Geeez, going to be a lot more “maybe designations” for seeds from my crosses this season … if l have hips left.
All curtesy of the most severe atmospheric phenomenon aka “Hail from Hell” in 25 years that my gardens have experienced, short of a tornado
Even ended up with shattered tags. Wont be using stiff plastic tags …
Agapanthus reminder of Cornish holidays …
OMG - What a mess! I hope your plants recover OK
Ouch! I’m so sorry! Hail is NO fun. Eons ago, I’d been permitted to collect cuttings from a large public garden of old, nearly extinct types. I managed to bud two plants of I Zingari, the 1925 Pemberton Hybrid Foetida. Both were growing well until a freak hail storm hit while I was in the garden. I stood under the plumcot tree and watched as the hail broke off one of the two maiden I Zingari from its stock. Thankfully, that’s a VERY rare occurrence in these parts. I hope it remains a rare one for you, also.
Thank you for the kind words.
Was a shock this morning to see extent of tree and rose bush leaf stripping, from 1/4 to 3/4 gone to ground, tag breakage on ground, and stripping at cross sites.
It was the most intense one l been in - indoors. Drain spouts blocked, and a one foot high volcano shaped pile of hail at bottom of one roof vertical drain pipe and surrounding it - a bit startling. Because of prolonged drought in city never remembered to drop the horizontal down comer section - drain discharge from roof. Fortunately made a french drain a few years ago right near it.
Hail 1/4 to > 1 inch in diameter.
Lucky in that my prize crossing try of Mme de la Roche Lambert this year appears okay as in hips tags and cane intact except for one fragmented crossing tag on ground.
I crossed all the blooms - a dozen plus - so all hips will be all collected to see if any germinate - R laxa X not so lucky but not a write off.
That looks and sounds terrible! Even with smaller hail, the more intense it is or the longer it keeps coming down, the worse the damage is likely to be. I’m glad to hear that you have some anticipated crosses that might have made it through, and hope that your plants all have a chance to recover before winter.
I really can’t imagine going through the kind of golf ball- to softball-sized (or larger) hail that seems to happen in multiple places every year… what vegetation (or exposed cars/windows) could even be left after that?
Stefan
Thanks.
I should probably add it was one of the longest hail storms l remember at my gardens ~ 30- 45 minutes.
These events seem to be very localized.
One year, think 2020 the NE part city had $1billion plus in insurance claims for hail damage. A clear unobstructed fetch for miles for the wind / hail system until it ran into a new sub-division of vinyl clad houses with west facing vinyl clad walls (weather systems from the west after air up and over Rockies, cools and then hits heat baked plains).
What a stress mess for peoples’ houses windows, siding and cars from personal tour 4 months after event. Lots of car lot hail damage sales. Think insurance vendors may have told car lots to put high end vehicles under “tent” cover. See them everywhere since then.
Absolutely a non-event for me that time for house and gardens - they dodged it.
Ticked lost all my Lumo and Schoener crosses (as in starting hips and tags). R nutkana still looks reasonable for cross harvest. Caroyal lost about half. Pendulina crosses (at top of plant) gone. Looks like still uncrossed hips ripening at bottom.
Final insurance hail storm claims total for city
$2.8 billion Cdn 2.1 billion US $
Apparently a new Canadian record.
Second most costly disaster in Canadian history. Most costly also in Alberta, my old home town.
Rose damage pales in terms of priority and seriousness.
Yowza. Time to start building underground!
Definitely feels like a weather neurotic summer.
Put on top of the hail armageddon. This summer a second round of outside water banning due 24 places want to repair main feeder city water pipeline after testing and inspecting after first major rupture.
Good thing been raining for 3rd straight day to set trees and garden in happy mood for fall-winter. Though growing solar finished.
Below shows effect on crossing program of this season’s hip harvest.
Fridge at 5C as try another mod to method, putting normal strat temp ahead of below zero step - fake fall / spring temp…
No control samples as too small a harvest.
