What is your current yard temperature?

[EJPalm05]

13 hours ago, UK_Palms said:

10C / 50F here at 1am. I am a shade warmer than parts of London due to cloud cover. It has been pretty damn mild since the previous freeze subsided. That has been the story of this winter, two pretty bad freezes with several very mild interludes. Last winter it was just mildish throughout.

My last frost was 10 days ago now. Nowhere in the British Isles has been below freezing over the past few days. The lowest over the past 24 hours was 3.4C / 39F in northern Scotland. Kew Gardens in southwest London the warmest spot with 14C / 57F today. The feel of spring will be in the air very soon.

 

These are 1am temps…

 

I was just about to comment on how mild it has been in NYC this winter and how they should try CIDP inside the main UHI areas on Manhattan, only to just see it is currently below -10C / 14F in central regions at 9pm with a low of -14C / 6F expected tonight. Wow.

The Trachycarpus Fortunei may take a big hit on Long Beach. That is significantly colder than anything I have ever experienced here. I thought the central UHI would hold up better than it has in NYC. It doesn’t seem that pronounced at all there. I wonder what it will go down to tonight? -15C / 5F?

Palm killer temps in Long Beach. Let’s see how those Fortunei hold up. There’s another 10 hours of radiational cooling to go as well with clear skies. Crikey.

It got to 2F last night where I live! The winter in NYC is the same as it is in London! Mild with 2 big freezes!

Edited February 4, 2023 by EJ NJ

[sandgroper]

12.00am midnight, 28c heading for 35c.

 

 

 

 

[UK_Palms]

54 minutes ago, EJ NJ said:

It got to 2F last night where I live! The winter in NYC is the same as it is in London! Mild with 2 big freezes!

Yeah it has been a weird winter with the first bad freeze in early-mid December, followed by 4 weeks of of very, very mild conditions and lots of rain, then a second bad freeze. The protected parts of central London still haven't gone below -2C / 28F at street level though, despite the two bad freezes, compared to say -14C / 7F in the most protected parts of Manhattan now.

Obviously this polar airmass is just much colder in general over northeast USA but it is also clear that New York's UHI is not particularly effective. It looked like about 3C / 6F difference between downtown/lower Manhattan and the outer northern suburbs. The UHI is clearly noticeable, but nowhere near as much as you would expect for a city of New York's size.

During that last freeze in London the difference was at least 7C / 15F between street level in central London & the outer northwest suburbs. So at least double the effect of New York's UHI and possibly more even. Fox Palms mentions it may be due to all the skyscrapers in NYC and our freezes having an inversion layer here. Still weird since the New York-New Jersey-Long Beach metropolitan area is the largest in the world by landmass and bigger than London, yet the UHI is significantly less prominent.

I'm looking at the midday temps there now and it is still about -10C / 14F in Manhattan with clear skies. Bloody hell.

[EJPalm05]

2 hours ago, UK_Palms said:

Yeah it has been a weird winter with the first bad freeze in early-mid December, followed by 4 weeks of of very, very mild conditions and lots of rain, then a second bad freeze. The protected parts of central London still haven't gone below -2C / 28F at street level though, despite the two bad freezes, compared to say -14C / 7F in the most protected parts of Manhattan now.

Obviously this polar airmass is just much colder in general over northeast USA but it is also clear that New York's UHI is not particularly effective. It looked like about 3C / 6F difference between downtown/lower Manhattan and the outer northern suburbs. The UHI is clearly noticeable, but nowhere near as much as you would expect for a city of New York's size.

During that last freeze in London the difference was at least 7C / 15F between street level in central London & the outer northwest suburbs. So at least double the effect of New York's UHI and possibly more even. Fox Palms mentions it may be due to all the skyscrapers in NYC and our freezes having an inversion layer here. Still weird since the New York-New Jersey-Long Beach metropolitan area is the largest in the world by landmass and bigger than London, yet the UHI is significantly less prominent.

I'm looking at the midday temps there now and it is still about -10C / 14F in Manhattan with clear skies. Bloody hell.

I beleve there are very few places on the planet that had a mild winter this year. I think there has been a bad freeze on every continent. Climate Change. 😐

[GottmitAlex]

Feb 4th, 2023

Currently 23c

Our high today was 27c

Our low 7c

 

[Foxpalms]

Max of 52f/11c with 67% humidity in London today. The low tonight is 7c and tomorrow should be very sunny.

[sandgroper]

Was a warm humid night last night but it didn't deter a decent crowd at the cricket, that stadium can get bloody warm in the late afternoon too. Very muggy at the moment heading for 35c.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Foxpalms]

It's currently 48f/9c in London at 3am and I was just looking how the potted Bismarckia seedling is doing outside and saw a mosquito, very strange for this time of the year.

[Palm Sundae]

On 12/24/2022 at 7:27 PM, Palm Sundae said:

Haven't irrigated all month. The ground is still saturated from the storm at the start of the month and now it looks like it could be well into January before I think about turning it back on.

Wound up with more than 2" for January and the ground is still moist. Had a few frosts but nothing of any concern - unlikely to get anything more at this point. Will have to start thinking about irrigation in a bit. Amazing how well the clay holds moisture.

[Foxpalms]

6 minutes ago, Palm Sundae said:

Wound up with more than 2" for January and the ground is still moist. Had a few frosts but nothing of any concern - unlikely to get anything more at this point. Will have to start thinking about irrigation in a bit. Amazing how well the clay holds moisture.

In a hot dry climate climate clay might be good, but here clay is the Arch nemesis for palm growers. I'm glad the soil here isn't clay because when I used to live in an area that has clay soil it was a nightmare.

[kinzyjr]

6 minutes ago, Foxpalms said:

In a hot dry climate climate clay might be good, but here clay is the Arch nemesis for palm growers. I'm glad the soil here isn't clay because when I used to live in an area that has clay soil it was a nightmare.

Most of my yard is very dark top soil, which is unusual for Florida.  Most of the tropical stuff that I really shouldn't be growing seems to like it, but the desert stuff wants to be in the dead sand area with minor amendments.   Given the struggles growers have with Jubaea chilensis here and a few failed experiments on my own part, I have considered trying a 2 ft. x 2 ft. "box" of Turface to see if that will yield a better outcome.

[Foxpalms]

2 hours ago, kinzyjr said:

Most of my yard is very dark top soil, which is unusual for Florida.  Most of the tropical stuff that I really shouldn't be growing seems to like it, but the desert stuff wants to be in the dead sand area with minor amendments.   Given the struggles growers have with Jubaea chilensis here and a few failed experiments on my own part, I have considered trying a 2 ft. x 2 ft. "box" of Turface to see if that will yield a better outcome.

Turface is fine and might help a jubaea, but there are parts of the UK where the clay soil is so thick it's water tight and won't drain at all. Also on top of that the winters are wetter than the summers here and the cool temperatures and lack of sun strenth here during the winter means water isn't able to evaporate quickly. Image a queen palms roots for example siting in cold water that's 48f for 3 months, it's guaranteed to cause root rot so clay is a no go unless you want a very boring garden. Washingtonia and phoenix canariensis seem to have no issues in the parts of London with clay soil though. Sandy and chalky soils are the best here, though it means my queen needs to be fertalized lots or it gets deficiencies. I think the people in the UK who grow jubaea in clay have to dig massive holes and usually they have to be planted in a raised beds in mostly grit, sand, gravel and and some compost. I would recommend digging a good sized hole and filling it up with a mix that drains very well so it doesn't stay too wet instead of the soil already in the garden. You're raised bed idea also sounds good since it works for people in the UK with bad drainage so it might work in you're wetter climate.

 

[Arecaceus]

Chamaerops humilis and Sabal uresana have been liking some clay for me for some reason.

5°C at 11 p.m.. Today's high was 8°C. Waiting for the cold to come from the East. We'll get very sunny high pressure weather but air from the East. Let's see how cold those clear nights will get.

[Foxpalms]

Max of 10c/50f with 57% humidity today in London. The colder air has definitely arrived here it's 5c at 11.40pm. The BBC forecast is showing the coldest temperature as 0c this week and metoffice is showing it as 1c. I doubt it will get down to 0c unless the forecast drastically changes since it's usually 1-2c higher than the forecast. We have cold sunny skies for a few days then the weather should return back to normal. This shouldn't be anywhere near as cold as in December or mid January since the very cold airmass went south east and is now over Greece. The weather doesn't look too bad after this colder period.

[Palm Sundae]

21 hours ago, Foxpalms said:

In a hot dry climate climate clay might be good, but here clay is the Arch nemesis for palm growers.

I don't know if good is the right word.  It works out well enough for what is in my yard.

I'm not trying to grow anything that doesn't survive ordinary care by ordinary people in my area. That tends to simplify things! And I do plant with a few inches buffer of improved soil. Once they outgrow that they are on their own.

[Silas_Sancona]

A pleasently cool 61F at 7: 42pm after a pretty nice weekend.. No "official"  80s,  but plenty on WxU's "neighborhood stations" maps..  Roamed around my favorate neighborhood spot earlier and there are already plenty of early spring signs.. Same thing in the yards. 

Cools back to the upper 60s tomorrow and Tuesday as a mostly dry trough passes by to the north / east .. If anyone in the state gets any precip as it skirts on by, it will be confined to far northern / northeastern AZ in the form of a few light snow showers. ' Nother round of 70s starts Wednesday, thru -at least- next Sat / Sunday. While we didn't officially see any yesterday or today,  slightly better opportunity to see the first official 80 reading either Friday or Sat. ( fluctuating between 77-79 suggested for Chandler both days currently ) ..as long as the current forecast for the end of the week holds... 

We'll see what occurs afterward..  Been a pretty consistent "idea" in the longer term forecasts we might see one last round of better winter season rain snow chances and decent  cool down. That said,  some model runs so far today haven't been quite as bullish on that idea.. It is Feb, and one last cool stretch isn' too unusual before we turn warmer overall,  so.. 

At the same time, depending on other factors which may have greater influence on the weather as we side through and past mid month, perhaps the pre spring mildness continues mostly uninterrupted through the remaining 20- something days left in the month  ..We'll see.  Even if it does cool off for a few days, not looking all that bad.. maybe waking up to a couple mornings briefly in the upper 30s.  Nothin unusual.  Again, well see what happens. 

Regardless, should be a great week for all the folks in town for the golf and football not actual football thing, ...and for a new roof to get installed.  Maybe some more plants installed out front as well.  

[UK_Palms]

A cold night tonight under the clear skies with temperatures already at freezing here at 2am and dropping. A cold week coming up again after 7-10 days of mild weather.

 

Central London holding up around 5-6C / 42F at 2am.

 

That part of east Kent is ridiculously mild again, which isn't surprising anymore. One of mildest places in the entire British Isles this winter. 6C / 43F at the immediate coast.

 

Usual Cornwall microclimates holding up strong...

 

Falmouth 7-8C / 45F. 

 

The far southwestern tip of Cornwall isn't necessarily the mildest part of the county as we have seen this winter. South central Cornwall seems to run warmer often as shown above.

 

Isles of Scilly a solid 8C / 46F at 2am. Does it ever get cold there!?

[Silas_Sancona]

22 hours ago, Foxpalms said:

In a hot dry climate, clay might be good..

Uh,  quite the opposite, lol..  Heavy / dense clay -in a hot / dry climate-  is the worst possible soil you could have..  for one, when it dries out, it bakes, and isnt easy to wet throughly.. When it gets wet, it can stay too wet. It also doesnt allow proper penetration of oxygen to plant roots.  Clay can also form layers of hard pan high in Salt content, or form a nearly impossible to penetrate layer of "crust"  a few inches, or feet thick called "Caliche" overtime here. 

Deep, sandy ( large grain, similar in size to Turface MVP / Seramis,  not sand that has a fine "sugar-like consistency,  ...and gravely loam is by far the most ideal,  and what you'll find the widest diversity of plants growing in. 

[Foxpalms]

56 minutes ago, Silas_Sancona said:

Uh,  quite the opposite, lol..  Heavy / dense clay -in a hot / dry climate-  is the worst possible soil you could have..  for one, when it dries out, it bakes, and isnt easy to wet throughly.. When it gets wet, it can stay too wet. It also doesnt allow proper penetration of oxygen to plant roots.  Clay can also form layers of hard pan high in Salt content, or form a nearly impossible to penetrate layer of "crust"  a few inches, or feet thick called "Caliche" overtime here. 

Deep, sandy ( large grain, similar in size to Turface MVP / Seramis,  not sand that has a fine "sugar-like consistency,  ...and gravely loam is by far the most ideal,  and what you'll find the widest diversity of plants growing in. 

I guess clay is never good then. Definitely by far the worst soil type In the UK. When I used to live in a part of London that had clay soil during the winter it was too wet and during the summer it was rock hard and looked like some sort of dried up salt flat! It also looked baked with cracks in it and was impossible to water through. I remember when I wanted to plant something during July back then the clay was so hard I had to use a pickaxe to break it up for the first 1-2ft then below that it was wet and sticky. Glad now I have chalky sandy soil. Clay soils also take forever to warm up.

Edited February 6, 2023 by Foxpalms

[Silas_Sancona]

51 minutes ago, Foxpalms said:

I guess clay is never good then. Definitely by far the worst soil type In the UK. When I used to live in a part of London that had clay soil during the winter it was too wet and during the summer it was rock hard and looked like some sort of dried up salt flat! It also looked baked with cracks in it and was impossible to water through. I remember when I wanted to plant something during July back then the clay was so hard I had to use a pickaxe to break it up for the first 1-2ft then below that it was wet and sticky. Glad now I have chalky sandy soil. Clay soils also take forever to warm up.

A certain amount of fine silty deposits in the overal soil can be ok, but, if just you can ball up some of it in your hand, and it doesn't crumble right away,  yea, lol, not great for many things ..though there are numerous plants that won't grow in anything but that type of soil. 

Back in California, at least in my area, the majority of the soil is mixed alluvial deposits which also contain quite a high %'age of clay, which adds to making digging holes a chore and can retain too much moisture through the winter, despite the soil also containing lots of rock.  Despite that, lots of stuff grows fine.  Queens seemed to love it.  

Some " desert" plants will tolerate it, if not watered at all during the cooler months.

 

[Ryland]

It's down to -1.9ºC here, having briefly dipped to -2.  Second night in a row of frost for me but it's warming up reasonably in the day.  Much colder in the Midlands south of me - it's broadly -5ºC or so across a large area.  These two days of frost in February make this the first winter in which I've recorded a frost in all three winter months - though I've only had my station 3 years so it's not a long record.

[Foxpalms]

The low tonight was 5c/41f in London. Today should be clear skies all day. Even 4000ft above sea level at 57N in the Scottish Highlands the ski resorts have hardly any snow at the moment.However that's likely to change this week.

[sandgroper]

Was a lovely mild 26c today, a pleasant change. They're now saying we may not get one day of 40c or over which if it comes true will only be the third summer in 30 years that Perth has had that. Suits me.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited February 6, 2023 by sandgroper

[bubba]

67°F at 7:10 AM EST

[UK_Palms]

After a low of -1.4C / 29F last night under the clear skies, the afterburners have been put on full blast today. Roughly 15C / 30F of daytime recovery (compared to last night) and you can really feel the sun gathering some intensity again now that we are into February. It looks like a max of 13.7C / 56F for me here today. Temps are already dropping off again though under the clear skies now. It’s going to get pretty cold tonight with a big diurnal swing. I’m expecting at least -3C / 26F.

[Foxpalms]

Had the exact same high as UK palms, 56f/13.7c with 38% humidity. Very sunny all day and the max UV was a 1.4. The forecast only predicted a high of 9c but with clear skies it's always warmer, so hopefully that's stays true for the rest of the week.

 

[Xenon]

76F/24C,  partly sunny with winds 15 mph from the south at 1pm. Beauitful day! 

[UK_Palms]

I'm getting smashed again here tonight with no UHI and being so far inland. Down to -2.4C / 27F at 1am. 

 

Central London is running 8-9C / 15F warmer than my location right now. That is only 26 miles away.

 

The south Kent microclimates are very noticeable tonight. A few miles inland and its freezing.

 

The Scilly Isles are 11C / 22F warmer than my location 

[GottmitAlex]

OMG

[Foxpalms]

Low of 37.5f/3c here. Unsurprisingly not as cold as the forecasted 0c. The warmest part of London only dropped to 38f. Here are the temperatures across mild areas. Also discovered another zone 9b/10a area at 53N, Holyhead in Wales. It has mountains to the east, it's an island and it's very cloudy there. 

Edited February 7, 2023 by Foxpalms

[Arecaceus]

7°C at around 5 p.m.. Sunny all day long. Very refreshing. You can also feel (and see) how the sun's already more intense than a couple of weeks ago. Last night with clear skies the temperature in my garden dropped to -2.4°C. -2.8°C at the nearest private weather station and almost -5°C at least for a short moment at the official weather station at the airport. This first clear and cold night was completely fine because when I went to sleep at 2 a.m. temperatures were still above freezing and it warmed up quickly with 5°C at 11 a.m. already. Plus the sun warmed the garden right away. Looking forward to the next clear night with Eastern winds.

[UK_Palms]

It didn’t get quite as cold as I expected last night. The lowest was -2.6C / 27F at 2am and it did warm up a bit as the night progressed. Unfortunately thick fog and overcast conditions this morning limited daytime recovery, unlike yesterday, although the skies totally cleared around midday. It only reached 10C / 50F by 3pm and now we have another cold one to come tonight under clear skies. Potentially down to -5C / 23F for me here. 🥶

Someone posted a photo of a Washingtonia in central London yesterday that I haven’t seen before. It looks like a Robusta/hybrid and the fronds are totally green still. Like no damage at all. I know someone in that same area claims to have had a winter minimum of -0.7C / 31F in their back garden, despite it being a pretty bad winter.

Someone also posted a photo of the Wimbledon Washingtonia in southwest London. It still has completely green spears and upper fronds after two bad freezes, as well as the coldest January temperatures in 36 years there, plus the coldest winter overall since 2010. So that’s pretty impressive. That isn’t anywhere near the central UHI either. I suspect it will take just about anything there now. That Filibusta is probably bulletproof there with a generous amount of Filifera genetics in its make up.

Edited February 7, 2023 by UK_Palms

[Arecaceus]

1 hour ago, UK_Palms said:

It didn’t get quite as cold as I expected last night. The lowest was -2.6C / 27F at 2am and it did warm up a bit as the night progressed. Unfortunately thick fog and overcast conditions this morning limited daytime recovery, unlike yesterday, although the skies totally cleared around midday. It only reached 10C / 50F by 3pm and now we have another cold one to come tonight under clear skies. Potentially down to -5C / 23F for me here. 🥶

Someone posted a photo of a Washingtonia in central London yesterday that I haven’t seen before. It looks like a Robusta/hybrid and the fronds are totally green still. Like no damage at all. I know someone in that same area claims to have had a winter minimum of -0.7C / 31F in their back garden, despite it being a pretty bad winter.

Someone also posted a photo of the Wimbledon Washingtonia in southwest London. It still has completely green spears and upper fronds after two bad freezes, as well as the coldest January temperatures in 36 years there, plus the coldest winter overall since 2010. So that’s pretty impressive. That isn’t anywhere near the central UHI either. I suspect it will take just about anything there now. That Filibusta is probably bulletproof there with a generous amount of Filifera genetics in its make up.

Fog hinders daytime warm up but it also slows down cooling a bit. We will see how cold it gets here tonight but relative humidity at least is only around 60% now and the skies are clear. What's good is that up until now it's not cooling down as fast as predicted.

It's crazy because that filibusta looks better than many in California. Such lush green foliage. My filibusta got badly burnt in December and this extremely rainy and humid January didn't do it any favour. My (smaller) filifera doesn't look too bad yet but has spots on the older leaves. With the Wimbledon plant I think it's been established and adapted for so long and as I always say filifera is very hardy even in wet winter climates. I mean it's not in central London but in an urban area (drier). Its height might also be a benefit. I can imagine that the crown stays warmer than at around 2m above ground.

[Foxpalms]

7 minutes ago, Hortulanus said:

Fog hinders daytime warm up but it also slows down cooling a bit. We will see how cold it gets here tonight but relative humidity at least is only around 60% now and the skies are clear. What's good is that up until now it's not cooling down as fast as predicted.

It's crazy because that filibusta looks better than many in California. Such lush green foliage. My filibusta got badly burnt in December and this extremely rainy and humid January didn't do it any favour. My (smaller) filifera doesn't look too bad yet but has spots on the older leaves. With the Wimbledon plant I think it's been established and adapted for so long and as I always say filifera is very hardy even in wet winter climates. I mean it's not in central London but in an urban area (drier). Its height might also be a benefit. I can imagine that the crown stays warmer than at around 2m above ground.

It definitely would since the freezes here are radiational. Filifera is fully hardy in London even in non central parts. There was some mist this morning but not now. Cleared around 9am.

[Xenon]

74F/23C and overcast at 3pm. Warm-ish and a bit muggy with winds from the southeast. Two successive "cold fronts" coming in later this week and after that it's farewell to winter 

[UK_Palms]

I make it -3.2C / 26F at midnight here now. Pretty damn cold already.

 

Meanwhile +5C / 42F in central London still, about 26-27 miles away. It's a cruel game.

[Foxpalms]

20 minutes ago, UK_Palms said:

I make it -3.2C / 26F at midnight here now. Pretty damn cold already.

 

Meanwhile +5C / 42F in central London still, about 26-27 miles away. It's a cruel game.

One positive about the cold weather this winter, for you is it makes it easier to indentify warm microclimates on the south coast. 

[Banana Belt]

On 2/5/2023 at 12:05 AM, Foxpalms said:

Turface is fine and might help a jubaea, but there are parts of the UK where the clay soil is so thick it's water tight and won't drain at all. Also on top of that the winters are wetter than the summers here and the cool temperatures and lack of sun strenth here during the winter means water isn't able to evaporate quickly. Image a queen palms roots for example siting in cold water that's 48f for 3 months, it's guaranteed to cause root rot so clay is a no go unless you want a very boring garden. Washingtonia and phoenix canariensis seem to have no issues in the parts of London with clay soil though. Sandy and chalky soils are the best here, though it means my queen needs to be fertalized lots or it gets deficiencies. I think the people in the UK who grow jubaea in clay have to dig massive holes and usually they have to be planted in a raised beds in mostly grit, sand, gravel and and some compost. I would recommend digging a good sized hole and filling it up with a mix that drains very well so it doesn't stay too wet instead of the soil already in the garden. You're raised bed idea also sounds good since it works for people in the UK with bad drainage so it might work in you're wetter climate.

 

Jubaea will grow in wet cold winters even in non permeable clay, providing there is some grade to a ditch, lower elevation or drainage area that is at least 3 feet lower than the Jubaea.  Perforated drain pipe placed in a trench 3 or so feet deep, covered with 3 or 4 inches of washed and sized 1/2 to 2 inch rounded river gravel which then are covered with filter fabric, straw or other porous material and then backfilled to surface.  The discharge of the drain should be at least 3 feet lower than the Palm.  Curtain drain around the planting site like a big U with two discharge points.  That is what I did with a 500 foot U shaped drain and 4 smaller laterals connected to the main.  The main I used is a 4 inch perf plastic and the laterals connected both inside and outside the main are 2 inch.   For about 4 months during winter these drains discharge up to 600 gallons per minute continously and the Jubaea have grown over 30 feet tall with 4 foot diameter trunks.

Even bentonic clays will drain in the above design, however it is more likely the clay soils of the UK are acid derived Ilites and not alkaline Smectites, so such clays will drain.  

[Foxpalms]

High was 52f/11.1c with 52% humidity yesterday in London and very sunny. Max UV was a 1.5. Currently 36.5f at 4am

[Foxpalms]

Low of 32.6f/0.3c here last night in the coldest part of the garden. I know the isle of wight had partial clouds last night but ventnor is ridiculous mild compared to other nearby areas. We had clear skies all night @UK_PalmsI saw on the metoffice cloud forecast you're area had some slight cloud around during parts of the night, but mostly clear skies, so that might of saved you slightly. Here we unfortunately had clear skies all night. Here are the lows in London and Ventnor. A 13f different between ventnor town and the golf course which is behind those massive hills inland. That's a perfect example of a great microclimate a 13f difference in 0.7 miles! You can see why the record low for Ventnor golf course is -6c compared to -3c ventnor itself and closer to the sea would be even warmer.

Edited February 8, 2023 by Foxpalms