Interesting plant. Wonder how well it holds up to our heat and dry wind. Noticed most of the photos I saw when Googling it came from milder climates.

randy

I haven't grown it but I think Susanlynne has grown it in OKC. I don't know if it has survived our extreme heat though. Most people who try to grow it in our climate either lose it to hotter summer weather or to an extreme cold spell.

I doubt it would do well here, unless you can recreate the kind of conditions it likes--it is not really a rain forest plant but more of a cloud forest plant which means it really needs cool, mild weather that is high in humidity. In the Pacific Northwest, it grows at higher elevations where there's almost constant mist/fog. It also thrives in acidic soil with a high humusy content.

It might stand a chance if it is in a very protected microclimate where the ground never gets dry and where direct sun never reaches it.

To me, this is one of those plants that looks great and does well somewhere else and not here. Numerous people in Texas and Oklahoma have tried to grow it over the years, and not many have been happy with its' appearance/performance in the summer months.

You might want to visit the Bog Garden Forum because that is usually where people talk about this plant.

Dawn

Well here's a funny thing.... I live in Georgia. I am loving reading all the wisdom and information exchanged here - but I guess your climate is probably much, much different from ours. I found you guys when I googled for some information -- and guess it's taken me a few days to realize that you are pretty much exclusively out west.... what the heck - I don't care! You guys are smart and funny!

Back to gunnera. We are extremely humid almost ALL the time! But we do get extremes of heat. I guess I'll do some more research before I spend any money!!!! Thanks, everyone!

:)

Bagsmom,

It's nice to have you here chatting on our forum. We Oklahomans are friendly and love having visitors from other areas.

Oklahoma's weather is highly variable because we sit right in the middle of the country and parts of our state vary quite a bit from one another. Southwestern OK, for example, is very dry and alkaline and has pretty low annual rainfall whereas Northeastern OK is usually lush and green, humid, has lots of rainfall and really nice soil that is much more acidic than the soil in southwestern OK. So, even though we're all in the same state, some of us garden in conditions very different from one another's.

One thing we all have in common here in OK, though, is really hot weather in July and August and recurring periods of drought, ranging from mild to moderate most years, but sometimes severe to extreme. Some parts of Oklahoma get 45 to 55 (and sometimes even more) inches of rain in a good year whereas in other parts of the state 12" to 20" of rain is more typical. It all depends on which part of Oklahoma you're in.

Much of our state is exactly what you'd expect to see in the Great Plains.....vast acres of grassland filled with prairie plants and animals. In some parts, there's lots of gorgeous forest areas and beautiful lakes. Some parts are desertlike. Gunnera probably would survive in some of the more rainy and humid parts of OK if you could put it in a perfect microclimate to help it survive the heat, but even then a severe cold snap in winter might get it.

It is my understanding from talking with people that have grown gunnera that the heat/wind here make it look pretty ragged once the daytime temps are over 90 degrees. And, our daytime temps in most of the state are over 90 degrees pretty much all of June, July and August and--in very hot years--all the way into late October. So, for most of us, it might survive, but not necessarily thrive.

If you have a LOT of shade, moisture-retentive soil and lots of humidity (or a misting system), the gunnera might love your part of Georgia I know some people in the Carolinas grow it, but I don't know how similar their weather/climate is to yours.

I think gunnera would just roast in our climate, especially in the western and southern parts of the state, in July and August. June would be iffy--it would depend on whether it was a rainy June or a dry June.

I don't blame you for wanting to grow gunnera. It is a gorgeous plant. Everytime I look at a photo of gunnera, I want to grow it. However, since I'm in one of the drier parts of OK, I know I can't have it here.

If you do decide to try it, I hope you'll let us know how it does for you.

Dawn

I pulled up your average temps for August 2008 in Atlanta from Weather Underground.

You ran an avg. max of 87, avg low 69
My place an avg. max of 90, avg low of 71.

So we were a "little" hotter here last summer. And it was fairly mild. Three summers ago we had over 45 days over 100 here at my house. That was a severe drought though. Aren't you in a big drought or have been the last year?

I live in the central part of the state, so half of the state below me gets hotter.

I think we are both fairly humid. Probably give the edge to Hotlanta on that one. :-)

I'm fairly confident we get a lot more wind. And when it blows, it tends to be hot and dry. It can be very desiccating, even on things that are watered every day.

randy

The weather is just so kooky anymore - who can guess what it is going to be like from one day (or year) to the next!?

We were (possibly are) in a drought; the last few years have been nasty. A huge part of the problem is the shortsightedness in growth and planning. Everybody wants to make a buck. Very "live for today - don't worry about tomorrow." Not everyone is that way, but it seems like everyone who is involved in development is. (Don't get me started on my soapbox!) Long story short - lots of clearcutting of forested acreage, lots of building either McMansions or McTownhouses, more and more people (most of whom want to water their lawns all the time) - and no extra water resources. In the last many years of horrible drought, I heard a little teeny discussion about the need for reservoirs. We have had some doozy rain here lately, and guess what? No reservoirs to catch it! Goofy, goofy people!!!!!!!!!
Anyway, I hope that this year, we may begin to catch up on water. I am slightly northwest of Atlanta. The place where I am thinking of planting gunnera will be shaded - right at the end of my halted dry creek project. I got all the digging done the year before last (dug through GA red clay - made a "creek" about 200 feet long! I was Popeye that year!) But no money for pretty rocks and plants. It is still doing the job of directing rainwater away from the house, though. The dirt there stays very moist and should be acidic there, from all the rotted leaves and such. I may have to give it a try!!!!!!!

I think in your shoes I would give it a try also. You'll have to let us know how it goes.

randy

Kaye in Arkansas tried it but it would not take the heat. If I remember right, as soon as the heat hit it was gone.

I've tried gunnera three or four times. I LOVE this plant!! My first plant I managed to keep alive for three years, but in the hottest parts of summer I watered it twice or even three times a day. It was planted in a spot that got shade around 2:00 p.m., which is one reason it survived. The plant never got big and lush like the ones you see in pictures, but it was a very cool plant. I lost it during the drought of 2005. I grew several more gunnera during that same period, and since, but none survived over one summer. I think in OK the only way to grow gunnera successfully would be in a bog. But then you'd have to worry about it freezing during the winter months. I think they are just marginally hardy here in Zone 7a. I would cover my plant's crown with its own leaves and then mulch well with leaves or straw, and cover with a large flower pot.

I say go for it. I bought most of my plants off eBay from a seller in Oregon. All but the first gunnera I planted was inexpensive, about $10 plus shipping. Well worth giving it a try at that price. Good luck.