Thank (man) for the heat island effect

[hardyjim]

23F at the airport....luckily 28F(I guess thats lucky)in my garden.



I almost didn't turn on the heat for the Nanas and EE's but watching the temps drop like a rock
made it an easy choice.


First off-I think we may be in for a serious drought if things don't change fast.

We may already be in one.

Look at these numbers from Fairfield Iowa yesterday.


High temp 57F(only the second high under 60F since March 10th or so)the humidity dropped as low as 5% and the dewpoint reached -13F!!!!!

Never seen anything like it until recently/humidity wise but that dewpoint!!!!!


Anyway

I think 28F was it at the house but with 23F at the airport,those low temps are lurking a little to close by!



Washy leaf-these may both be Filibusta but I have
always suspected that one is(mostly)Robusta and one(mostly)ilifera.

Is there anything in the pictures to support this?

Maybe...............


palm that I suspect is Robusta-

<a href="http://s297.photobucket.com/albums/mm22 ... -12001.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/mm22 ... -12001.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>


and Filifera

<a href="http://s297.photobucket.com/albums/mm22 ... -12002.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/mm22 ... -12002.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>


Did you notice that the first leaf has more cold
induced discoloration?-this is usually temporary and
I believe this provides a clue in regard to leaf hardiness of the 2...assuming that they are
Robusta/Filifera...in any case the first leaf shows more reaction to the cold.


Butterfly bushes may have been pushed to the max
and are a little wilty.......


<a href="http://s297.photobucket.com/albums/mm22 ... -12008.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/mm22 ... -12008.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>


Even the Sequoia got it's hair messed up and froze before it could stretch back out...JFL.
<a href="http://s297.photobucket.com/albums/mm22 ... -12009.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/mm22 ... -12009.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>


Nainital leaf-not even a hint of reaction to the cold but we know they are tough!


<a href="http://s297.photobucket.com/albums/mm22 ... -12005.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/mm22 ... -12005.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>


Don't know if you'll be able to see it but this T.Martianus leaf is a little discolored as it approaches it's cold tolerance limit.
<a href="http://s297.photobucket.com/albums/mm22 ... -12006.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/mm22 ... -12006.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>


Hope this was enough for the Madagascar "palm".
I just put a Rose cover over it as I was getting lazy...Saba in the background.


<a href="http://s297.photobucket.com/albums/mm22 ... -12003.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/mm22 ... -12003.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>


Saba,Abyssinian and Black Thai bananas,I still had
my lights laying around so,I threw a strand in each one.

<a href="http://s297.photobucket.com/albums/mm22 ... -12004.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/mm22 ... -12004.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>


Castor bean plants(-:....I did not heat them as
I was afraid of roasting them-so I took my chances.
Looks like(because of the warmer soil)it stayed about 41F over night in there.


<a href="http://s297.photobucket.com/albums/mm22 ... -12007.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/mm22 ... -12007.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>


Lasiocarpa leaf-this was frozen solid this morning-I did have a sheet on it overnight.

IME Lasio has some of the toughest leaves of any
Banana in regard to cold-I wonder what it will
look like later when the sun beats on it.


<a href="http://s297.photobucket.com/albums/mm22 ... -12010.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/mm22 ... -12010.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>


Spring sun unthawing the winter like cold.


<a href="http://s297.photobucket.com/albums/mm22 ... -12011.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/mm22 ... -12011.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>



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[lucky1]

Thank goodness you reacted as quickly as you did, Jim.
And that your protection wasn't too far away.

Crazy weather makes me think none of us are safe until May.
If then

I can't ID the Robusta or Filifera...but they do resemble Camo palms
Have never seen those cold spots.
Don't those areas end up as holes, i.e. tissue necrosis?

My two winter protected Washies are getting really brown leaves...I'm just sick about it.
Can't figure out what happened with the C9 lights etc.
Oh well.

Barb

[bgodwin1987]

Nice Plants Jim even with the frost. Here there is patchy frost hopefully it wont do my plants any harm I moved almost all of my tropicals outside and my Basjoo Bananas and my cannas are up. I don't want them to get damaged by the frost, kinda sucks. Pretty much all march was warm now it turned chilly again.

[Jubaea]

It looks like things made it through ok with the cold. As for your washy it does look like robusta. The robusta have the fuzz at the ends of the leaves. If i remember correctly the petiole on robusta tends to be reddish in color unlike what I see there so it may be a hybrid?

[hardyjim]

Thanks


They both have some redish/purplish coloring,whatever they are the contrasts
should be more noticable this year as they grow.


Barb


The issue with Washys( once you get then through the cold)is the roots.

If they are damaged,they can die back to the trunk.

Lots of mulch and very dry soil going into winter....

[lucky1]

Thanks Jim, I was worried about the roots over winter too.
But what do those spotted leaf areas look like later on?
Do they heal? or leave holes?

My Washies were sooooooo beautiful...before I planted them
Was hoping they'd get to the size of yours.
May not happen, but we'll see.

[TimMAz6]

Too bad about the freeze Jim.......you had a nice stretch of mild weater. I hope there is no major damage for you.

[hardyjim]

I don't think a single plant was damaged and the Abyssinian
grew a foot inside the protection because it was 90-100F(day) in there-LOL

Actually the Lasiocarpa just had a sheet on it....the leaf was frozen solid and
is a goner but it is already growing out another


Heres a few pics from 2 years ago-of cold damage-I believe it was 25-27F that night.

Tetrapanex



<a href="http://s297.photobucket.com/albums/mm22 ... -10022.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/mm22 ... -10022.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>


Washys leaves



<a href="http://s297.photobucket.com/albums/mm22 ... -10007.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/mm22 ... -10007.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>



And this is later in the day-same leaf

the point is,they do return to normal with not a clue that there was damage.


<a href="http://s297.photobucket.com/albums/mm22 ... -10012.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/mm22 ... -10012.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

[lucky1]

Thanks for that before and after pic of the Washy leaves Jim.
Amazing it can "regenerate" (or whatever it would be called) moisture in the "spotty" damaged tissue.

Barb

[igor.glukhovtsev]

Barb, I think it's a regeneration of the cells which consist mostly of water....

[lucky1]

Yeah, that's it!
Sounds better when you say it Igor.
Barb