Mid-Feb update

[hardyjim]

Had a chance to open everything up the last few days,including the
T.ferns.
Time to take a look at the state of things all around-

Start with the T.ferns

Most of them have kept pretty much all their leaves-these are hard
to find this far inland at any size,anyway,the good news is they are all
alive and well.

Squarrosa



D.antarctica and C.cooperi behind the D.A.



C.cooperi-these were trimmed down pretty heavily to fit the covers.



Stepping back a little.
They should have a big year!



Waggie and S.Brazoria



Needle palm-to the left are T.princeps/T.tesan seedlings both survived
with no heat,just covered with a thick styrofoam cooler.



S.Louisiana above it is a small Bulgarian Trachy



This Waggie is looking good!



Small T.fortunei -one of the trunk cut ones-it has spear pull but is in good shape
-should recover quickly.



Close up of the Naini Tal



Bulgarian Trachy,solid as a frozen rock-so far(-;



Looking in Cactus cover,the big Yucca is still leaning from nearly being squished by the
partial collapse of the snow covered C-house,A.havardiana also had some damage.





A.parryi



Cactus in their shrunken winter mode.



Back out(west)side

Needle palm



Larger and faster growing Naini Tal is less hardy than the smaller one-
spear-pulled again,should grow out of it quickly.




Another S.Louisiana



B.Eriospatha should take off this year.



Last but not least...the Washys




Bonus Sequoia pic-this one looks quite good considering the winter we had
and that it only had a 4x4' board as a wind block-




Thanks for looking-

[lucky1]

Holy cow, Jim, looks like you haven't had winter at all.
The tree ferns don't show a hint of any struggle.
What a head start they have...you'll need huge containers for them come October

Good job fixing the GH collapse, glad that nothing snapped from the weight of snow.

I think your stuff has never looked better after a winter.
Good the soil's warming with the mulch pulled back.

And only a board for the Sequoia was taking a chance, but great result.

Congrats...
Barb

[DesertZone]

Should be a grand sight to see this summer.

[Paul Ont]

Well done! I would change the line above the washies to "Last AND least the Washies"!!!

I'm very impressed with the tree ferns. Those things are finicky anywhere that doesn't have constant moisture!

[Jubaea]

Everything is looking great there. Thanks for sharing.

[Cameron_z6a_N.S.]

Great pics, Jim!

[JackLord]

They are like those huge biodomes in Silent Running or Battlestar Galactica. I swear, I think I would grab some beers, a bottle of rum, and go spend the day inside there. Might just cure the winter blues.

[TerdalFarm]

Wow!
The tree ferns are simply amazing. I kill 'em just by looking at them too long. Or not looking. Very impressive.
Same with Washies--you make it look easy.
So, technical question: does it get hot inside your palm enclosures? Obviously you found a way to keep them from getting too cold. (and have data, right? ) but clearly you did not cook your palms on sunny days.
--Erik

[hardyjim]

Thanks guys/girls.

Erik the enclosures are toughest to keep reasonable as
the sun angle is higher in Feb,even on a morning after negative
temps have been reached the enclosure in full sun with the X-mas
lights still on can hit the 90s.

92f to be exact


Jack

I used to sit in there and read,I posted a picture once
sitting on a reclining chair during winter-it was in the 60s
inside,windy and in the 20s outside.
To much stuff in there to do it now


Here it is 12-6-08

The big Yucca in the center snapped off and had to start over that spring-
almost happened again this year!

[damir]

great! glad that your plants survived. you gave me an idea to make protection next year for agave and some yuccas i will plant (small seedlings should it be in next winter) in 12th pic. great once again.

[canadianplant]

Wow Jim everything looks great. Even the stuff under the greenhouse.

[lucky1]

THAT was the picture I remember from a few years back...with your feet
Good to look back at old pictures so see how stuff has really filled in.
I bet even you're amazed.

Barb

[Okanagan desert-palms]

Jim great to all your palms, yuccas, cactus, and other plants doing so well through this winter considering . I look forward to seeing how well they do through the coming spring, summer, and fall. Well done!

John

[CTPalm]

Jim,
Very exciting to see all your plants are making it! Will you get real cold again, were you just giving them a treat and then back under cover?
Paul

[Dean W.]

Great pics Jim!

[hardyjim]

Jim,
Very exciting to see all your plants are making it! Will you get real cold again, were you just giving them a treat and then back under cover?
Paul

It will get cold again for sure...how cold I don't know-the T.ferns are the most sensitive,
mostly Squarrosa and Cooperi,so they will be covered under freezing-
really just letting them out to breath and get them used to brighter light.

The Trachys I will cover at about 25f or so-mostly as a precaution and because
there is a lot of moisture in the air right now with all the melting snow,etc.

The Cactus (end of the G-house)cover only goes up if middle to low teems are expected
mostly (again)as a precaution as soil temps are still low37-40(F)and the plants are still
a getting used to being uncovered.

I think the Needles and Sabals will basically remain uncovered unless highs are only in
the 30s for more than a few days.

Thanks guys/gals

[BILL MA]

Wow Jim, things are looking fantastic this year! The ferns look amazing, I'm really surprised they stayed that green with the lights on them all winter, the lower temps really did them wonders. The ferns are going to be crazy nice this summer, I can't wait to see how big they get by October.

The palms look so much happier this year as opposed to last year, you sure deserve it after all of your hard work.

Here's to a fantastic growing year

Rock on buddy!

Bill

[hardyjim]

Thanks Bill

It's nice that the T.ferns will get a leg(frond)up going into spring,
as I mentioned some of the croziers are still right where they left off
last year,a few mild 60-70 degree days and they should burst right out!


As long as I don't forget to cover them back up during the short cold spells!

[TimMAz6]

your plants look Great Jim!! I'm impressed since you had some cold blasts.

[lucky1]

As long as I don't forget to cover them back up during the short cold spells!

You'd better not! (no emoticon of someone holding a big stick).

[hardyjim]

Thanks Tim


Perfect T.fern weather today,
hopefully they won't start growing
to much where the tops won't fit on..................

I don't think I really have to
worry about that just yet-

at least the weather/temps are more up and
down now(like they should be this time of year)
instead of always down

[TimMAz6]

it seems like winter ended today.....we hit 52F in Providence............but March 15 is still a few weeks away. I like to wait until March 15...this is when the 'real' cold seems to end.

[hardyjim]

Yea Tim

Usually after March 10th we don't see anything below 20F.

Looks like a pretty wicked see saw battle the rest of the way
with highs in the 30s one day and then 50s-60s mixing in here
and there,68F here yesterday,all the snow is finally gone!

[canadianplant]

Same thing here Jim.... Back and fourth temps. Half the snow is gone, and the rest wont take much to melt. Its the time of year for bi polar weather. Im not seeing much of the 60s ( high teens) here, but back and fourth between slightly below normal to way above, and everything inbetween ( the artheritis in my knee is killing me )

Grats again on the great success Jim, cant wait to see the growth on those palms!

[hardyjim]

Thanks Jesse

After a long winter it's nice to have them uncovered-
the palms and Cactus have been uncovered(lids off)
for the past 8 days-the ferns will end up at about 5


Nice for them to have some breathing room

[anttisepp]

Lucky Jim, your plants are in perfect condition.
Experience is a great thing.
It's not very much time to wait until the spring will come.

[hardyjim]

Thanks Antti!

Really isn't to much longer is it


I feel blessed being able to have the Palms and Cactus opened up
for over a week now-
I took some temp readings.......
The warmer weather although temporary has allowed the soil to warm up
from 37F to 43F around the palm and T.ferns,the cactus bed was 53F.

Those will level off a little as things cool down but it helps.


I left the T.ferns uncovered the other night and it dropped to 28F
they are still fine but last night we had 1.36" of rain!

Some stuff got watered

The Washys and 2 palms will pull were covered but boy did the others get
a big drink!