During the last mild spell, last week, I was able to take a peek at a number of my protected plants.

I peeled the tarp away from my Wisley Nana Aucuba, after a -3 (z6B minimum)F, back in January. Aucubas are rated only z7 hardy, or above zero minimums. However, the ONLY year, over about 20 yrs, in which this plant suffered any damage, is when I didn't make the effort to cover it with a tarp. Even though Nana is a dwarf Aucuba, she is getting big, more so horizontally. For anyone unfamilar with Aucubas, is that stems near the ground, will root, in a layering form of way. It doesn't produce much in the way of suckers:



https://photos.app.goo.gl/sjS6gATiS4dtHX8F8




Although, I took a peek at several protected plants, I am including, this time around, a few plants that were completely unprotected, this winter. They went through a true z6 minimum (colder, if windchill is included). Last year, this plant was covered with a rose cone, to get it through the winter. Last season, it got too tall for a rose cone. I guess I could have assembled a taller styrofoam box, but didn't Hopefully, I won't regret not doing so, LOL. The plant is a baby PARASOL TREE, Firmiana simplex. It came from Brian's Botanicals, a couple years agp. The tree is another "official" z7 plant. Yet, Brian said that this tree survives actual ZONE 6 MINIMUMS, on his Kentucky farm. So far, the stem is fully green, and showing no browning, at all:



https://photos.app.goo.gl/vPMwWZchqPiuQv4x6



Here is a pic of my totally unprotected, HIMALAYAN CEDAR, Cedrus deodara 'Silver Mist'. Sometimes, this plant is rated z7, and other times, rated z6. This plant went into the ground, in 2020, but has never received any damage:



https://photos.app.goo.gl/J3KjwBm3wHdN8z9b8