The first results from overwintering exotics in a new way, or "how to hang a boabab and other such stories"

What I've been trying to do is to find better ways to overwimter tender exotics. This is one method and that is to take the plant out of it's pot in early october knock off all the compost and hang it from the tunnel roof (the leaves will fall off naturally as will most of the fine roots), ideally when we build our house we will keep them in a box in the spare room to reduce dampness. Come march the resultant stick is repotted and ideally grows.
The idea came to me from realising many exotics have a very long dry season and have to survive in complete shutdown even in their first yearr.

Anyway the first results

Erythrina filiformis perfect (this is a desert plant)
Erythrina Lysistemon perfect (these work very well)
Erythrina Humeana perfect
Erythrina Latissima all failed, boo one of my favorites
Erythrina Rubrinerva success (only had one plant mind)
Erythrina speciosa most ok
Erythrina Vesperitillo only one survived
Idria columnaris perfect

With all the above if they have any green in the stem you can be pretty certain given ok growing conditions that they will reshoot if not from the stems than at least the base. Also due to last years fantastic growing conditions the numbers were few and many hadn't grown as large as they maybe should have.


Erythrinas herbacea and crista gali kept in their pots at -6C and all survived