X: glad you plants are toasty and happy. Everything in my "GH" looks fine, too - somehow. Not surprised about your heat coming on at 9 last night. I remember checking the temp when I let the dogs out about 10 last night and it was already in the 20s.
Are you in "town" or further out in the country? We're out off Butternut Rd. and it seems to get colder here than it used to at our "old" house just a couple of miles closer in to town.
I'm so over this cold weather, tho. Hope it at least hits 50 today.
Deb
Cold, Warm, and then Cold again
I live in Greenhurst .. off Miles Jameson. It took me a year to find this house .. when I first moved here I rented and started looking for one to buy .. I looked everywhere .. Newington Plantation, Quail Arbor, Corey Woods etc. .. they all had one thing in common .. no yards. After 6 months of failure I'd end up looking at the backyard before even going into the house. When I saw the backyard of this house .. I said sold before I even looked inside the house.
X
LOL I bought my place without seeing the inside, too.
I wish I had!
Re: the heat pumps. Our unit outside is completely white in the morning... despite having black intake sides. The moisture must build up on it and freeze. And man does it make a lot of noise trying to suck that cold air in. I still have some trouble understanding why the unit has to run in the winter to begin with. I can understand AC bc of freon. But why run in the winter months?
We're semi-lucky we have gas powered heat downstairs (why we have both I have no clue). Only problem is gas costs a HECK of a lot more. Though is sure is warmer out of the vents.
You probably have a double system (additional gas heat) because heat pumps aren't very efficient at pulling heat from cold air; it's a logarithmic thing, so it's hard to maintain a comfortable warmth when temps really plummet (or heat really soars). Be thankful, unless you enjoy constant chill when it gets really cold outside! The loud noise you hear from the heat pump is probably when it's "defrosting itself". Pulling all that (minimal) heat from cold air builds up frost on the coils and at some point, renders them inoperable. So it has to defrost itself, just like your freezer. Mine seem to be running in a constant defrost cycle for the past couple of days! I hate heat pumps, but in our climate, it's the most cost effective system overall. Many times, though, I wish I had a back-up heating system! Heat pumps are great for mediating mid-range temperatures in my experience, but sruggle mightily at the extremes. When you need them most...
New to DG.com and it is so nice to see so many SC here! This freeze is just driving me nuts...my GH heater malfunctioned (ok probably operator error - I worked in the computer world long enough to know that I too can suffer from the dreaded PEPCAC (problem exists between chair and computer) LOL one of my hibiscus is probably asleep now for the winter... I am hoping my other two will keep their leaves and continue on...my angelwing begonia took the biggest hit and I am so mad at myself for not lugging it inside the kitchen...
BTW X I really liked your idea about used two liter bottles! goodness knows I haul enough off to the recycle bin that it will be cool to put them to a different use!
I can't wait for the temps to go back up!
Welcome to DG Rednyr! (My A.W. Begonia was under cover with lights to warm it, and it looks pretty dreadful. Hoping I didn't kill it.)
Deb
Welcome to DG rednyr.
X, I have to say - I also really like the idea of the bottles. I might try that instead of the Christmas lights on some plants outside right next to the house.
Any one have tips on how to keep a cement floor warmer though? I caulked half my garage yesterday (had half a brick missing on the backside where the crawl space is and couldn't see it until I got under the house - no wonder I had a draft). The temp has remained a good 3-5 higher since I plugged that hole. But the chilly concrete worries me.
Bring on those warmer temps this weekend.
keonikale, I have a dumb idea...lol. I guess you could always put the pots on top of empty pots or crates or something to keep them off the concrete? The floor would be cooler still though. I've put insulating plastic around the edge of the door in my gh to try and keep some of the cooler air out, it seems to have helped a lot ....don't think you'd want to put plastic on the floor though.
I did insulate part of the ceiling in my GH that doesn't get a lot of direct sun, it was way warmer yesterday..haven't been out this morning yet, if it's cold the heater is already as high as it can get..lol
keonikale wrote;"(it's amazing how much colder it gets in our area - must be a lake microclimate)."
Keonikale, are you on a big lake? My Aunt and Uncle are just about to move into their new (to them) home on Lake Murray, and for some reason I thought it would actually be a bit warmer *G*. Guess I'm thinking ocean.....!
X,
Those milk jugs painted black sound like a great idea to me. Thanks, I'll try it. Anything solar and free is a good thing.
Got down to 28 here last night and 18 night before last. Filling in the gaps around the base of the GH helped, hasn't gotten below 32 either night in there.
I'm off to take the motorcycle riding class at the local community college. Luckliy, most of the morning, we'll be in the classroom. brrrrr!
Barb
Tropicanna, I'll do that... raise them up. I did it for the plumeria (bc I've lost several before from cold roots). I have a lot of old pots I can use for the smaller stuff. Problem will be with the larger 16" pots (which I seem to have more and more of lately). But I'll find something. Good idea.
catmad, it's really strange. I lived in Irmo my whole life and it seemingly had weird lake effects too. Over there it was rain, and it always seemed to stop at a place called Moccasins Branch (showing my true southerness, LOL). I never understood it, but it would seriously rain up to a mile from the house and then just cut off at times. Generally I've noticed they stay warmer over there (north east of the lake) than we do here (south of the lake). In fact, this area seems to be remarkably colder than any other local area. I usually compare Lexington to Irmo, bc Columbia is always warmer than both. But the temp changes pretty dramatically just between our house and Highway 1 on I-20 (which is only about 3-4 miles).
Not sure you have as big a problem with the concrete floor as it would seem, keonikale. That slab is in direct contact with the soil underneath it, and that soil rarely freezes in this part of the world. So your concrete slab is actually functioning as a "heat sink" that will DELIVER ground heat to the building when outside air temps get lower than ground temps (mama Nature always seeks an equilibrium). In fact, it's seeking equilibrium even as we speak. Since your garage floor doesn't get the benefit of warming sunlight, it will cool faster than the ground around it in sunlight does, if ambient air temperature is cooler. But the warmer ground temps caused by the sunlight outside will be transferred to the soil under your slab through the ground. So if your garage is relatively airtight, you should be ok. If your garage were insulated, it would never get below freezing, barring some bizarre weather change like the wizzards were predicting for us back in the '70's, but never happened... If it's not insulated, but relatively air tight, you should still be ok. If you have a soil temp thermometer, check the soil temp around the building. That will tell you how much danger you're in...
This message was edited Jan 5, 2008 9:50 PM
Thanks Stono. I noticed even this early afternoon it felt somewhat cold to the touch (probably no worse than 50 but still). But I just went back out and noticed that it does feel warmer now (since I guess the heat from the day warmed the ground a bit today).
I usually only worry about several days in a row (like last week) where the temps outside stay in the 40's or so. The ground just never gets a chance to warm up, thus my concrete stays nice and chilly.
On another note, I was driving around today and this cold weather really did some damage to plants around here. Bamboo, sago palms, etc all look really rough. And they usually are fine around here.
Keonikale wrote;" Generally I've noticed they stay warmer over there (north east of the lake) than we do here (south of the lake)."
Well, that makes me curiouser and curiouser :). The aunt and uncle are moving to Gilbert, technically, but the house is on the lake. Their son (and grandkids, the reason they're moving to the area) is in Irmo. My Mom and brother were here for Thanksgiving, and we went on a clandestine scouting trip, since they were all in NY. Saw both houses, and wondered where my aunt and uncle were going to eat! They are both in their late 80's, most often eating either Deli or in a restaurant, and we didn't see a whole lot around. In fact, we're mystified by the whole move by these very urban people, but, then, there are surely things we don't know about :)
BTW, it's all my fault. I kept on and on about how much I love SC, and they're all coming...:((
Hmmmm, A deli in Gilbert? I don't think so, but they might be able to find some good old mustard based BBQ. Isn't Shealey's out that way?
It is, over towards Batesburg-Leesville.
We live right between Lexington and Gilbert, on the Lexington side of I-20 (just across from Redbank on the other side).
I used to not like Lexington that much, but now that I've lived here a year, I've started to enjoy it. Irmo was appealing because it had a smaller town feel, and my parents house used to be out in the country. But as Irmo expands, a new Wal-mart comes in on Broad River Rd, etc - it's not so "small" anymore.
And when it comes to shopping, Lexington is MUCH better organized than Harbison Blvd near Irmo. At Christmas I avoid Harbison Blvd like the plague bc of how crowded it is. But L-town wasn't that bad, and that was a pleasant surprise considering they have about 90% of the same stores now. All that's missing over here now is a Circuit City. The new Target, Best Buy, and Petsmart were built on the Columbia side of Lexington on 378, which was also nice.
shealys is the BESTTTTTTT i just had to say that! guess what i had the opportunity to do today!
diehrdsouthrnr,
did you go to Shealy's LOL or did you do what I did and work in the greenhouse..
I feel like I really accomplished something today...I took all my seeds I had been drying and enveloped them all, dated them, put the common names on them...now I am busy on here learning all the latin names so I can post my seeds for trade...I am pretty much a dummy when it comes to plant names...I have no clue on alot of genus's names ..and I am on dial up which means it takes forever for the library to load....
so WHAT did you get to do today diehrdsouthrnr???!!
well some friends of ours are moving, so i got to go take the plants that i wanted that they didn't want! i got a lot
that is way too cool...I love it!
Wasn't it a pretty weekend???? It was such a switch from the cold weather! A friend came down to visit and we played at my second obsessive hobby- dogs. In a room of normal people I'm a pretty good dog trainer, but not around this gal. She's on the Purina Incredible Dog Team and she's great fun and it's always amazing to see what she can do with her dogs. Work has been a bit stressful, so it was really fun to just play this weekend!
Jenny
heres my most special thing i dug
the top
Whoa! Diehrd hits the jackpot! (I wish someone I know would move.)
Lol! Oh Deb .. Perhaps we could drive around and look for empty houses for sale then make midnight runs?
X
Great looking Cordyline. The ones I had under a tree took the cold in stride; one in full sun is alive but not happy.
The picture of my Hardy Gloxinia is typical of the cold damage I had. Half a plant is fried and the other half is fine. What's up with that?
Jenny, I didn't know you trained dogs; let me know if you are up to a challenge sometime. LOL
Don't laugh X I've had that idea. A house down the street went up for sale and the people have moved to Texas. The yard has a wide variety of plants. Plant napping has crossed my mind. Their neighbor wants to cut down their pine tree that hangs over in his yard. It's a rough hood for plants and trees in Bluffton. LOL. I guess if we rip the sprinkler system out someone would notice.
yeah thanks... i just came at the right time. i asked them for an id and where they got it and they just said "take it! in fact come back with me tomorrow, and we will dig up all the sentimental plants i want, as well as any that you may like." or something like that. i have three trash cans full of plants sitting in the yard now! y'all know what was weird? our washingtonia took a real hit the night we had the last and worst frost, but the queen palm only has a small patch of brown on the highest leaf.... its weird. i thought washingtonias took cold better than a queen ever would.
This message was edited Jan 7, 2008 10:54 PM
DH is that a Ti plant? I thought those had really looong trap roots; how'd you get that out of the ground? Mine are constantly pushing out of their pots (even those a few feet tall). I can't imagine digging one up.
well, i think it is a cordyline indivisa, but not a c.fruticosa. there was a not so huge taproot on this one as well as the c. australis i dug up there to, but there was a little bit that broke off, but i don't think it was much. the root was more fat and short than long.
Diehrd:
My Queen Palm which is near the house but not under any cover, had one singed branch end, while my Chinese Fan., which is under fairly low trees, lost two of it's biggest fans/leaves.
Filifera's cover blew off, totally unprotected, but no sign of damage.
..and the Med. Fan Palm said to me, "What freeze you talkin' bout?". :)
No logic that I can see.
Deb
Deb, I have a cactus, a night blooming cerius that has withstood 3 winters without protection. This year, I did cover it when we had 4 days of temps in the 20's .. I didn't want to take any chances because it's getting really big and i'd dearly love to see it flower.
X
X; Years ago, in another life, my ex-DH had a nt blmg cerius. I remember the excitement the night it bloomed. We'd be out on the patio in the middle of the night, taking photos. Neighbors probably wondered about us.
My Queen palms also faired wonderfully during the cold. No singed fronds. But my Windmill (which isn't the healthiest), did show damage; not much though, just the tips.
Both Queens are mulched 3' deep with pinestraw. I'm thinking about taking away the mulch around the bigger one. Unless we have 3 weeks of really cold temps. I don't see it getting damaged much.
Barb
Let's hear it for the Queens! Not so wimpy after all. LOL.
X, I hope you'll post a photo or two of your cerius when it blooms.
Deb
I don't know about you guys, but can we like keep this weather? I mean seriously... mid-70's almost in January!! This has been a pretty decent winter so far. But when it does get cold... the bottom drops out.
Fog has been crazy the last two days too. I've never driven in fog like this before... and it just appears out of no where as you're driving. Thick as smoke.
I'm with your. Keonikale. This weather suits me fine.
friday we're getting down to 35 again.... :'-(