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Parrotia persica in zone 4?
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Posted by
mustard_seeds 4 -Onalaska Wisconsi (
My Page) on
Tue, Mar 29, 11 at 21:10
Well, normally I choose a new tree for the yard if I see it growing nicely in my region (or maybe at the Olbrich gardens in Madison WI) and love it. Well, this one I saw in a BOOK "Tree and Shrub Gardening for Minnesota and Wisconsin" by Engebretson and Williamson and they wrote hardy to zone 4-8. On paper I love it, but I have never seen it that I know of! Looking online, I see it listed hardy to only zone 5 or even 6. Nowhere else do I see a 4 listed. So... just wondering if anyone in SW Wisconsin or nearby might know of this tree. Would hate to mail order if it really is not hardy.
Best, Rachel |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Parrotia persica in zone 4?
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| Not sure what you've been looking at but most sources list this tree as hardy to zone 4. It is native to the mountainous areas of northern Iran and it can tolerate some pretty cold temperatures. |
RE: Parrotia persica in zone 4?
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| I can see where your confusion comes from, mustard_seeds. I looked at 10 university sites and they split on whether it's zone 4 or 5. Washington State, Oregon State, U. Conn, Arkansas & Florida all say zone 5 and Ohio State listed it as (4)5 with the caveat of "may show some winter damage in colder parts of zone 5". I see a few down here in SE WI not sure about Onalaska. tj |
RE: Parrotia persica in zone 4?
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| Well, actually it wasn't the university sites - thanks for investigating tj and GG48. I had seen Z5-6 on a few online nurseries' sites. Normally I get trees locally and I just started to order for shipped trees - I am awaiting my first delivery from Musser Forest at the advice of Ken I have seen here! Fun! Rachel |
RE: Parrotia persica in zone 4?
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| I saw a picture of one of these in a tree book, and if I could fit one more tree..... They look really unusual when you leave them form multiple trunks, but that may not be the look you want. |
RE: Parrotia persica in zone 4?
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| I see I am jumping into this discussion late, but I was just researching how to trim the winter damage off this tree. I live in zone 5 and have 2 of these trees. They are around 8 years old and 12 feet tall. One has extensive winter kill, so much so that I am considering cutting it to the ground and starting over. Hope if you got this tree, you have better luck! |
RE: Parrotia persica in zone 4?
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| I finally gave up on this tree and pulled it out after 8 years of moderate to severe winter die back each year. I was so excited to find a Parrotia in a local nursery when we were doing the inital landscaping at our new home in 1998. It was a great dissapointment that it really couldn't take my zone 5 winters. |
RE: Parrotia persica in zone 4?
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| This is the third time I have flagged this tree for removal in our park system. Not sure why the tree board is so insistent on killing persian parrotias. They just don't survive the combination of high winds, low temps and alkaline soil I am going to use a veto if they try again. |
RE: Parrotia persica in zone 4?
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| I have tried several times with no luck. One made it for a couple years but had severe die back. |
RE: Parrotia persica in zone 4?
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| Okay, not sounding so good for me in zone 4! Rachel |
RE: Parrotia persica in zone 4?
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| To add my 2c..... I planted a small Parrotia in our front yard in 1996 and then moved it to a different location in the yard in 1998. We have fantastic deep, well-drained soil that's slightly acidic. The tree was a mail order from Carroll Gardens and I don't remember the size, but probably no more than 2-3 feet tall. It has done extraordinarily well. It is well protected from west winds and gets early morning and late afternoon shade. The tree is now 25-30 feet tall and looks great. One thing I've noticed and appreciate is that it has kept its leaves all winter until this past winter. It has been a nice screening plant. The only drawback has been the Japanese beetle damage in years of heavy infestation. |
RE: Parrotia persica in zone 4?
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| Rachel, I live in the Eau Claire area, which is solid z4. I've only tried Parrotia once, which failed to survive its first winter. If you like the mottled bark and nice fall color of Parrotia, you might want to try Stewartia. I've got S. koreana, which has done very well for me. S. pseudocamellia is more commonly found, but I don't think there's a big difference between the two. |
RE: Parrotia persica in zone 4?
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- Posted by whaas 5a SE WI (My Page) on
Mon, Sep 19, 11 at 12:12
| basic, would you be so kind as to share a pick of your S. koreana? |
RE: Parrotia persica in zone 4?
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| I haven't done this in a long time, so I apologize if the pics don't show up. We had a hard freeze last week, but foliage is just starting to turn on this tree. It can be quite spectacular. 
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