It's my understanding, from reading only, that most Restios are not hardy below zone 8. Darke refers to experimentation with smoke treatment for seeds, to improve germination rates, as they don't seem to transplant or divide well.

Bump?
Was surprised not to find more discussion of Restios here, at least among west coast gardeners.
But my question is along the lines of Kamagata's. Wonder if anyone has grown Restios - as a container plant - east of the Rockies.
Plants of moderate summer climates vary in their tolerance of eastern US conditions. Looking specifically at South Africa, I can hardly think of a geophyte that's been bothered by hot moist summers, even if they come from high in the Drakensberg where summers are about 67F/52F, soils well draining and rocky, rain consistent but never flooding as ours can be. The most alpine Dieramas that are zn 5b hardy don't die for me in summer, but I could never get some of them to bloom reliably, so I gave up on them. (probably needed cool nights) OTOH, dicotyledonous forbs like Sebaeas from the same area will keel over after the first hot & humid week. Nor is the region of SA a lock, stock & barrel indicator. Plants from the western areas that have a Med. climate should be impossible, but a few of them are growable under certain circumstances, at least as annuals or tender perennials, especially ones from marshy areas.
So it's hard to say how a grass relative like a Restio will do in a pot.

Worrying sign: in the few times I've been to the posh Philly area public gardens like Longwood and Chanticleer, I have never seen a restio. OTOH, they could easily have been in a mixed planting of a big pot and just blended right in.

This post was edited by davidrt28 on Sat, Aug 10, 13 at 7:45