Temporary Cold Covers

[lucky1]

Frost tonight and more cold on the way

The pool guy says he takes old solar pool blankets to the dump, apparently can't be recycled!
Not as good as bubble wrap, but close.

Steel fence posts went up fast.
Solar blanket and duct tape work great.

Will add the C-9s and thermocube and more insulation later.
When it warms up.

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/southslope/8095715864/" title="003 by edible_plum, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8185/8095 ... c6c9_c.jpg" width="600" height="800" alt="003"></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/southslope/8095714342/" title="005 by edible_plum, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8193/8095 ... 82e1_c.jpg" width="600" height="800" alt="005"></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/southslope/8095707435/" title="008 by edible_plum, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8335/8095 ... 6557_c.jpg" width="600" height="800" alt="008"></a>

Hey...maybe this is how to get BLUE PALMS

Here's our weather crash...
http://www.theweathernetwork.com/fourteenday/cabc0312

Barb

[igor.glukhovtsev]

Barb, we are going to get our first snow and a hard frost thereafter tomorrow or a day after tomorrow. I'm gonna get a hard time tomorrow bringing the stuff in.

[andym]

Looks good but where are the native Indians
We had a ground frost a few days ago and an actual frost in parts of the south coast of England..... the last place you would expect a frost

[lucky1]

Igor and Andy,

Way too early for winter...we've been cheated again.

[hardyjim]

Are they just saying upper 20s?


Should not bother the Washys

Keep in mind-this comes from a guy
who burnt all the leaves off his

[lucky1]

Yeah, Jim, -2C is 28.4F.

Had to get started though 'coz I don't want to be out there when temps crash one day soon.

You must be thinking about your winter protection too...

Barb

[Okanagan desert-palms]

Looks great Barb. Monday here looks to be a bit chilly -2c. Going to bring in the bananas and tender tropicals. I hate this time of the year. Ever thought of using house fiberglass insulation to wrap the Washy`s trunk. I used it last year and it worked like a charm for my W. filifera and a couple of smaller planted Trachy`s.



John

[canadianplant]

After repeated frosts here, I still have some plants outside, including my CHinese fan palm, areca palm and CIDP. Guess what one is doing the best?

CIDP, -8C at the airport, unknown in the yard, heavy frost, undamaged?!?!

[lucky1]

using house fiberglass insulation to wrap the Washy`s trunk. I used it last year and it worked like a charm for my W. filifera and a couple of smaller planted Trachy`s.

John, so where was the heat? were they then enclosed in your plastic pyramid?
Or a pipewrap inside your insulation?

I used house insulation last year (photo won't load ), but around the entire enclosure.
The C-9s were inside that enclosure on a thermocube.

The long range f'cast has been moderated a bit...trust that site to scare the s*** out of us and then revise it.


Jesse, I'm not surprised your CIDP did the best of those.
Remember the pics of that European CIDP? totally unscathed.

Barb

[hardyjim]

Barb

I do think about covering the palms occasionally and then I stop

[TimMAz6]

pool covers will do nicely! Great to recycle them.

We got fried last week......got down to 27F.

Basjoo fried:
<img src=http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c309/ ... 5D19C7.jpg>

Cassia fried:
<img src=http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c309/ ... D73052.jpg>

Fig fried:
<img src=http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c309/ ... BF8842.jpg>

One surprise is that the Tetrapanex held up better than other plants. Some leaves fried but not all. The leaves are now wilted but still green.
<img src=http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c309/ ... 2D1A4E.jpg>

Here's a photo of the Tetrapanex the day before the freeze.
<img src=http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c309/ ... B596DB.jpg>

Ginger #1 fried:
<img src=http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c309/ ... F58F40.jpg>

Ginger #2 fried:
<img src=http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c309/ ... 0EC8E0.jpg>

Ginger #3 fried:
<img src=http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c309/ ... 871EF5.jpg>

Crape Myrtle 'Sarah's Favorite' leaves fried:
<img src=http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c309/ ... B5D8C9.jpg>

New growth on the Illiciums got fried:
<img src=http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c309/ ... 7A48E4.jpg>

Even the leaves on the Desert Willow got fried.......I would have thought they could take light freezes??

[lucky1]

Ooooh, Tim, that's awful from only a light freeze.

Were you planning on digging up the gingers, etc. before the frost hit?

Barb

[hasty22]

Looks good Barb, I have to look at protection this weekend. I thought I seen superstore having a bunch of small pool cover bubble wrap on clearance. What else did the pool boy have to say? lol

[DesertZone]

We got fried last week......got down to 27F.

Even the leaves on the Desert Willow got fried.......I would have thought they could take light freezes??

Mine look ok so far and we have been below freezing for a week or better at night (warmer now) I think we got down to at least 25F or colder.

[lucky1]

I have to look at protection this weekend

Keith, just phone any pool company and ask if you can have an old solar pool blanket.
Companies have to pay to dump them.

we have been below freezing for a week or better at night (warmer now) I think we got down to at least 25F or colder

Glad it's warmed up Aaron...there's a big system out in the Pacific.

I bought yet another NEW remote thermometer...and couldn't get one @#$%^ of the 4 screws out of the housing to insert the batteries.
Yup, made in China!

Barb

[DesertZone]

Glad it's warmed up Aaron...there's a big system out in the Pacific.

Barb

I hope it don't bring the "S" word with it!

[lucky1]

big system out in the Pacific

the bugger must've been in third gear, because it arrived.

Oh yeah, Aaron, hail this afternoon, cold winds.

1-800-Pan Am? I want to go south already.
Permanently.

Barb

[Okanagan desert-palms]

Barb with the fiberglass insulation I took about half of the 6" thickness and wound that on the trunk first then wrapped the C 9 lights and then finished with another wrap over the lights. I also wrapped the fronds with the fiberglass when it got cold in Jan.


John

[lucky1]

fiberglass insulation I took about half of the 6" thickness and wound that on the trunk first then wrapped the C 9 lights and then finished with another wrap over the lights.

Good idea, John.
I may try that this time versus wrapping the entire teepee in house insulation and then another layer of plastic.

How do you keep the ground warm though?
Last year I laid the C-9s on the ground in a circle around the base of the palm.

My theory was cold soil should also be warmed.

Barb

[Okanagan desert-palms]

Barb I put 8" of mulch on the ground around the filifera. I like your idea of having the lights on the ground. It could be serious fire hazard with dry leaf mulch though.


John

[TimMAz6]

Hi Barb,

I'll leave the gingers in the ground and place some mulch over them..........they are along a basement wall........I hope they will return like last winter.

Hi Aaron,

I assume our excess moisture causes premature damage to the desert willow leaves?? I hope they can survive the winter here.

[lucky1]

8" of mulch on the ground around the filifera

John, that doesn't work for me, because the bed has a gravel mulch...it'd be a pain to try to remove bark mulch off rocks for the summer.
I'm also concerned about fire from C-9's laying on dry leaves/bark mulch.
So I'll just keep warming the rocks.

leave the gingers in the ground and place some mulch over them

Tim, let's hope you have a mild winter; they're nice plants.

Barb

[marceli]

Barb, we are going to get our first snow and a hard frost thereafter tomorrow or a day after tomorrow. I'm gonna get a hard time tomorrow bringing the stuff in.

Guys, you're not alone. The forecasting first snow in Poland on Thursday. Unfortunately not at my place, but today will be the last warm day of fall

[hardyjim]

Ouch Barb...23F this morning there?

We may be there by the weekend...in the mean time,
summer like temps with lows in the 60s and highs 80+

-also,we have now had about 5.5" of rain this month!

[DesertZone]

Hi Aaron,

I assume our excess moisture causes premature damage to the desert willow leaves?? I hope they can survive the winter here.

I think it should winter ok for you. I had one in the past and did ok until it got like -12F and lots of snow. I do know they much better the bigger they get. I'm going to cover mine this first winter.

[canadianplant]

Tim - What type of gingers are those?

Barb - I like to let my hardy tropicals get hit with as much frost as I can possibly let them get hit by, without death or massive damage. In my mind im acclimating them to winter.

[hardyjim]

Barb


I just saw the post about putting mulch down.

You can always put a tarp over the rocks and then add
mulch-keeping moisture and freezing temps away
from the roots as much as possible is critical....what
I mean by that is(if not mulched) that they will die.

[lucky1]

Good idea about mulch placed on a tarp Jim.

This is their second winter in the ground.
Apart from some fungus on the fronds last spring, they made it fine.

Still gotta add more insulation...when it stops snowing,

Barb

[canadianplant]

Better then Cal;gary barb!

[Okanagan desert-palms]

We still haven`t got our first frost here yet. Bananas still in the ground and green. Now I`ve jinxed it. Damn fricken cold is going to be back soon .


John

[MCKATELYN]

That picture just made me a little sad too. We have 70s and 80s and my basjoo is still green as summer but the cold is going to come tomorrow. I hope there won't be a frost yet in Chicago I got to start thinking about winter protection soon now.

[canadianplant]

Heh, even for the awesome long year:


Fri sat sun M Tu Wed
High 5 °C 4 °C 4 °C 2 °C 1 °C 5 °C
Feels Like -2 -3 -3 -2 -7 -3
Low -1 °C -3 °C -3 °C -4 °C -3 °C -2 °C

[sidpook]

Ugh that snow in Canada! You can keep it!
@ Tim, Do those gingers stay in the ground all year???

[Cameron_z6a_N.S.]

So far this fall the low has reached about -2.5 C. There was some frost on windshields a couple of times, but my figs and other plants haven't fried yet. However, it's supposed to reach around -4 C tomorrow night, so things may change! I have all of my small tropicals (Plumerias, etc) still outside under a tarp

[lucky1]

A sunny day, and protection "doors" (OK, just plastic sheets ) are open.


<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/southslope/8186067185/" title="002 by edible_plum, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8070/8186 ... 137a_c.jpg" width="600" height="800" alt="002"></a>

Thermostat is inside (away from the sun) near the spear.
Kinda warm in there That's 91 F

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/southslope/8186068415/" title="003 by edible_plum, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8487/8186 ... 6a94_c.jpg" width="600" height="800" alt="003"></a>

Barb