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I -almost- envy you living there, Richard!

Some of the powerful fronts and cold events in past decades were similar if you go back to the 80s and further. I'm hoping it's a cycle and this is the harsh portion, based partly on the native plants and geographic history of the area during the last ice age. The natives handle these events much better than exotics, so they had to be used to these sudden swings as they colonized and adapted (like palms as we keep the survivors' seeds). Hopefully this year is the last in the pattern, but it is really just a roll of the dice in the end. We need to create a shield that can be turned on to block the cold air when a front comes but this isn't Star Trek lol.

I have several types of cordylines and have mixed results. Like most other plants, cordylines that were protected from winds and under overhangs look untouched. Even the same plant looks totally different in some cases. Exposed looks bad, understory great.

Yep , life moves along , things happen , and interests change . After losing some of my strength and mobility for the last 2+ years I dropped out of a couple of cycling forums . Now I spend most of my time in my garden with my palms and posting here . A sudden health issue or change can be personal and tough to talk about. My palms became close friends and I even started collecting more again after years of just letting things grow and not much attention due to my riding and surfing. I started riding again , my surfing is behind me now , but gardening is my thing , and shorter rides on my bike. The ebb and flow of life ! Harry

Sounds about right. I ordered 30 baby palms from Florida while the southern US had good temperature, but USPS' route took them first to Wisconsin, so they died. I will not make any more assumptions about shipping route.

If you're still looking in a few months I will surely have some fast growers later this year. Since November I've had 7 or 8 stalks set fruit at about 7ft height so I believe they are dwarf cavendish. I'll be relocating some, and bananas tend to pup when the corm gets nicked by a shovel so I'm expecting extras. I can't call them cold hardy, though. The leaves die completely at the slightest freeze although the stems survived 2 nights at 28F, even the little ones.

Nice walk through the garden . Lots to see there . Many years ago there was a place we visited in Maui that had a small nursery and a botanical garden that was huge . For a small fee you could take a self guided tour , most of the plants were well labeled . The guy seemed to be doing pretty good business . The small palms came with nematode certs so they could be shipped or brought back to the mainland. He wasn’t getting rich but he did ok. Harry

Phytoplasma diseases; ex. Lethal Bronzing.

Even out west here things are off , weather wise. It has been the windiest year in memory , very warm January and into February until this last set of storms . So far , the coldest here was 40f so no frost or deep cold snap. Our normal rainfall has been doubled and storms have been arriving with high winds. You folks out east have had it rough with the cold . I can’t imagine the damage cold like that could do to a tropical garden. Harry

Same here. Good Luck. The models are not quite as dire as the NWS forecast, but I have been conditioned this year to prepare for the worst. My garden is mostly fried, but I will be hauling the potted stuff into the garage again for the next two nights anyway. But not all of it. I am too worn out.

The first time all winter my low was higher than forecasted. Forecast was 40. It never got under 46. I hope the same happens tonight and tommorow night.

Well it’s still in a pot im waiting for spring to plant it so no suckers yet

Good job !👏🏼 Spring is almost here. Harry

Doesn't she have any suckers yet? Reclinata as a child, she puts out suckers

I wouldn’t know how to tell . I have a Reclinata that I bought from a trusted nursery where my palm mentor was manager. It took many years to gain height and the thing clumped like crazy. I keep putting off thinning it because of the spikes . Every time I am near it , I get attacked . Harry

This has been the windiest year I can remember. The offshore winds have been very rough on the garden. Harry

I've been in Florida for a decade, which of course, is not long compared to many on the forum. I talk to my neighbor occasionally who is a gardener and is a Florida native. He has consistently shrugged off this season as an anomaly, with the refrain "well, it's Florida you know". He has lived in this neighborhood for 30 years so I listened carefully to what he had to say. Yesterday he changed his tune. Between wild temperature fluctuations, severe drought and another hurricane season quickly coming our way, with all of it's unknowns, he now believes that "things may have changed". One man's opinion, but... We briefly reached 90°F yesterday at my house before dropping "down" into the upper 80s as the clouds rolled in. They are forecasting near freezing tonight and "patchy frost" Tuesday night. These temperature fluctuations are extremely damaging to the long term viability of agriculture and horticulture. The heat we experienced since the last extreme freeze has tempted new, sensitive growth on all manner of flora. Hopefully, this event will only cause minimal damage to that nascent recovery. Climate change, as defined, is not just warming, but a series of extreme events. Hopefully this year is an anomaly. Regardless, my days of tempting fate are over, as regards to temperature, wind speed and rainfall. It's not like I really zone pushed either, since many of my zone 9 specimens are in terrible condition. My zone 10 specimens are on life support or dead, and I was supposedly in 10b. It will be interesting to see how the broader agricultural and horticultural interests react over time. Good luck to everyone over the next couple days. Back in the 80s by Thursday here.

My main concern when ordering p.reclinata is its purity since it can hybridise incredibly easy and I love pure tropical reclinata. This one looks very pure to me the fronds seem flat and very light green although there come concerns with hardiness when it’s pure so I want to hear some opinions and thinks to be cautious with

You will get more seeds and bulbs, and the whole cycle will start all over again!!! I should know because that’s what I do!!!!!!

Yes, safety first! Hopefully you find the perfect spot.

Check out Craigslist

You are brave, I gave up having storing plants indoor plants ages ago, I can never do it again. after my coconut tree died that was it for me, the amount of pest that came with it all was too much to bare, now I have like 2 cactus, neon pothos, heart shape leaf philodendron, 2 air plants and an orchid but the orchid is about to go into a recovery vase.

My Joey (altifrons) is doing great. Around the same size, but it’s still in its pot… which might actually be a good thing! The spot I had picked is very prominent visually, and the Joey would have looked amazing next to my mealy bug… BUT it turns out it’s windier than I thought. I had it sitting there in the pot for final testing and ended up moving it to a more sheltered spot a few times during windstorms. I didn’t think that area was windy, but apparently it is! 🍃 So now I need to find a new location. Which is a little disappointing, but safety first!

Richard is fantastic! How I wish I could live in a place like this! Shall we move? I'll take yours with all the land and palm trees, and you'll take mine house? but I already know the answer, it's no 😥

That's what happened to me on my sabbatical. Man, things were BAD.