Uncovered Everything Today

lucky1 · Post by **lucky1** » Tue Feb 17, 2015 8:19 am

Thank goodness you used CFLs, which produce almost zero heat.
Otherwise would've been some leaf burn from fronds touching the bulbs at the top.

Wouldn't work here, need incandescents for heat, activated via thermocube.

Reminder to self: use OUTDOOR incandescent strings, so bulbs don't fail.

Barb

Brooklands · Post by **Brooklands** » Tue Feb 17, 2015 10:32 pm

Interestingly, CFL's actually produce quite a bit of heat. I switched to them after reading Arctictropical's posts from Z4 Utah on another forum a few years ago. He kept a med fan palm going for 20 years with 2 CFL's in a 4 ft box of 2" pink styrofoam in temps down to -25F. Also a 14' high Trachy for 10 years with 3 CFL's in Z4 winters. Power cord issues did his palms in, not the CFL's.

No failed thermocubes, really long life bulbs, some artificial daylight on the palms, and some convective air circulation since they are constantly on. I still have loads of C9 strings, but I am becoming a CFL believer.

Can't beat C9's for a little heat to the small boxes for the really tender ferns, agaves, and stuff, but CFL's for the Trachy's, Washies, Chamies, and similar could be interesting to Z4 temps in the future when they eventually ban the old school Christmas Lights.

Of course it will be a real shame to see the last of the colourful winter glow of the C9 strings in the various palm boxes around this site. Love the winter shots with Christmas lights.
........Phil

lucky1 · Post by **lucky1** » Wed Feb 18, 2015 8:07 am

Interesting comments, Phil.
Certainly food for thought.

Could there be different "generations" of CFLs.
After my family room CFL's have been on for, say, 5 hours in the evening, their surface isn't warm to the touch.
Wouldn't hurt a fly landing on them.
But I suppose in an enclosure (versus a 13 x 17 foot room) some heat would accumulate.

Benny and Mike in Montreal use CFLs inside some of their protection.
And some had no heat tape, which puzzled me.

I'm encouraged to learn a med fan lasted 20 yrs and a Trachy got to 14 feet.

Thanks for this.

Barb

PS--In case my CIDP isn't dead after all, are you interested in selling one or two C9 strings?
Haven't been able to buy them here for several years.

Okanagan desert-palms · Post by **Okanagan desert-palms** » Wed Feb 18, 2015 3:59 pm

Hi Barb. Don`t give up on that date palm just yet. Mine looked similar to yours when I uncovered it last year.
www.flickr.com/photos/67364497@N07/16554503815/
www.flickr.com/photos/67364497@N07/16552824831/
Give it some tlc for the next couple of months in the crown. You can put it in a smaller pot than what was in before you planted it. Warm winter weather here is in it`s favor right now.

John

lucky1 · Post by **lucky1** » Wed Feb 18, 2015 4:55 pm

That's encouraging John, thanks, will do.

put it in a smaller pot

I'll only dig it up if it's a goner; otherwise it's staying put.

Barb

Brooklands · Post by **Brooklands** » Wed Feb 18, 2015 5:13 pm

The 23 watt CFL's (100 watt equivalent) get fairly warm, but not too hot to touch. The cooler bulb temp means that they are less likely to overheat the box as has happened to many who put too many C9's in their protection, or have thermocubes fail in the "on" mode. The foam boards are expensive, but at least they last forever.

Canadian Tire still carries the C9 strings and bulbs. In fact, they put up a bigger display of old style bulbs this year, and when I asked the manager why, he noted that they are becoming popular in North Vancouver for those who want a different look to the now typical entire streets of LED displays....weird.

Arctictropical's story down in Utah was pretty interesting. He had an 8' tall Styrofoam box with 3 CFL's at the top sitting on top of a 4' - 6' high pile of railway ties (wife wouldn't let him build a bigger box, so he cheated with the wood ties). I have no idea how the minor heat of the 3 bulbs could provide any heat at all down to the ground in those crazy cold temps, but it did, and his palms looked flawless every year. He switched in 2013 to a wrap and heat tape method and the old Trachy cooked to death that winter. Then in 2014 lost a 20 year old Chammie when someone left the power cord unplugged....sad.

Brooklands · Post by **Brooklands** » Wed Feb 18, 2015 5:19 pm

Good luck with nursing your Phoenix back to health. Hope it's a good spring for you so that it sees some early warmth to grow out the damage.

hardyjim · Post by **hardyjim** » Thu Feb 19, 2015 6:30 am

You can try trunk cutting that palm when it warms up,you never know-just ask Barrie

yaaay,we just hit 0(F) as write this...winters over!

lucky1 · Post by **lucky1** » Thu Feb 19, 2015 7:24 am

Phil, Interesting details, thanks.
The Utah guy's info is sad indeed.
Never thought to look for C9s at Cdn Tire; thought gov't "outlawed" sales ages ago.

Jim, you're the trunk cutting guru.
The only time I tried it was on the Nainital years ago.
Bombed.

Cherry trees are in full bloom in Vancouver BC; incredible cold trough in the East.

Barb

905palms · Post by **905palms** » Sun Feb 22, 2015 4:36 pm

lucky1 wrote:
Cherry trees are in full bloom in Vancouver BC; incredible cold trough in the East.

Barb

I'm tired of hearing in the news: " Record breaking temps! Never seen in 100 yrs!" Seems like we've heard this now in the last 2 years and to think last summer on ONE day, was above 30C, when we normally have scorched grass and wicked heat.. What's going on with the Jet Stream!??

Side note however... Palms are still looking ok...

bananieru · Post by **bananieru** » Wed Feb 25, 2015 7:28 am

hold on 905palms, spring is almost here, I can already see deer in my backyard:

lucky1 · Post by **lucky1** » Wed Feb 25, 2015 3:46 pm

that deer pic is sooooo funny.

Okay...the CIDP is stone dead so I pulled the cover off entirely.

<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/southslope/16647424382" title="004 by edible_plum, on Flickr"><img src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8591/166 ... 352d25.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="004"></a>

<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/southslope/16028539043" title="005 by edible_plum, on Flickr"><img src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8617/160 ... fc7efa.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="005"></a>

Crap happens!

I'll cut off the fronds and see if something happens in summer.

Doggone it!

sashaeffer · Post by **sashaeffer** » Wed Feb 25, 2015 4:14 pm

Ya never know.....crown/roots might still be alive.

Had a Mexican Fan palm that was in 5 gallon bucket sunk into ground that got hammered by 9F temps and looked just like that. Left for dead until weather warmed up and low and behold a new spear pushed up. That palm is now 2 ft tall in new pot and over wintering in garage with 15+ plus other palms and doing nicely.

chadec · Post by **chadec** » Wed Feb 25, 2015 4:51 pm

I would definitely open up the crown this spring when it pulls and treat it. Give it time and cross your fingers.

lucky1 · Post by **lucky1** » Wed Feb 25, 2015 5:31 pm

Thanks guys.
I think we're often too hasty pulling stuff out that might come back.
Probably because we don't like the look of "99% dead"

Barb

hasty22 · Post by **hasty22** » Wed Feb 25, 2015 10:21 pm

Wow Barb you really uncovered your plants early this year. I was going to be tempted at first of March but I see -9C in forecast for next week. My sons new pup uncovered a couple of plants for me. lol. Will wait another week or two .

Paul Ont · Post by **Paul Ont** » Thu Feb 26, 2015 7:18 am

Barb- Too bad about the CIDP! At least you were bold enough to try one, and who knows, maybe part of it is alive? And now, apparently you have spring... Great, send it our way!

Hopefully we're almost done with the brutal cold here... Colder minimums and more sustained cold than last year, and last year was cold relative to the last 10 years!

lucky1 · Post by **lucky1** » Thu Feb 26, 2015 8:13 am

Hey Keith, hi!
Yeah, it was early to uncover stuff, but sometimes it's a toss-up getting rid of the plastic covers and all that unwanted humidity.
Our south facing place was pretty warm, nice to have Tshirt weather in the afternoons.
Saw that -9C forecast but nothing's getting covered again here.
How'd the plants look that the pup uncovered?
And I bet your GH plants look fabulous.

Paul, the jet stream seems stuck. Alaska is setting warmth records day after day.
We're drier than a popcorn fart (as the saying goes), no rain to speak of.
I can almost hear the rubbing of bureaucrats' hands as they plan the next round of water rate increases for the "dwindling resource". ARGH!

On Friday's Bill Maher TV show, with guest The Science Guy (Nye), it was mentioned that eastern snow could be shipped out west, even in a pipeline (intended for oil), and Nye said if anyone could come up with a desalination plant that uses less energy, that'd certainly be an answer to rising sea levels that will eventually force evacuation of Florida and Louisiana...and the water could be used to irrigate California, despite it being 3,000 miles from where the snow is. Sounds like science fiction, but gotta admit it provided a glimmer of hope where otherwise there had been none in the sea level rise scenario.

I'm rambling...that's what happens when palms are outside in BC in February

Let's hope the eastern cold finally ends early March.
I simply cannot imagine the hardships for everyone, but it sure provided some great YouTube clips of tossing the cat out in an 8 foot snowdrift at the door so he can do his business.

Hang in there, easterners.
We in the Okanagan won't be able to afford water on our toothbrushes this year.

Barb

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