Re: Philo seed advice needed.

From: Eduardo Gomes Goncalves <eggon at guarany.cpd.unb.br> on 1997.03.13 at 19:27:10(494) On Tue, 11 Mar 1997 SNALICE@aol.com wrote: > Hello list, > I am on the Philo seed list and I was wondering if someone can help > me choose some approiate varieties to grow both inside my house as well as > outside in my area? I live in extreem northern CA, in zone 9-9b. The > winter temp. ranges from 40's to 50's, sometimes dropping to the 30's (this > only happened twice this year), and on very rare occasions has dropped to the > high 20's). The summer temp. ranges from 50's to 70's, occasionsly reaching > 80's and very rare 90's. The plants I choose need to be able to withstand > fog, high cloud covering until noon ,and many times, lack of sun all day, and > no rain throughout the summer ( I will water where > necessary). The winters are totally wet and cold. The soil on my property is > a rather acid form surrounding fir trees. If someone can help me choose > wisely, I would really appreciate it! > Thank you > Sue Zunino +More Dear Sue, Your area isn't pretty suitable to grow Philos but you can try some rustic species. If you want to try some species outside your house, you better choose some huge guys like P.bipinnatifidum or P.undulatum. Both can be found growing on Northern Argentina and Southern Brazil, where the weather is somewhat cold during the winter. They grow better in full sunlight but you must add some limestone powder (or something like this) to correct the pH. P. speciosum sometimes grows on cold mountains from Southeastern Brazil, but I'm not sure if it can resist much time outside there. If you want pot plants to grow inside your house, you can try P.imbe (small size), P. cordatum (small size), P. crassinervium (small size, somewhat fragile), P. adamantinum (medium size) and P. saxicolum (medium size). Probably, you'll have to keep a dish with water under the pots. P. adamantinum and P. saxicolum needs direct sun or strong light. Seedlings from any species are fragile and need good humity and a somewhat warm place. After this critical phase, you can slowly adapt them to colder environments. Hope the above helps, Eduardo.

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