Plants face icy future

LARGE amounts of water flowing into the North Atlantic from melting Polar ice caps, as a result of global warming, could have serious consequences for growing conditions along our south and west coasts.

The fact so many exotic plants from warmer parts of the world grow so profusely in gardens in Cork, Waterford and Kerry and further up the western seaboard is due to the Gulf Stream.

But, a leading horticulturalist has warned that any lowering of temperatures in the Gulf Stream would have an impact on growth of these plants, many of which are extremely frost-sensitive and vulnerable to colder weather.