Surprise Beneath the Fleece

I don't have to tell you it has been cold. And when I say 'cold', I do mean 'COLD' (us Brits are a bit 'nesh', to say the least - except for our Scottish contingent who can chew nails and spit rust). So I could hardly believe my eyes to find this fuchsia looking up at me the other day. It has been under a double fleece plus three sheets of newspaper for at least two weeks. Incredible. I thought it would have been long gone. However, not only has it survived, it doesn't even appear to want to shut down.

As you can see, there seems to be only the slightest hint of frost damage. Temperatures have not been that low - not with a 60 watt tubular electric heater in the porch - but they have been well below zero on several occasions, otherwise consistently just a couple of degrees above freezing.

But it's not just the temperature: it's the light, or lack of it (because of the newspaper). I thought there would have been signs of chlorosis (yellowing) before now.

PERHAPS THE CLUE IS IN THE FLOWERS
I'm not sure if you can see them, but apart from the healthy green colour, what really struck me were the fresh flower buds. Flowers in December? Amazing. Well, perhaps not:

Flower buds are laid down in the meristems long before there is any hint of their existence. And with temperatures being so low for so long, there has been little development in the growth process. Growth slows down dramatically as temperatures fall. And if I were to say that the cuttings taken in October have taken 8 to 10 weeks to develop roots (versus 10 days in May), it becomes clear that these flowers might have been developing for at least the same amount of time.

Nevertheless, this plant's persistence makes me think there is some sort of 'determined effort' to flower at all costs - to finish the job it has started. I know this is ridiculous. But who knows? Stranger things have happened at sea . . ..