So, the crazy warm temps made me complacent. I did get my hibiscus and other tender plants in the greenhouse a few weeks ago, but others just need to be covered, so they stayed out where they had been all summer.
Well, I've been sick with a cold for the past few days, so was laying in bed last night at about 6:30 and saw that the temps were supposed to get in the low 30's here last night. And my coontie palms, metallic palm and lady palm were all still out and uncovered.
I thought, "Well, good luck little palms!" I was NOT getting out of my warm bed to protect them. It got down to 35 with calm winds and the dew point at 32, so hopefully there won't be much damage.
Barb
Finally! Winter temps
Same here too .. not a 70 in sight for the next 10 days and even calling for upper 20's by the end of the week. I'm hoping the hydrangeas can cope.
You're both so much milder than my rural Sumter County location. Already had 2 mornings @25f, and at least 5 or 6 in the upper 20's. I'm thrilled we've had no temps below 25f so far. I did the ' wrapping of the date palms' today, but they look great and have handled the cold/frosty nights really well. I noticed a star magnolia with a few blooms beginning to open today, which will be toast come Tuesday morning. Barb, I was amazed that several coonties survived last winter's wrath in my backyard. They were protected from frost, but the fronds were still mostly bleached from temps in the low teens. I dug up 3 hydrangeas today, Mme X, and all were sprouting lots of new growth. I've got a weird sinking/hoping feeling that it wasn't necessary to protect my out of zone palms this year....
Well now they are calling for the 70's on New Years day then a cliff drop down into the 20's at night for 2 days .. jeeze!
Holy Crap, just looked at the extended forecast and it may get down to 21 on Tuesday night. I doubt it will, but even in the 20's at all just ain't what I like! I know it's winter, normal temps, but still!
When I get home from work tomorrow, I REALLY need to get those palms protected!
Barb
I don't mind it getting cold- if it would stay that way. 7am yesterday my thermometer red 35 yet by 1pm temps were almost 70. My poor plants are so confused- plus most of my bulbs have come up. They will be toast if it is as cold as they say next week.
My Leucojums started blooming on December 23rd .. they are about a month early!
X, your hydrangeas should be fine, they grow well in climates much colder than ours.
Just praying the weather liars are wrong again. Been moving small things into the house and will fill up the garden cart with containers tomorrow and move it to the garage. I have a 5 1/2' purple odontonema in full bud just ready to open, this is killing me. It is going to get stakes, a polartec blanket and frost cloth over it all and I hope that is enough.
Been busy picking the citrus this week too.
I just got back from lowes with 25 bags of that lousy topsoil and I'll be dumping some of it on the hedychium and costus tomorrow.
Thanks for the assurance on the hydrangeas .. its going on my 2nd year with them so I really don't know all that much about them.
Well here we go again! It was 75 degrees yesterday .. had the house and greenhouse wide open! It's suppose to do it again this year .. In all the places I have lived, Florida, Indiana, England, Virginia and South Caroline, I don't recall ever seeing weather patterns like this!
The weather has surely been crazy up and down this year...I won't complain since my new job requires me to be outside a good bit...
I am hoping we don't get too many freezes...the hubby by accident when burning leaves last month didn't move the pond pump power cord far enough away and it got burned up..I really don't have the funds to buy a new pump right now and am leary about splicing the cord (it would not be a part that went in the water - but still leary)
I went home to NY for 4 days over New Years and it was 4 degree's the night I flew into the Adirondacks...so I'll be glad to take the 30's here LOL
X just curious- if you think the Lowes evergreen soil is so lousy why are you putting it in your beds? The 3 bags I bought last year to try to keep the squirrels out got dumped in my compost bin. I couldn't stand the smell of it and if you watered it it just floated. I find the Jungle Growth brand a much better product if you have never tried it and not that expensive.
I blend it with other stuff like peat & ProMix .. it's good filler and if it's been sitting around for a while in bags it composts out to something not too bad. The main thing is I don't think they should be calling it topsoil because it's not anywhere close to topsoil.
Why would you by bagged compost/ soil amendment from anywhwere but the Bees Ferry landfill? I get a pick-up truck full for 9-10$ a load (more than a ton), but it can be bought in bags for $2 a bag. Agree, the old management of the compost facility wasn't up to par, but that seems to have been taken care of. I frequently have samples tested by Clemson (once burned, twice shy!), and for the past few years, have all come back well within the norms (pH was the problem, but not anymore). I swear by the stuff!
Stono, can those who don't live in Charleston County buy there? One fo my sons lives in TN and they have a similar facility in his community but they are fussy about who the compost goes to, you have to be local.
It's about 15 - 20 miles from where I live .. I wish my county, dorchester would do that.
Same here, Beaufort County does not compost either. We pay a contractor to haul it to a landfill instead of making money by charging people for bags or truckloads of it.
The Bees Ferry landfill is not far off Hwy. 17 so the next time I am in that area, I plan on stopping to see if they will sell me a few bags.
To all who care...I origanlly thought the Bees Ferry Compost program was an absolute gold mine (because I could buy really neat looking compost for a manageable price, and I'm a compost -freak ). But the results were less than postive. Stopped using it, basis Clemson soil analyisis which had the pH way off the charts (+9.2 on one of the beds!)... that's ridiculous!. I am led to believe that problem has since been corrected, so I am timourasly experimenting with it again...; So far. so good... What a jewel if done right!
Someone just asked me if you have to bring your own bags or containers and I did not know, do you?
you can buy it already bagged or bring your pick-up. They weigh your truck on the way in and then they use a front end loader to put what you want in the truck bed, then they know the weight of the compost and charge accordingly. Getting it loose is the best bargain but if you don't have a truck buying by bag still isn't that expensive.
Thanks, I'l try it next time I head that way. Maybe I can convince my DH that we are overdue for a Costco run or something along those lines. LOL
Thanks cornish...dead on! Now that it's pH problems have been solved, I've taken to using it as mulch on ALL my beds. Which, courtesy of my wife, I now have many. Too many! ( Who knew she'd become a horticultural freak!). Much cheaper than any other form of mulch...just as effective in weed prevention, and way more beneficial to the plants. And I think it looks more "natural" than other ground covers. It looks like soil that is lovingly weeded daily, but one 2"-3" application in the spring after planting reduces the weeding effort during the hot summer months by 90%...which as you know around here, is a VERY good thing! It also makes the weeds that do crop up easier to pull, because most ot them root in the compost/top soil layer, rather than digging down to "real" soil. If you have ever been forced-marched into a similar stuation, you may understand my appreciation for the wonders of Bee's Ferry Compost. Now that it works...