Not sure how relevant this one is. With temperatures still in the teens down in tropical Gloucestershire, all my ghost koi active and feeding, and plants undecided as to what they should do next!! So how is it up north, and further afield, in Iceland? I hear Lapland has no snow?
Winterwatch?
NOAA Snow map for 13 December:
http://www.ssd.noaa.gov/PS/SNOW/ARCHIVE/EuAsia/ims2006347_asiaeurope.gif
The northern half of Scandinavia has snow, so does Iceland. But still clear east to roughly Moscow
Same day last year:
http://www.ssd.noaa.gov/PS/SNOW/ARCH05/EuAsia/ims2005346_asiaeurope.gif
Far more snow in eastern Europe then, and a bit more in southern Scandinavia
Same day in 2004:
http://www.ssd.noaa.gov/PS/SNOW/ARCH04/EuAsia/ims2004348_asiaeurope.gif
Less in Iceland, intermediate between this year and last year in eastern Europe
Resin
Cool maps Resin - yes we do have snow at the moment! It snowed two days ago and it's sticking for now ..... could get rain on Sunday. I'm hoping it'll be a bit colder than forcasted so it'll be snow ...... I'm hoping for a white Chrismas ;-) The temps have been around -2°C to 2°C ..... It's almost -5°C now. No tropics here for sure :-)
Photo taken on Wednesday :-)
Hi rannveig,
Twenty years ago Gloucestershire would probably resemble your lovely seasonal photograph about now. It just seems to get warmer and warmer every winter. How do your temperatures now compare to twenty years ago?
I think the winters were colder 20 years back when I was growing up - I seem to remember more snow. This winter has been pretty cold however compared to the past 2 or 3 ...... last winter never really came until March - very mild and wet. We've had temps down to -10°C several times already and more or less temps around or just below zero since late October ....... This past summer was very cool and wet so we're hoping a decent winter will mean a decent summer next year :-) The weather has been a bit "off" all year - a very mild winter, extremely cold spring, a cool wet summer followed by an unusually mild fall ..... and then the winter so far has been pretty cold ( finally something normal!)
Photo taken today around 4:30 pm. The days are getting real short now - only a week until winter solstice. Sunrise was at 11:11 today and sunset at 3:29.
Just picking up on climatic changes as they relate to the UK from prophetfive. I don't think the changes are so marked in terms of summer heat but in the autumn and winter. This year, particularly, is bizarre but fits the pattern of the recent past. Min temps of 7-8 centigrade in December in southern UK! No wonder plants don't know what to do. I have a Grevillea rosmarinifolia that thinks it's spring and in full flower right now. Late Feb-early March is when I would expect it from previous experience but it's never flowered in the winter before. Photo yesterday.
Interesting point, tristramuk. I haven't tried Grevillea outdoors, in Gloucestershire. How hardy is it?
My main concern is if my dicksonia antarcticas decide to throw loads of new croziers, as these are very tender, when young. They seem dormant, at the moment, but, the new croziers are a lot more developed than is normal for the winter.
You should be OK there but choose the cultivar carefully. Alpina, romarinifolia and sulphurea (juniperina) are hardy enough in southern UK in all except the more extreme conditions. Dodgy in the north, though. Oleoides, ornithopoda, punicea and thelemanniana are more difficult even in sheltered microclimates. I have seen punicea growing well in Cornwall but it failed to survive a reasonably mild winter here in Devon two years ago. Pity really, since it's a lovely plant. For what it's worth, in the UK put them outdoors in springtime in order to have the summer to harden off and be prepared to protect them first winter with fleece. Put them somewhere sheltered from northerly winter blasts - deadly. Not that they've been very evident this year! Well worth growing as a genus but, sadly, under-represented in the UK since they are seen perhaps as too difficult. Not true in the south.
Re Dicksonia antarctica. As long as the croziers remain furled they should be OK in whatever Jan/Feb brings. If they decide to unfurl, you'll have to protect them at less than a few degrees of frost. Hang some fleece around them.
At the top of this thread I saw map references, here is another. www.arborday.org/media/mapchanges.cfm I wonder if there is an European equivalent?
I have seeds on the way, from Brazil, for this plant..Eithea (also known as Griffinopsis)
Hi Dale,
That map is kinda spooky, and shows the creeping change in climate. We have freezing fog at the moment, which has just about wiped out any holiday flights from London Heathrow. Interesting plant you have there. It looks like Erythronium spp. What we Brits. call "Dog Toothed Violet". Christmas Greetings.
Dale - that is a beauty!
We've had horrible weather for the past 4 days - really heavy winds and rain and hail - just plain nasty. Will be the same for at least two more days - looks like we'll be having a really stormy Christmas this year :-(
This is what's been going on here :
http://www.reykjavik.com/News.aspx?aid=2006112210154
Photo taken today at 2 pm, there was a small break in the clouds and sun's rays lighted up the clouds ..... about an hour later the wind got worse again ...... it's blowing now at around 20 m/s (45 mph) gusting to over 30 m/s (70 mph) ....
Hi Rannveig,
That's a stunning pic!
Picea sitchensis, I presume?
Resin
Thanks Resin - awful weather can bring nice photos :-) Yes you're right it's Picea sitchensis ..... it's the hardiest Picea here ...... can take the salty wind, but grows too big for regular sized gardens ;-)
Rannveig,
That is a wonderfully cold scene, wish I could import some of that cold air into our hot summers. I grew up in the US state of Minnesota and I remember many weeks in a row when we were below 0C, but, that hasn't happend in 40 years. Here my peach trees are blooming because our weather has been so warm for the last two weeks. Days up around 27C and nights around 19C, too warm for this time of year. I fear I will not be seeing any fruit this coming April.
Oh well, happy soltice to everyone near and far.....
Beautiful cyclamen Dale. Merry Christmas to all also. Love the pics...takes me there. Thanks.
Laura
Thanks Dale - that is the most gorgeous Cyclamen I think I've ever seen! Wow!!! Love the poinsettias too! I actually lived in Florida for 6 years back in the 80's (Gainesville) while my father was studying at UF. Christmas always felt very strange with those high temps! lol
Seasons greetings everyone. Does your Cyclamen have a name Dale? It has lovely leaves.
Pat, It may have a name, but, I buy my mini cyclamen in cases of 24, mixed colors and they are unlabeled. I sure think it desires a name. I have been losing alot of them this winter--to disease. It has been very warm and damp this Dec. Normally I will lose 10-20%. This year, so far, about 30% and if doesn't cool off soon I will lose alot more. I have been losing alot of my lobelia and alyssum to the same causes. The sun has been down for 2 hrs and it is 24C and wet, not good for the winter flowers.
This message was edited Dec 23, 2006 9:26 AM
Dale those are pretty - we call them "summer flowers" ;-) lol
What sort of a winter is it where I have to stop on a bike ride to wipe a fly out of my eye??
Resin
It could be worse... you could have swallowed the fly!
Winter here is really odd. Even with the heavy frosts we had the other night, i have pockets of tender stuff untouched by the cold! My ricinus are still looking ok in the front garden (ok but they havn't grown much since august) but in the back garden they have been killed by the cold.
I have Cobea still flowering in the front and back. But further down in the bottom garden they have been killed.
Lots of examples... i just don't get it.
Ranveig what winter bedding plants do you guys plant?
Mike
Merry Christmas all!
Mike we don't plant anything for winter - everything is pretty much dead or hibernating until april ;-) Last winter was similiar to what you're having now - really mild (by our standards of course) ......... but it's our nature to fear the worst when the weather is unusually mild and for a good reason. Everything looked unbelievably good in early March - best I've seen ever - then the frosts came ........ then things didn't look so good.
I'm guessing that's something you won't have to worry about :-)
Hope you have a wonderful day today!
rannveig
New Year here has just been cancelled by the council . . . with force 11 storm winds imminent, the risk of fireworks blowing into the crowd was too dangerous
Resin
Resin - sorry that the fireworks were cancelled! It was calm and beautiful here so here's a firework photo to make up for last night!
Happy New Year to all!
Rannveig
Happy be-latet new year :o))
It has been crazy here as well.
In november we had one day with 1, -2C the following was down to 8.
Ever sence it has been warm, 10 to 6C at night!
Magnolia leaves seems as if they are waking up.
This is a photo of cherry trees in a near by park. They have been blooming for 3 weeks, this photo is from today
Another flower, not sure what it is.
Irises in my garding are sprouting.
Heard in the news that winters are coming later and later, so we still might get some harsh cold.
Davs Zest,
Kirsebærtræer er Prunus subhirtella 'Autumnalis Rosea'; anden busk er Viburnum × bodnantense
Resin
Hejsa er du dansk?
heheh now you all wondering about what we are writting :o))
Thanks for the ID`ing Resin
Halv dansk :-)
Skønt :o)))
lol Nice to see you back Monica!! My grammar school danish helped me out ;-) Those are nice looking trees - love that Viburnum :-) Still very much winter here, -8°C today :-S
Thanks Rann ;o)) seems as if I have been gone for ever :o)))
-8C? cold. The only thing that looks like winter is the storms we have had.
But really find this blooming thing very strange.
Wow, what fierce gales. I've just been going round the garden standing up all the things in containers which had blown down and searching for the covers that had flown off all my compost bins. They were weighted down with bricks and allsorts, but have still gone walkabout. I've picked up someone's fence from my drive with lots of nails sticking out of it and the house across the road has lost half the slates on its roof.
It has also blown all the old twiggy bits off the large silver birch next to my garage. None were large enough to go through the garage roof thank goodness, but I've been keeping an eye on it.
How has everyone else fared?
No problems up here, it didn't get this far north. Windy, but nothing spectacular, here. From what I heard on the news, all the damage was in southern Britain (i.e., south of the Tees).
Resin
Pat; it really sounds terrible!! Hope no one got heart!
We have had some storms during the past week, but the is one coming this way tomorrow that should be very very bad. It most be the one you had. Not very happy it is coming this way at all. Have you manage to get as mush in order again?
Davs Zest,
The one in southern Britain yesterday went southeast through Germany to the Czech Republic earlier today, and is now in Russia - it isn't the same one you are expected to get tomorrow.
They are also forecasting another new storm for northern England and Scotland, which is the same one you are expecting a few hours later; it is not going to be as bad as yesterday's:
http://www.findafishingboat.com/image_popup.php?src=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wetterzentrale.de%2Fpics%2Fbrack0.gif%3Frand%3D343074
(the closer the isobar lines, the stronger the winds - they are not quite so close on this storm)
Resin
The news showed the storm getting even stronger as it passed through Germany, so it seems to have missed you Zest in Denmark, but as you say there is another coming a little further North this time, and then snow.
I hope it doesn't cause too much damage. Roofs have blown off schools and lots of people are without electricity. Ours went off for a few minutes today, but not for long. Some people have been killed here with trees crushing their cars and an old man was found crushed under his shed roof. Also many lorries have been blown over. I really hate strong winds - The noise it makes rushing through the trees makes me feel really unsettled.
The wind is getting stronger again now. Perhaps I should have left all the tubs laying down until it has stopped. I'm going to the allotment tomorrow to see if the greenhouse is still standing. Fingers crossed!
Wow Pat - sounds like it was a really bad one! Glad there wasn't too much damage for you - hope the greenhouse will be standing :-) I know what you mean - I hate strong winds too ......
The picture says it all.........
