So far this winter in Riga temps were down as low as -23 Celsius (-9.4 F).
For the last 3 weeks Riga hasn't seen a day with temperatures above freezing.
Mostly it stays around -5 up to -10 during the day and drops to -10 or -15C during the night.
A proper winter.
First Eucalyptus gunnii. I planted 4 plants. 2 in my garden, the other two in various places in Riga.
So far one of them without any protection is doing well. The protected one seems fine as well.
Little to no leaf damage.
Elaeagnus x ebbingei
This is the biggest surprise, because I didn't expect it to last one bit.
I couldn't seen any significant leaf damage.
My cacti - I think Opuntia. I gave it a bit of protection from rain and sleet.
Doeasn't look too bad.
Viburnum davidii
This is not from my garden, but it does extremely well. Some Rhodies at the background.
Ligustrum, it seems that it does drop some leaves, but not all of them.
Mahonia in an inner block of a city - doesn't suffer from freezing temps.
Cotoneaster dammeri
Does drop some leaves, but stays green all winter long.
Prunus Laurocerasus Novita.
Some lower leafs are brownish, top leafs are slightly better.
Good so far... My only advice is to reiterate an old saying: "Don't count your chickens before they hatch"... It's especially true for BLEs, they look alive for a long time, then they thaw out! It'll be interesting to see how they look in June once it's been warm for a while. Good update! Keep 'em coming!
P.S. we've had about ~ -18C at my garden (zone 4b), not a real winter yet, even the Phyllostachys are still green.
You're 100% right about being cautious.
I plan to water them in mid with warm water in February regardless outside temps. Because soil will be frozen too deep to get some water to leaves on sunny days.
The low temps is the test nr 1.
Nr 2 is the length of the freezing temps.
Nr 3 will be taking the spring sun while soil is still frozen.
So at least 3 more months to go before some conclusive damage/survival facts can be reliable
Awesome! We'll compare in the spring!