New England Winter Kills 27 Varieties of Plants, Reports Arnold Arboretum

In an attempt to find plants suitable for New England, to replace the many varieties killed here by the sovere cold of the past two winters, officials of the Arnold Arboretum are trying out for the first time in New England certain hardy types of lilac, holly, and wild apple imported from the Balkan states of Europe.

Ames Reports

The experiment is explained by Professor Oakes Ames, Supervisor of the Arboretum, in the annual report of the institution, issued today. During the past two winters twenty-seven kinds of plants once thought hardy enough for the New England climate were killed outright, 248 varieties were killed to the ground, and 226 other kinds were severely damaged, according to a survey made by the Arboretum staff.

"Since 1933, the losses from winter damage have been greater than ever before in the history of the Arboretum," Professor Ames reported. "And many plants once regarded as perfectly hardy in the climate of Boston are now known to be unable to withstand an exceptionally cold winter.

"Dr. Edgar Anderson spent the summer of 1934 in the Balkans for the purpose of collecting plants and seeds in Bulgaria, Roumania, and Yugo-Slavia. The climate of the Balkan region resembles closely the climate of Boston and it seemed probable that the Balkan strains of such plants as Ivy, Yew, and Box, coming from a climate similar to ours would prove more adsptable here than the more or less tender strains that have already been imported from northern Europe.

"Among the more promising collections obtained by Dr. Anderson are a Boanian holly, the hybrid Fraxinus from the Danube delta, alpine forms of the common lilac.

Variations in Temperature

Another cold weather problem, the explanation of why it is that plants growing under apparently similar conditions and close together respond differently to the effects of a severely cold winter, has been solved at the Arboretum, Professor Ames said. Temperatures were recorded from autumn until spring at selected points in the Arboretum and it was found that variations of as much as twelve degrees Fahenheit occurred in adjacent at the same hour, showing clearly why plants growing in these various spots were differently affected by the weather.