Southern Hemisphere Spring!!!

[NApalm]

Well someone had to do it so here we go. Spring has CERTAINLY sprung here. 30+ every other day and rain on it's way tomorrow! Boy is it needed. Getting very dry...

[_Keith]

So, pictures, pictures, pictures

Oh, and you forum name always conjures up a thought from the 60s/70s.

[NApalm]

Haha. I was thinking of a play on words about palms at work and thats what I came up with.

As for pictures, im waiting to mulch before I bust some snaps in the main section. I stumbled on some before photos last night and there has been some big changes.

[Kennybenjamin]

First storm of the season is approaching me right now, very much looking forward to it!!

Wanted to upload a photo of our current radar but can't figure out how from my phone.. Will have to look up previous threads on how to do it?

Anyway, I feel a great palm growing season has well and truly started for some of us!!

[NApalm]

The long range forecasters are talking about a big wet summer again! Im excited

[tropicbreeze]

We had our first 38 mid August. Average max for September so far is 36. Rain would be nice. Storm was moving in last night but swung up northwards and we got nothing.

At the moment I'm in WA though. Freezing cold rain and strong winds, definitely a WA spring. But the wildflowers are great.

[NApalm]

My parents are actually heading over there this week for that very reason. Wildflowers!

[Daryl]

The next week looks nice and warm...nights are still coolish though

Forecast for Tuesday

Fine and sunny. Light to moderate NW to NE winds, fresh about bayside suburbs in the afternoon. Fire Danger: Very High.

Precis: Fine, sunny. City: Min 15 Max 32

UV Alert from 8:20 am to 2:50 pm, UV Index predicted to reach 9 [Very High]

Wednesday Fine, sunny. Min 19 Max 32

Thursday Fine, hot, gusty winds. Min 18 Max 35

Friday Fine, partly cloudy. Min 19 Max 28

Saturday Shower or storm. Min 18 Max 29

Sunday Fine, mostly sunny. Min 17 Max 29

Monday Fine, mostly sunny. Min 13 Max 25

[tropicbreeze]

Could really do with some rain here. Average max for September has been creeping up and is 36.7 now. UV index is at 13. If we don't start getting some rain soon then October is going to get hot.

[Peter G]

Tropic Breeze, freezing cold rain and strong winds indeed!

This seems worse than Winter!

Off to Phillipines and Singapore tomorrow and hoping for some improvement in weather for when I return.

[Daryl]

Could really do with some rain here. Average max for September has been creeping up and is 36.7 now. UV index is at 13. If we don't start getting some rain soon then October is going to get hot.

HOT...like only the top end can!

[Daryl]

Tropic Breeze, freezing cold rain and strong winds indeed!

This seems worse than Winter!

Off to Phillipines and Singapore tomorrow and hoping for some improvement in weather for when I return.

Those Perth springs must be really disheartening...I remember Tyrone used to wait for warm weather every year, only to have to wait extra long for late spring before the winter weather buggered off...

[Kennybenjamin]

Hot and dry around SE Qld recently, the next day or so will be the same or worse... Palm killing weather!! Hopefully some rains will develop here very soon too!!

Spending plenty of time on the hose recently. It does give you a good chance to enjoy and study all the plants though, not to mention the beer that goes along with the watering.

[Peter G]

Tropic Breeze, freezing cold rain and strong winds indeed!

This seems worse than Winter!

Off to Phillipines and Singapore tomorrow and hoping for some improvement in weather for when I return.

Those Perth springs must be really disheartening...I remember Tyrone used to wait for warm weather every year, only to have to wait extra long for late spring before the winter weather buggered off...

Daryl, for palm growers in Perth, the first month of Spring isn't spent watering and fertilising, we tend to get on Realestate.com and look for alternative arrangements.

But if nothing else Perth is a challenge, scorching Summer sun, cold Winters and wind all year round.

[NApalm]

Hot and dry around SE Qld recently, the next day or so will be the same or worse... Palm killing weather!! Hopefully some rains will develop here very soon too!!

Spending plenty of time on the hose recently. It does give you a good chance to enjoy and study all the plants though, not to mention the beer that goes along with the watering.

Same same. Actually just got inside from a bit of a water. Went to drop some nappies in the bin, ended up watering the garden! Go figure

[Tyrone]

Well the weather here has been absolutely horrible and the worst September I can ever recall.

About a month ago I would have sworn that winter was done with and we were pulling out of winter in the first week of September like 2012 did. About 6 weeks ago I was looking at my Heliconias and thinking to myself that we hadn't had the wind events this winter and that they looked quite pristine. Temperature wise August was basically Sep averages. Then September came and the wind and rain have been ridiculous.

A few nights last week you just couldn't sleep from the gale force winds. It was like living on an oil platform in the North Sea (not that I've done that). It wasn't hard to imagine a 10m swell outside because all the trees sounded like crashing waves. The winds didn't let up for days non stop.

I lost a 15m section of my Eucalyptus tree last Monday night damaging the fence and my shadehouses. It crushed my big spindle palm, which now has one leaf and stub of a spear. My big Hyophorbe indica escaped death again from this falling branch with the branch wedging itself a mm from the new spear in the crown. I had to delicately remove some leaves from it though to stop the heart getting damaged when I removed the massive limb that will still above it. A bit of fancy rope work, chainsaws, and ladders was able to swing the culprit away from the indica and get the main stub out of my cuban royal crown. I've spent the last week using the dry patches in the day to cut wood up for firewood, and yesterday spent the entire day on the mulcher. It now has allowed more light into the garden below which is a positive. I think 20% of the canopy came down. The mulch will be composted and turned back into soil, so that's a positive. You gotta be positive.

We are above average for the year for rainfall regardless of what the authorities are telling us. Bickley in the hills has had around 300mm of rain this month which is more than double the average and around 1100mm for the year. We definitely are not in drought in the SW.

A couple of weeks back we were up in the Murchison and the Gascoyne region swimming in billabongs in 34C heat with a thunderstorm one night. Real beautiful stuff. Then we came home and unpacked the car at night in a cold blowy storm.

Was seriously thinking of moving north I tell you. Carnarvon is full of tropical trees, has irrigation, the soil is great, and on one property we went too, the smell from the trees reminded me of tropical Asia.

It better warm up soon or I'm going.

[NApalm]

Well the weather here has been absolutely horrible and the worst September I can ever recall.

About a month ago I would have sworn that winter was done with and we were pulling out of winter in the first week of September like 2012 did. About 6 weeks ago I was looking at my Heliconias and thinking to myself that we hadn't had the wind events this winter and that they looked quite pristine. Temperature wise August was basically Sep averages. Then September came and the wind and rain have been ridiculous.

A few nights last week you just couldn't sleep from the gale force winds. It was like living on an oil platform in the North Sea (not that I've done that). It wasn't hard to imagine a 10m swell outside because all the trees sounded like crashing waves. The winds didn't let up for days non stop.

I lost a 15m section of my Eucalyptus tree last Monday night damaging the fence and my shadehouses. It crushed my big spindle palm, which now has one leaf and stub of a spear. My big Hyophorbe indica escaped death again from this falling branch with the branch wedging itself a mm from the new spear in the crown. I had to delicately remove some leaves from it though to stop the heart getting damaged when I removed the massive limb that will still above it. A bit of fancy rope work, chainsaws, and ladders was able to swing the culprit away from the indica and get the main stub out of my cuban royal crown. I've spent the last week using the dry patches in the day to cut wood up for firewood, and yesterday spent the entire day on the mulcher. It now has allowed more light into the garden below which is a positive. I think 20% of the canopy came down. The mulch will be composted and turned back into soil, so that's a positive. You gotta be positive.

We are above average for the year for rainfall regardless of what the authorities are telling us. Bickley in the hills has had around 300mm of rain this month which is more than double the average and around 1100mm for the year. We definitely are not in drought in the SW.

A couple of weeks back we were up in the Murchison and the Gascoyne region swimming in billabongs in 34C heat with a thunderstorm one night. Real beautiful stuff. Then we came home and unpacked the car at night in a cold blowy storm.

Was seriously thinking of moving north I tell you. Carnarvon is full of tropical trees, has irrigation, the soil is great, and on one property we went too, the smell from the trees reminded me of tropical Asia.

It better warm up soon or I'm going.

Do it!

[Peter G]

Well the weather here has been absolutely horrible and the worst September I can ever recall.

About a month ago I would have sworn that winter was done with and we were pulling out of winter in the first week of September like 2012 did. About 6 weeks ago I was looking at my Heliconias and thinking to myself that we hadn't had the wind events this winter and that they looked quite pristine. Temperature wise August was basically Sep averages. Then September came and the wind and rain have been ridiculous.

A few nights last week you just couldn't sleep from the gale force winds. It was like living on an oil platform in the North Sea (not that I've done that). It wasn't hard to imagine a 10m swell outside because all the trees sounded like crashing waves. The winds didn't let up for days non stop.

I lost a 15m section of my Eucalyptus tree last Monday night damaging the fence and my shadehouses. It crushed my big spindle palm, which now has one leaf and stub of a spear. My big Hyophorbe indica escaped death again from this falling branch with the branch wedging itself a mm from the new spear in the crown. I had to delicately remove some leaves from it though to stop the heart getting damaged when I removed the massive limb that will still above it. A bit of fancy rope work, chainsaws, and ladders was able to swing the culprit away from the indica and get the main stub out of my cuban royal crown. I've spent the last week using the dry patches in the day to cut wood up for firewood, and yesterday spent the entire day on the mulcher. It now has allowed more light into the garden below which is a positive. I think 20% of the canopy came down. The mulch will be composted and turned back into soil, so that's a positive. You gotta be positive.

We are above average for the year for rainfall regardless of what the authorities are telling us. Bickley in the hills has had around 300mm of rain this month which is more than double the average and around 1100mm for the year. We definitely are not in drought in the SW.

A couple of weeks back we were up in the Murchison and the Gascoyne region swimming in billabongs in 34C heat with a thunderstorm one night. Real beautiful stuff. Then we came home and unpacked the car at night in a cold blowy storm.

Was seriously thinking of moving north I tell you. Carnarvon is full of tropical trees, has irrigation, the soil is great, and on one property we went too, the smell from the trees reminded me of tropical Asia.

It better warm up soon or I'm going.

Do it!

Don't tell him do it, the tropical gardening community of Perth will suffer a huge loss!

Actually that community only consists of approx 5 people,

Urghhh, yeah, do it.

[Tyrone]

I'm actually ashamed of my place at the moment. My collection of rare stuff has suffered neglect. I've just been so busy, but I want to get back into my palms again. I clean an area up, you know, clean up the living, move out the dead, then my shadehouse gets smashed by falling trees. I've got jasmine invading my shadehouse as well. What I've got to do once I've cleaned up the storm damage is basically gut my shadehouses and clean up the plants as I go, then fix the shadehouse, and put the plants back in.

My reticulation also needs revamping before we need it again. The price of scheme water has skyrocketed so the nursery areas that get overhead irrigation are too expensive to water now. I'll have to hook up lines from the bore to water each pot individually. The bore water stains the leaves but is great for growth. But the cost of doing that is more than I can afford at present.

On another note SA and Tassie have copped our rotten weather today.

Just checked the BOM and next Thursday we're getting 29C and easterly winds. We'll probably get 2 weeks of spring and be into summer.

[Daryl]

Gotta say I love the smell of the air this week...that hot dry grassy inland smell, along with some type of flower that is very sweet....spring...ahhh!

[Eric F]

My Chamaedoreas are all flowering like crazy right now. They are really liking the warm weather. Hard to believe that less than a month ago was the coldest night of the year for us at 5C.

[tropicbreeze]

Tyrone, it's certainly been a rough time. I've been in the south west for the past few weeks. Was supposed to be camping out but the cold, windy, rainy weather put a quick end to that. In Meekatharra tonight and should reach home in about a week.

[Tyrone]

Tyrone, it's certainly been a rough time. I've been in the south west for the past few weeks. Was supposed to be camping out but the cold, windy, rainy weather put a quick end to that. In Meekatharra tonight and should reach home in about a week.

September normally is OK to go camping. It may be wet then clear up and get beautiful fine days though still cold at night, but 100kph winds and horizontal rain doesn't go well with tents.

Meekatharra should be at the tail end of any cold fronts at the moment. We stayed at Twin Peaks homestead a fair bit west of you a few weeks back and one night it was cold, but the days were beautiful. Good nights for a mulga fed camp fire looking at the clear night sky. Are you going up through Mt Augustus area or back up the main road to the NT?

We'll be heading up to Darwin in early November. Can't wait.

[Peter G]

In the Phillipines at the moment, nice to get out of Perth!

Decided to give up on Archonphoenix, for me they grow quick, but just look shredded, TassieTroys are looking better than mine!

[Tyrone]

Howea near the WA southern coast look the best. They even like the limey sandy stuff of the south west coast and don't care about the gales. I wish I planted more of them instead of the Syagrus at my place.

[Peter G]

Agree, all Howea in Secret Harbour look fantastic! A house not too far from mine has a few neglected palms out front, their Syagrus Rom has approx 4m of clear trunk and the fronds are stunted and burnt to a crisp, but their Howea are all in pristine condition! I believe Hedyscepe will also do well here.

I didn't suffer too much damage, my Roystonea Regia is looking a little fried, but that improves year by year. I have 2 Carpy, the biggest one also suffered damage, but the small one, beneath the canopy with no wind hitting it ,looks fine. I lost a Licuala Ramsyaii, Licuala seem to be a waste of time for me.

My 3 Hyophorbe species also came through unscathed. The first few Winters my Bottle experienced, I lost every frond, now perfect.

All the Rhopies and Ceroxylon were fine.

I am trying to plant similar palms to what Pogo planted at his first house, I think they will work well for me. Thanks to Troy I have 2 Chathams taken from seed from Pogos tree!

[Tyrone]

Yeah, all Licuala hate the wind, especially the dry easterlies. That's the same for Kerriodoxa.

[Peter G]

What is going on?

While we are going for a top today of 17c, Canberra are looking at 25c, Adelaide 29c.

I give up!

[Tyrone]

Perth has just recorded its wettest September since 1923 with 144mm vs the average of 81mm. The dams are still low at an average of 38% though. We're way ahead of where we should be by this time in the year too. Reportedly the inflow into the dams in the last week has been 16 Gigalitres which is more than the total inflow for all of the winter of 2010.

Driving in the hills there is water everywhere. In many places water is just running out of hillsides and down the road like running streams. On the lower coastal plains many paddocks are now swamps. I was driving through Gosnells yesterday and saw about 10 kangaroos eating the new growth near one of these swampy areas. Kind of strange to see them so close to build up areas and highway overpasses.

[Kennybenjamin]

If we are lucky we might be in for some rain around SEQld later tonight? Bugger all on radar currently but forecasts sound positive?

I have heaps of spears ready to crack open.... They are waiting for the rains to come, hopefully soon!!

[Tyrone]

30C on Thursday. Bore is back up and running.

Believe it or not the garden is bone dry in places despite the 144mm of rain we've had. The palms are sucking the moisture up.

[tropicbreeze]

Tyrone, it's certainly been a rough time. I've been in the south west for the past few weeks. Was supposed to be camping out but the cold, windy, rainy weather put a quick end to that. In Meekatharra tonight and should reach home in about a week.

September normally is OK to go camping. It may be wet then clear up and get beautiful fine days though still cold at night, but 100kph winds and horizontal rain doesn't go well with tents.

Meekatharra should be at the tail end of any cold fronts at the moment. We stayed at Twin Peaks homestead a fair bit west of you a few weeks back and one night it was cold, but the days were beautiful. Good nights for a mulga fed camp fire looking at the clear night sky. Are you going up through Mt Augustus area or back up the main road to the NT?

We'll be heading up to Darwin in early November. Can't wait.

Tyrone, been having vehicle problems so making my way home, didn't divert to Mt Augustus. Not even going on the Gibb. In Broome now so have the long hot stretch across the southern end of the Kimberley. Temps have been ranging 40 to 42 through there. Back home not a lot lower and still no rain. Last lot of rain there was 20mm in early May. Hope my irrigation has been holding out.

If you're driving up in November make sure your aircon is working, you'll need it.

[Tyrone]

Tyrone, it's certainly been a rough time. I've been in the south west for the past few weeks. Was supposed to be camping out but the cold, windy, rainy weather put a quick end to that. In Meekatharra tonight and should reach home in about a week.

September normally is OK to go camping. It may be wet then clear up and get beautiful fine days though still cold at night, but 100kph winds and horizontal rain doesn't go well with tents.

Meekatharra should be at the tail end of any cold fronts at the moment. We stayed at Twin Peaks homestead a fair bit west of you a few weeks back and one night it was cold, but the days were beautiful. Good nights for a mulga fed camp fire looking at the clear night sky. Are you going up through Mt Augustus area or back up the main road to the NT?

We'll be heading up to Darwin in early November. Can't wait.

Tyrone, been having vehicle problems so making my way home, didn't divert to Mt Augustus. Not even going on the Gibb. In Broome now so have the long hot stretch across the southern end of the Kimberley. Temps have been ranging 40 to 42 through there. Back home not a lot lower and still no rain. Last lot of rain there was 20mm in early May. Hope my irrigation has been holding out.

If you're driving up in November make sure your aircon is working, you'll need it.

I hope your vehicle problems are not too major and that you can get home safely.

I've forgotten what 42C feels like.

It's always a worry when you've been away for a while in that sort of heat as to what the irrigation is doing.

I remember a few years back I had an old bore pump with a shaft seal that was old and worn. If you loaded the pump up too much and tried to make it pump too much water the shaft seal would allow it to suck air from the atmosphere which would then make it lose prime and then stop pumping. I had the zones set up so that wouldn't happen. But while we were away we had the lawnmower guy come by and he always popped one of the sprinkler heads off as he was too rough and in a hurry to get things done. This allowed the zone to draw too much and it lost prime. So when I got home the garden hadn't been watered for a few weeks through the heat of summer. It's likely he came the day we left. I've got a totally different set up now so that won't ever happen again.

When we head to the NT we will be cheating. We'll be flying.

[NApalm]

I got next to nothing out of that rain ben. A shower or two this morning they reckon? Pfft, we'll see

[Kennybenjamin]

I got next to nothing out of that rain ben. A shower or two this morning they reckon? Pfft, we'll see

I got nothing either , pfft is right!! Nothing really forecast forthr next week or so either, back on the hose!!

[Daryl]

Can anybody say 'crunchy'?

[NApalm]

My grass sure can...

[Walter John]

The only weather moving my way is the drought from out west.

[tropicbreeze]

Got back home today after being down in the south west of WA. Checked the weather station, today's maximum was 41.2 but great surprise was rain. It had recorded 40.8 mm on the 22nd September and 11.4 mm on the 4th October. Checked around and I could see wash/debris marks from significant rainfalls. Checking around the garden most things have been coping with the heat. Not so good is the damage from the wallabies and jungle fowl. The wallabies have shredded a lot of stuff, some down to ground level. The jungle fowl have uprooted plants and/or covered them under lots of mulch. My mulch layers are very deep this time of year. Isn't Mother Nature wonderful!

[Tyrone]

Got back home today after being down in the south west of WA. Checked the weather station, today's maximum was 41.2 but great surprise was rain. It had recorded 40.8 mm on the 22nd September and 11.4 mm on the 4th October. Checked around and I could see wash/debris marks from significant rainfalls. Checking around the garden most things have been coping with the heat. Not so good is the damage from the wallabies and jungle fowl. The wallabies have shredded a lot of stuff, some down to ground level. The jungle fowl have uprooted plants and/or covered them under lots of mulch. My mulch layers are very deep this time of year. Isn't Mother Nature wonderful!

Glad you got home OK.

Had a couple of days with a bit of rain. Humidity is way up but temps are around 22,23C.