, you can split it into several smaller ones and they'll spread quite happily.