Summer weather in PNW talk

[Paradise Found]

3 hours ago, Chester B said:

I’m seeing more and more damage each day.  Things were looking pretty good before this. 

I hope the damage is just superficial and not going to kill anything. I think most plants in the ground would make a full recovery once they start to regrow.  Give them some time.

[RyManUtah]

4 hours ago, Chester B said:

I’m seeing more and more damage each day.  Things were looking pretty good before this. 

Sorry to hear about the damage. Sun and extreme heat can be, brutal to stay the least.  
I don’t know what it’s worth, but an easy way to can get some extra “drip” to help plants recover from blow dryer effect is utilize empty containers.

For example, I will fill a a couple milk jugs up with with, and poke a couple holes on both the top and bottom. I put them out at night on plants without a sufficient watering system when the winds stop.

I use this method, because I’m not bothered if the containers walk off before I pitch them into recycle, and no water needs to be left on while I sleep. 

[Chester B]

Rough week for them. Lots of heat related deaths up there too. 
 

As far as my plants I don’t expect anything to die, just a bunch look like crap. From the Labor Day windstorm to the catastrophic ice storm to the heat dome it’s been a rough year on them. 

Thanks for the tip @RyManUtahI will definitely remember that one. 

Edited July 1, 2021 by Chester B

[Chester B]

Well it looks like the latent damage has stopped occurring. I think the cooler nights and higher humidity is helping. Looks like we’re entering the Goldilocks zone for weather. Just wish we could get a little rain every now and then, but I guess it’s to be expected when you live in a Mediterranean climate. 
 

[Hutch]

Finally back in Oregon...my garden had explosive....growth...I will post photos tomarrow....looks just perfect grow'n conditions 90....day ...high50s.... 60 at night..

[Chester B]

Goldilocks zone for sure. A little rain would be nice though, but I’m not expecting any until mid to late September. 

[Paradise Found]

My mule JxB f2 is going on it's fourth spear.  You guys seeing the same thing or more?

First pic January 2021; second one is July 1, 2021.

Edited July 10, 2021 by Paradise Found

[Chester B]

That’s some serious growth. I guess like most palms the bigger they get the faster they grow. 

[Paradise Found]

It been a hot July this year and according to the weather man here it going to continue into August, September and October, oh an still going to be dry as a bone, but maybe some relief in August mid to late will have some rain??? Hope so.  I expect lots of palm grow this year. 

Edited July 26, 2021 by Paradise Found

[Chester B]

I say no rain until mid to late  September for me. That seems to be the norm. Late October is when the real rain starts. 
 

Trachys are going wild over here. Just picked up another T takil and a risky one - Trithrinax acanthacoma.

[Paradise Found]

14 hours ago, Chester B said:

I say no rain until mid to late  September for me. That seems to be the norm. Late October is when the real rain starts. 
 

Trachys are going wild over here. Just picked up another T takil and a risky one - Trithrinax acanthacoma.

Palm are loving this year for sure. can't go wrong with T. Takil, and T. acanthacoma has an interesting trunk pattern.  Mine lasted three short years in the ground after a bad winter. Good luck with yours. 

[Chester B]

23 minutes ago, Paradise Found said:

Palm are loving this year for sure. can't go wrong with T. Takil, and T. acanthacoma has an interesting trunk pattern.  Mine lasted three short years in the ground after a bad winter. Good luck with yours. 

You have me beat every time.  Here I was thinking I might be one of the first to try.  

[Chester B]

The heat doesn't seem to be letting up, yesterday was pretty close to 100 as well.  This has been a pretty spectacular summer so far, I just hope we can get by without any more fires, especially close by.

[Trustandi]

I enjoy this year's summer so far.  The drawback is I have to water more often. My water bill will be outrageous. They forecast this year will be la niña winter again for us. 

[Silas_Sancona]

Something to keep an eye on for mid / late month.. Scorch Fest 2.0 may be in the cards up there:

[Chester B]

I already see it showing up in the forecast. Crazy stuff, I love it as long as the fires stay away. 

[Silas_Sancona]

2 minutes ago, Chester B said:

I already see it showing up in the forecast. Crazy stuff, I love it as long as the fires stay away. 

That's the catch 22.. Heat may be great for growth, but could also make the fire situation worse..  At least this time around, for now anyway,  you guys should cool down reasonably at night.. 66-70s-ish after a day when it hits 100/ 105 is a lot better than the upper 80s / low 90s we see ( was only 91 in Phoenix this morning.. )

We might actually be cooler than parts of your neck of the woods -for a day or two- over the next 10 days. 

[Chester B]

I think we broke our all time hottest temperature for a nighttime low this summer - Around 75F so we do get a break generally at night. 

[Paradise Found]

Some one say heat wave! lower 100F a few day and then back to 80's and low 90's. And then a cool down to low 80's.  No running the oven this time. lol. 

[Chester B]

It's official this is the hottest summer on record for Portland.

Portland’s 5 hottest summers -  All recent (in order too): 2021, 2015, 2018, 2017, 2009

Portland has only seen 3.80″ rain since March 1st. That’s 5.5 months!

[Paradise Found]

We can relate, I haven't had any rain in two months so far not any in the next 10 days neither.  It been a nice change of pace with all the heat! But we do get to cool down some in between heat waves. 

[Chester B]

I think we only hit 100F today as we have some smoke making things hazy. I’ve been out all afternoon soaking it in. For once my neighborhood is quiet - like a ghost town. I’m loving it. 
 

One more day around 100f and then we’ll be settling into the 90s and high 80s for the remainder of the month. Great summer. 

[Chester B]

We had probably a total of 10-20 minutes of drizzle yesterday morning and topped out in the mid seventies.  I had to break out a sweater!

Things have cooled off somewhat but back to the 90s in a few days,  my big Butia is currently working on frond 8 and 9 for the year.  That’s got to be a record and the smaller eriospatha is pumping out 5 and 6. 

 

Edited August 19, 2021 by Chester B

[Silas_Sancona]

15 hours ago, Chester B said:

We had probably a total of 10-20 minutes of drizzle yesterday morning and topped out in the mid seventies.  I had to break out a sweater!

Things have cooled off somewhat but back to the 90s in a few days,  my big Butia is currently working on frond 8 and 9 for the year.  That’s got to be a record and the smaller eriospatha is pumping out 5 and 6. 

 

Same system that is giving you guys a break from the heat swept through yesterday dropping lows into the 70's overnight.. and for the next few nights.. ( highs warm up, but nothing crazy by Monday.. ) 

Was in far southern AZ yesterday morning and almost needed a thicker shirt when i reached the foothills / wide valley further south out there. Was in the low 60s and breezy. 

[Hutch]

The same here Chester looks like about 7 or 8 Butia..fronds ...and on #6 for Mule...and looks like about 10 or 11 new CDIP...fronds....great grow year so far...we do need some rain down here pretty bad though!

[Paradise Found]

You guys are lucky to get any rain, its now been over 68 day since last time it rained here.  Nothing new in the near future. 10 day forecast dry. Back into the 80's next week. 

[Chester B]

I have noticed this week the weather has shifted quite a bit and looks to continue.  No more 90s, lots of low to mid 80's and the presence of more cloud especially in the morning is becoming more frequent.  At this point in time no rain forecasted for my area.  Night time temperatures have definitely dropped too.

Apparently back on Aug 6 (I was out of town) a 51-day streak of no measurable rain at the Portland International Airport was broken with a tally of 0.05 inches.  If I remember correctly in the last 6 months we've had 3.8" of rain.  There are a lot of dead trees around, but it's not quite as bad as I would have expected.

Edited August 20, 2021 by Chester B

[Silas_Sancona]

On 8/19/2021 at 6:04 PM, Paradise Found said:

You guys are lucky to get any rain, its now been over 68 day since last time it rained here.  Nothing new in the near future. 10 day forecast dry. Back into the 80's next week. 

You might want rain, but with our wet summer has come clouds of Mosquitoes.. Never seen them this bad in the 5 years i've been here.. Not even in 2018, the last  time we had a " decent " Monsoon season ...and there is no standing water anywhere on our property.  About to start naming them after certain public figures in a couple states to my east. I mean, they're just as annoying, lol.

Odd thing is, while down south on Wednesday where it has been really  wet, no issues w/ them at all.. Figured i'd be eaten alive, esp earlier on in the day.

[sipalms]

8 hours ago, Silas_Sancona said:

You might want rain, but with our wet summer has come clouds of Mosquitoes.. Never seen them this bad in the 5 years i've been here.. Not even in 2018, the last  time we had a " decent " Monsoon season ...and there is no standing water anywhere on our property.  About to start naming them after certain public figures in a couple states to my east. I mean, they're just as annoying, lol.

Odd thing is, while down south on Wednesday where it has been really  wet, no issues w/ them at all.. Figured i'd be eaten alive, esp earlier on in the day.

Bill de Blasio?

Cuomo?

Or the Texas Dem Deserters...? 

LOL talk about mosquitos (this is coming from a Kiwi) 

[Silas_Sancona]

2 hours ago, sipalms said:

Bill de Blasio?

Cuomo?

Or the Texas Dem Deserters...? 

LOL talk about mosquitos (this is coming from a Kiwi) 

Nah, sports figures..  Good job falling for that one though

[Chester B]

So I prepped my fence this week to give it a nice coat of stain this morning. We’ve had a weak cold front come through and have been getting the morning marine layer of clouds the last few days. This is the first bit of cooler weather we’ve had since I don’t know when, it’s perfect so that I don’t cook while I’m doing it. To my surprise I woke up to everything wet and we recorded 0.1” of rain!  Totally shocked!  So I guess I’m not staining today.     I’m sure the plants are loving it. 

[nick206]

Had about 30 minutes of heavy drizzle last night around 8, enough to get the pavement semi wet but not saturated. Interesting how fast everything broke down, the forecast was completely different for this weekend earlier in the week. 

[Paradise Found]

Same here, a little rain last night. The cats came in all wet. lol.  I'm layed up with back problems so not much to do since I am in bed most of the time. Getting better everyday though. 

[Chester B]

Some more drizzle and light rain off and on Sunday until 2 pm. Fence staining was put on hold again.  Plus a very cold morning we dropped into the upper 40s. 
 

Rest they back up @Paradise Found

[Paradise Found]

they said on the news today that olympia is still in dry drought mode. The little bit we got wasn't enough to measure so the dry spell continues for me. Is been over 70 days since I've had any rain. Normally this would be great, but with my back still hurting its bad news for me.  Today I was able to get the sprinklers turned on and that will water the beds but not the pots. Next year the pots will get sprinklers on them too with a kit. No rain in the next two weeks. 

surprising the plants are still looking good. 

Edited August 28, 2021 by Paradise Found

[Chester B]

I’m have found my plants are doing pretty well too. Most are established for at least 3 years so that seems to be helping. 
 

As far as my lawn it’s been deader than dead for months. I’ve put more water on it than my plants and it’s still 75% dead. What a waste. Next year I’ve gotten the go ahead to remove more. I plan on taking at least 50% of my front grass out.  In its place more river rock and drought tolerant plants. I can’t in good conscience keep catering to grass and neighbors ideas of what “looks good”. 

[Silas_Sancona]

1 hour ago, Chester B said:

I’m have found my plants are doing pretty well too. Most are established for at least 3 years so that seems to be helping. 
 

As far as my lawn it’s been deader than dead for months. I’ve put more water on it than my plants and it’s still 75% dead. What a waste. Next year I’ve gotten the go ahead to remove more. I plan on taking at least 50% of my front grass out.  In its place more river rock and drought tolerant plants. I can’t in good conscience keep catering to grass and neighbors ideas of what “looks good”. 

Wonder how some of the low growing, mow-able drought tolerant native c4 grasses would do up there, ...Stuff like Blue or Hairy Grama ( Easiest to find. Several other low growing sp. also ), Curly Mesquite / Tobosa, or Buffalo Grass ( Particularly what used to be known as the " U.C. Verde " variety developed / being promoted in California...  All are native to areas here that see 8b winters but survive on little rainfall.  

Only drawback is these would go dormant in the winter ( all c4 grasses are warm season growers. ).  If you mowed during the summer, after getting established, it would be 2-3x's  thru the entire season.. Could let it grow until dormant in the fall for a Meadow look as well.  None of these are invasive /aggressive like Bermuda, which isn't as tough as some say it is ..Unless you're trying to get rid of it ..after it goes rogue. ( )

[Chester B]

@Silas_Sancona I’ve often wondered if there would be a better grass for us. It’s so tough with having half the year wet with persistent cloud cover and then the other bit mostly sun and little precipitation. I bought this grass seed up here that was labeled as Pacific Northwest blend and I can attest it’s the worst. Any sign of sun and drought it literally disappears leaving bare patches where I had added it. Once the rain returns so does it and you wouldn’t even know it was ever bare. 
 

Removing your lawn up here is not all that uncommon. Every house on the other side of the street have none but their lots are steeply sloped. My goal is to go grass less but still have some open areas for our Halloween display. 

[Silas_Sancona]

33 minutes ago, Chester B said:

@Silas_Sancona I’ve often wondered if there would be a better grass for us. It’s so tough with having half the year wet with persistent cloud cover and then the other bit mostly sun and little precipitation. I bought this grass seed up here that was labeled as Pacific Northwest blend and I can attest it’s the worst. Any sign of sun and drought it literally disappears leaving bare patches where I had added it. Once the rain returns so does it and you wouldn’t even know it was ever bare. 
 

Removing your lawn up here is not all that uncommon. Every house on the other side of the street have none but their lots are steeply sloped. My goal is to go grass less but still have some open areas for our Halloween display. 

Sounds like they're using all cool season grasses ( Blue Grass, Rye, Fescue ) in their blends.  Sell the same stuff here in the Fall for over seeding Bermuda in the winter. Always dead by late Feb. / Mar. unless it stays wet / cool, but that only extends those grasses by a couple more weeks..   Can regularly soak the " tamer "  Bermuda that grows in the back yard here but it won't start growing until it rains in mid/ late July, except right next to the edge of the Cement slab by the patio.. Is essentially dead / dormant April/ July, or if we get no rain, like last summer / 2019.



 

[amh]

2 hours ago, Chester B said:

@Silas_Sancona I’ve often wondered if there would be a better grass for us. It’s so tough with having half the year wet with persistent cloud cover and then the other bit mostly sun and little precipitation. I bought this grass seed up here that was labeled as Pacific Northwest blend and I can attest it’s the worst. Any sign of sun and drought it literally disappears leaving bare patches where I had added it. Once the rain returns so does it and you wouldn’t even know it was ever bare. 
 

Removing your lawn up here is not all that uncommon. Every house on the other side of the street have none but their lots are steeply sloped. My goal is to go grass less but still have some open areas for our Halloween display. 

Bouteloua dactyloides (buffalo grass) is definitely what you want to try, it is able to withstand flood and drought and grows from the Gulf of Mexico to Canada. I don't know how it would respond to your specific soil, but it has deep roots and is good for stabilizing slopes.  

I'll put the emphasis on try, because you might be too wet, but every environment is different.

Edited August 29, 2021 by amh