Asteranthera ovata outdoors

[Brendan Marnell]

I saw A. ovata growing happily from brickwork inside a well somewhere 20 years ago. 

Does anybody grow it successfully outdoors and if so how do you do it?  Does it really demand such protection & from what?

[ian mcenery]

I saw A. ovata growing happily from brickwork inside a well somewhere 20 years ago. 

Does anybody grow it successfully outdoors and if so how do you do it?  Does it really demand such protection & from what?

Hello Brendan

I bought one last year and planted it out in the garden and after this winter so far I didn't really expect this to survive. Some of the top growth has been damaged but at this stage it doesn't look terminal- famous last words. I will remove the damaged growth in April. Until then I hope that it will be OK as spring is a long way away I don't want to speak too soon .  Anyway as a precaution I took a cutting which I have kept under glass as an insurance .

[Hoy]

I have grown A ovate outdoors twice for some years but both times cold winters have killed them. I grow them against tree-trunks in the woodland and they do fine till they are killed by colder than -10C.

[Lesley Cox]

My plants (2) are in a tunnel house which has knitted cloth on it rather than sheet plastic but a pot of cuttings is outside in a shady place. Of course it's mid summer here and they're probably looking so well because the weather has been damp for weeks. A friend grew it many years ago in the central North Island (one of the coldest parts of NZ) under large native conifers where it carpeted the ground but I don't know whether it flowered very much.

[Graham Catlow]

Hi Brendan,
I have grown this for many years and despite two seriously cold and snow covered winters it still survives, in fact flourishes. Below are two photos from last summer after the freezing conditions of December 2009 and January 2010.

I have found that it grows best on a dead tree log or trunk, as it would do in nature. It travels along the log and dies away as the nutrients are used up.

I don't have a photo of it from today but have been tidying around it and it is still healthy. It is on the front edge of a raised bed which faces east.

[Maggi Young]

By jove, that is seriously impressive, Graham!

The late Col. and Mrs Anderson at Balruddery, near Dundee, used to grow this well outside, as well as Mitraria coccinea and some other goodies..... but your show is fantastic 

[Brendan Marnell]

You have been very helpful, each and all of you.  Thank you for thinking about my question and sharing your experiences. 

With your encouragement I'll persevere even if it emerges that I've lost 3 plants I bought late November because I failed to consider that they needed to be hardened off before being subjected to sudden plunges of temperature.

[t00lie]

Wow Graham a very nice patch.

I think in my wet shady conditions it would probably travel about and 'take off' if planted out and in any case i don't have the space, so i keep it in a hanging basket .Pics taken a few minutes ago.

As you can see part of the plant has died off ,yes -- i have been 'slack' in the repotting department   so your comments Graham are a timely reminder ......

Cheers dave.  

[Graham Catlow]

Thanks Maggi & Dave.
It took me several years of moving from one place to another to get it going properly, but it seems to like it where it is.
I wonder if it ever really flowers rather than the sparse flowers that it produces for me.
I am hunting for a log to stand upright and see if I can get it going vertically as well.

[Lesley Cox]

If you were here Graham, I'd suggest a punga (tree fern trunk) which can be bought in good condition at garden centres or found in the bush in a getting-towards-rotting state and should be perfect for an asteranthera. Philesias love them too.

[Graham Catlow]

If you were here Graham, I'd suggest a punga (tree fern trunk) which can be bought in good condition at garden centres or found in the bush in a getting-towards-rotting state and should be perfect for an asteranthera. Philesias love them too.

Lesley,
I too think a punga trunk would make an ideal home. They are very expensive over here. Unless this winter has killed one in the Edinburgh area and someone wants to donate it to me.

[Maggi Young]

There were a lot of dead ones around Aberdeen after last winter, Graham.... keep your eyes open, you may well find one.

[angie]

If you were here Graham, I'd suggest a punga (tree fern trunk) which can be bought in good condition at garden centres or found in the bush in a getting-towards-rotting state and should be perfect for an asteranthera. Philesias love them too.

Lesley,
I too think a punga trunk would make an ideal home. They are very expensive over here. Unless this winter has killed one in the Edinburgh area and someone wants to donate it to me.

Two dead tree ferns here. Graham that's a lovely asteranthera, never seen it before. See the more I see of your garden the more I can't wait to see it.

Angie

[Maggi Young]

So, will we be transporting a dead tree fern to Dunblane in the coach to deliver to Graham on the 19th February?

The Aberdeen Group is nothing if not versatile 

[angie]

So, will we be transporting a dead tree fern to Dunblane in the coach to deliver to Graham on the 19th February?

The Aberdeen Group is nothing if not versatile 

We aim to please   

Angie