Florida Chill this weekend

[byuind]

Anyone doing any covering this weekend? Or do you feel like temps at 35 should not be too bad? I'm concerned after the last freeze that they might be a little tender.

 

What's the thought process from those of you who have done this a long time? 

[RedRabbit]

I see 37f currently in the forecast so I’m not doing anything for it. I had no damage from 30f last month so this shouldn’t be a big deal.

Edited January 12, 2023 by RedRabbit

[byuind]

3 hours ago, RedRabbit said:

I see 37f currently in the forecast so I’m not doing anything for it. I had no damage from 30f last month so this shouldn’t be a big deal.

i think I generally feel the same way - but just given the beating the guys took a few weeks back I was wondering if they were any more susceptible to negative effects or disease.

 

Does anyone use any anti-wilt spray to protect from windburn?

[Merlyn]

The forecast here is for about 40F on Friday night/Saturday morning.  I probably won't do anything there.  But Saturday night/Sunday morning is supposed to be about 34F with not much wind.  I expect close to freezing with a good chance of frost.  So I'll be covering up a few frost-sensitive ones that I covered for Christmas weekend.  I've got a Corypha Umbraculifera, a whole leaf Elaeis Guineensis, Caryota Gigas/Obtusa, Encephalartos Nat/Woodii, Dypsis Onilahensis x2, and Copernicia Macroglossa hybrid that all took a lot of damage with frost last January.  I'd like to avoid the same damage this winter.  I think the Caryota is a loss though, it was protected by a box and still was 100% burned over Christmas weekend. 

[Palmarum]

No covering, but bringing in a few trays and potted items that are among the most cold sensitive.

Ryan

[Palms and Pines]

Probably won’t  bother. my coconut seedling was burned last month, but I was most concerned about a Normanbya seedling I forgot to cover I wasn’t sure if it was cold hardy at that young of a stage but It was perfectly fine. I don’t have anything super tender so I’m not going to bother personally.

[ruskinPalms]

I have a no protect policy. If stuff dies then so be it. I just want the topical look in a maintainable way ultimately. The only thing that has a few bronzed leaflets from the cold this year so far is a clumping Dypsis (I know, the genus has changed) that is planted in a terrible spot and it struggles in general 

[ruskinPalms]

Quick pics.

[Merlyn]

@ruskinPalmsthat's pretty much my policy too.  In the long term I don't want any palms that require protection just to survive.  The exception I make is for seedlings and really small stuff that might *ordinarily* do okay in my location.  So I did boxes on the two Onilahensis weepy forms just because they are very small and difficult to replace if they die.

[byuind]

21 minutes ago, Merlyn said:

@ruskinPalmsthat's pretty much my policy too.  In the long term I don't want any palms that require protection just to survive.  The exception I make is for seedlings and really small stuff that might *ordinarily* do okay in my location.  So I did boxes on the two Onilahensis weepy forms just because they are very small and difficult to replace if they die.

I assume this methodology comes with experience… when you know longer have the energy to stress about 3 degrees of temperature on a weather app! Lol

[Barry]

I wish I could be that brave, still overly protective. Will be covering stuff on Saturday for 2 nights in the high 30’s. Possible wind chill into high 20’s , we will see. Did pretty good during Christmas cold spell, but did show damage. 
 

[WaianaeCrider]

Down to 59 at 6 am here on O`ahu, west side, elevation 380'.

You folks on the mainland would LAUGH at the long pants, long sleeve tee shirt and flannel shit I wore in the morning.

[96720]

@WaianaeCrideri hear you 41 here this morning long pants long sleeve shirt down parka!!! HATE cold give me some of that 100 degree weather!!

[DCA_Palm_Fan]

This one won’t be too bad here.   45-47 or so here in st Pete.   I will have to bring in the Cyrtostachys Renda but that’s about it.  Hope it’s short lived.   

[Brian M]

37 and 36 forecasted...it was a bit colder than forecasted last time so I expect it to be close to freezing. With that said, I'm also adopting the let it ride mentality. Everything that is tender is already brown. 

[Merlyn]

13 hours ago, byuind said:

I assume this methodology comes with experience… when you know longer have the energy to stress about 3 degrees of temperature on a weather app! Lol

Yep.  Initially I had an AcuRite weather station that uploaded temperatures.  I discovered that my house is typically 2-4F colder than the "official" Sanford airport forecast.  2 years ago I got an Ambient Weather WS5000 5 zone datalogger, and discovered that my backyard is actually 2-4F colder, but my front yard is pretty similar to the airport. 

Knowing the actual temperatures helped me to "not panic" about the average cold front.  I have a couple of years of history, so I have a good idea of what plants (out of the ~1000 individual plantings) that might get damaged in the cold.  I did panic last January, because it suddenly changed to a 28F forecast.  I knew that meant ~25F in my backyard, so I rushed out into the garage and put together cardboard boxes to cover some key plants from the cold and frost.  The box is worth 3-5F because the ground is still warm and radiates to the inside of the box, and the top prevents frost.  I only protected small plants.  Big ones like a 20' tall fishtail and Pembana, and a couple of clumps of Lutescens just fend for themselves.  If it's a big plant and can't tolerate yearly 28F lows, I don't want it in my yard.  As someone said a few weeks back, I have a "yard full of natural selection."   

[PalmatierMeg]

Low tonight predicted to be 47F. High tomorrow to be 59F. We just had some rain blow through in advance of the front. Currently 69.9F and dropping from earlier high of 70F. Sunday morning low predicted to be 40F, rising to a high of 60F. Then a low in the upper 40s Monday before a warmup to more normal temps of mid-50s/mid-70s.

I don’t plan to protect anything planted outdoors. I will put much of my lanai container garden into mini greenhouses and close them up. I will bring in only the Areca catechu dwarf x Areca macrocalyx hybrids, maybe half a dozen palms.

This will be a much shorter lived cold front than the one from last Christmas and that may limit some cold damage.

[byuind]

i have a couple P Elegans that did very well through the last freeze and aren't really brown at all... i might just throw a sheet over them, even though they are getting big!

 

But if someone here can tell me that 37 with nor frost wont hurt them ill leave them be and sweat less

[kinzyjr]

5 hours ago, byuind said:

But if someone here can tell me that 37 with nor frost wont hurt them ill leave them be and sweat less

I'd go ahead with the cover.  It looks like a higher chance of frost this time and the forecast is trending down for tomorrow night. 

The Ptychosperma elegans downtown didn't take any damage a few weeks ago, so perhaps overly cautious on my part.

[Brian M]

Bottomed out at 37.6. Supposed to only get to 51 today then drop down to 35. Gonna be a freezing Jags game tonight, but I've got all the clothes I own and plenty of liquid courage!

[Merlyn]

Minimum 36.1 here with no frost...but lots and lots of dew.  I'm thinking frost for tonight, even though the forecast is only for 34.  Since my boxes are all still taped up from the Christmas freeze I'm going to put them back out.  What I really need to do is go take photos of the whole yard.  That way I know what damage was caused in December vs in January...

[PalmatierMeg]

Low Sat: 46.4F. Next two nights down to 40F.

[miamicuse]

Is it a good idea or bad idea to water the plants already in the ground during the day ahead of the night time chill down to the 40s?  It is expected to dip to close to 40 or even below tonight but I am in a bit of an open area with wind chills that may drop it even further.  I am also concerned about my crotons that were already stressed Christmas weekend.  All my ginger alpinia heliconia already turned brown so there's no helping them.  Smaller palms in pots I am taking them all into the garage.

[Merlyn]

@miamicusethat's a good question.  Orange growers have sprayed their trees with overhead watering systems to reduce the formation of frost and *possibly* reduce the transpiration rate/dessication rate of leaves.  From a physics standpoint this makes sense.  I don't think that watering the roots of plants would have any effect on frost formation.  Some people have theorized that fertilizers with lots of potassium will help water retention of the plants...thus reducing the rate of leaf dessication and "cold burn."  I don't know that there's any conclusive studies on this.  But studies go back to at least the 1930s on it: https://www.jstor.org/stable/40007879

As a coworker of mine is fond of saying, "maybe yes...maybe no!" 

[miamicuse]

I got an iguana fall down from my ficus.  I think he is the one whose been eating my lillies in the pond.

[miamicuse]

I got a bunch of the smaller potted plants inside...the big pots and the ones in the ground, crossing my fingers.

[Looking Glass]

3 hours ago, miamicuse said:

I got an iguana fall down from my ficus.  I think he is the one whose been eating my lillies in the pond.

Easiest way to thin the hoard a little.  They cause so much damage and have essentially so natural controls on population here.  Just collect them before it warms up.  

Are you nearer the coast, or out west?   I’m about 2 miles off the ocean, and didn’t get any croton damage this year, though a few bromeliads did fry a bit.  

It’s about 45F out tonight.  What are your babies?  I’ve got little Dictyosperma, Copernicia, C. Saintelucei and Basilonga, Acanthophoenix rubra, and lafazamanga and others, in pots, but just left them out.  

[Merlyn]

My preparations were not in vain!  The official forecast and temperature was 34, but my backyard bottomed out at 30.0F for about 3.5 hours with medium-heavy frost.  It wasn't quite as heavy as last January's frost, but still pretty snow-like. 

I slightly over-contrasted the photo so you can see areas of light/medium/heavy frost.  It's interesting how variable it is across the yard.  Unfortunately my box on the Natalensis x Woodii in the center...fell over from the evening wind.  I should have checked before going to bed.  So I guess this will be a good test on hardiness.  Last year it lost all the leaves at about 25F.  BUT...there was no visible frost on the leaves, and no visible frost in the plants or rock in that central agave bed.  It's a combination of red lava rock and salt-and-pepper granite.  Right next to it there's heavy frost, both on the mulch and on the plants.  Maybe the rock carried more heat for the brief freeze, and prevented frost formation?  Or maybe the mulch was still wet from Friday's rain, thus the frost formation?  I'm not sure.

[byuind]

On 1/13/2023 at 8:31 PM, kinzyjr said:

I'd go ahead with the cover.  It looks like a higher chance of frost this time and the forecast is trending down for tomorrow night. 

The Ptychosperma elegans downtown didn't take any damage a few weeks ago, so perhaps overly cautious on my part.

I kept one covered that was at the north side of the house. It’s gets about 4 hours of sun this time of year - the others get plenty on the south side. 
 

uncovered him for today though- the Alexandrea didn’t seem to brown any more in it’s green areas that were protected from last hard freeze so I assume he will be ok

[miamicuse]

On 1/15/2023 at 3:44 AM, Looking Glass said:

Easiest way to thin the hoard a little.  They cause so much damage and have essentially so natural controls on population here.  Just collect them before it warms up.  

Are you nearer the coast, or out west?   I’m about 2 miles off the ocean, and didn’t get any croton damage this year, though a few bromeliads did fry a bit.  

It’s about 45F out tonight.  What are your babies?  I’ve got little Dictyosperma, Copernicia, C. Saintelucei and Basilonga, Acanthophoenix rubra, and lafazamanga and others, in pots, but just left them out.  

I am in east Fort Lauderdale a couple of miles from the coast, by the New River.  I had some croton leaf drops, my ficus dropped A LOT OF leaves.

The baby palms are some kind of Licuala, I have no idea what kind other than I know they are solitary.  I guess I will find out one day.

[Merlyn]

I should have re-covered the plants on Sunday night.  It got down to 32 here.  I was up around 7AM and there was no significant frost, but I did notice a tiny big on the neighbor's roof.  Right about 7:30....WHOOMP....frost everywhere.  It literally went from no frost to complete coverage in 10 minutes.  Oh well.  My "yard full of natural selection" will probably have a little bit more thinning of the herd by mid-spring...