Little something to get you into the mood!!!
Winters still here, having spring memories! (3)
Beautiful hibiscus Tman. My DH likes the bubble wrap greenhouse, says it looks "space age."
Hope you are staying warm up there!
Cathy
LOL Thanks
Not even 9:30 am yet and already a degree above freezing!!33*
You on your thread already Tman? I can't keep up with anyone around here. It's been freezin around here for the last two days. My small collection of tropicals just got smaller. Lost some to the freeze the night before last. I'm in mourning. Had them in the plastic greenhouse I just bought and didn't heat it or anything. I brought them in last night and cut them down. Ginger and allamanda, do you think that was a good idea? The stems are still green, do you think they will come back up in the spring? Half my ixora is dead too, and all the flowers on the bougies are limp. I wish I had time to care for them better. I want to give up.
Your beautiful hibiscus cheered me up some though. Gorgeous color, tman.
Awww Lana, don't give up Sweetie...part of learning pains! The gingers will come back where you're at unless they froze over too long!
I never cut back all my gingers here, hedys, curcumas and galangal. They are all outside but mulched heavily. Come back every spring, even when there was the late frost last April...and I had already uncovered the protection.
I read that they may come back. . .did I do any damage by cutting them down? They smelled so bad. . .I had to cut them down and discard the leaves. The greenhouse, all zipped up, smelled even worse.
You did right Lana. One year, recuperating from surgery, I couldn't maintain the garden. No added mulch and especially cutting back after blooms were spent. They all return the following year, and I found the dried stalks were so easy to pull!
Wonders of nature...
My how cold did it get there!
I didn't think ever freeze in New Orleans,new it got cold but not below freezing!
Well cut everything back to the green stems,or at least 50%,take the strain off the plant trying to make a comeback,gingers I cut back to the soil line, bougies,if they don't come back to life shortly,I'd prune back to take stress off also,sorry about your loss,next time just put a light bulb out there for a little heat,from a lamp or what ever you have,those incandescent light bulbs do put out some heat!
Thanks Jaye. . .excited now to hear that. Thanks so much for the advice Tropicman! I didn't think it ever freeze here either. Should have taken the weatherman more seriously "Protect pets, plants, and people". I have a ceramic heater too. . .for the next freeze. Gosh, I feel so much better. Thank you.
Did anybody hear how cold it got in Florida?
You're planning to return there Tman? Miami is supposed to be in the 60's.
It's 43* here and supposed to be warmer tomorrow.
Over here in Central Florida,the temps were down to 30-32. With the wind chill, it was 20-25. Cold!!!!! We're not used to such cold temps. It is supposed to warm up by the weekend. Today its 65 degrees here in Palm Bay.
My plumies are all outside. I covered the tips with sleeves from old hospital gowns that I saved when my grandson was born six years ago. He was 3 months early and weighed 1 lb. He was in hospital for 3 months. The gowns come in handy every once in a while, when the temps get low.
It sure saves the tips on the plumeria from freezing.
Tman, here in Venice, which is on the west coast of FL, about an hour south of Tampa, it went down to 32-33. There was ice on the the plastic bins in the back yard. My thermometer near the house said 34, but I guess it did get colder out away from the house. Further south, but inland, they did have below freezing for several hours.
OK, enough winter, let's have some spring! It's projected to be 78 by tomorrow afternoon, Yay!!!
Cathy
hi TM and everyone those of you unused to sudden freezes ...it happened here in the tropical parts of Australia this past winter ...a great deal of damage done because like you no one had ever seen a freeze in those parts.The good news is that most stuff did grow back ...so good luck with everything and batten down the hatches :)
right now we are having a very mild 72F Summer (usually over 100F) and almost monsoon type rain in some parts flooding in many areas as we speak (still drought in some inland areas and the outback) this is the rain coming back this morning ...only about three sunny days in many weeks!
Well on the radio they have just declared some outback towns
disaster areas because of flooding (these places have been under cruel drought for years) this is so typical of outback weather however ...either drought or flood and nothing in between. That is why most Australians live on the coasts.
keep warm everyone
chrissy
Chrissy..."batten down the hatches", been a long time since I heard that expression!
Those outback towns must have some tough "frontier" folks.
Glad to hear the temps are going back up for you all in Florida,here too,mid 50's tomorrow and the next day then back to some cold rain!
Ima digger good thing on those hospital gowns for protecting branches on your plumies,will keep that in mind next time I go garage selling!!!
Chrissy with all those icebergs melting and those monsoon rains,I hope some of those outlaying Islands don't go underwater!!!
It got to 29F here
Just unwrapped everything today...some frizzled brugs, bananas and EE's, but everything else fared better than I thought...
Even have the "pink cloud" blooming away still.
A couple of nights ago it got down to 27 in some parts of Houston. We estimated it to have been around 29-30 here for 4-6 hrs. I have two "make-shift" greenhouses. They are actually a metal frame gazebo that occasionally is turned into a "hut" using palm frawns, but at the moment has the canvas cover, and clear plastic shower curtains overlapped all the way around. We strung heavy duty rope near the top of the frame and used shower curtain hooks so they would slide open and closed. So far everything in there looks OK, snug as a bug in a rug! There is Tropical hibiscus, mandevillas (sp?), housetype plants, jasmine, just a little bit of everything...some corn plants in there. Last year we did not have the hut enclosed, just the canopy over the patio.
Then the second makeshift GH is a canopy that has a metal pole around with a canvas surround that zips, but for added protection we have extra plastic shower curtains to help give some protection, since canvas does "breath". Everything in there looks good also.
I have some ferns and majesty palms out back in the corner by the pond that is also surrounded by banana trees that blocks most of the wind. So far they all look OK. Last year my Majesty Palms really took a beating from the freezes. I had several, and lost about half of them. Two are in the ground and are huge, and the others are smaller in pots, so most are being protected this year!
The brugs all got bit by the frost....except two babies from Jen that are in the garage. I hadn't thought of covering the tips of the plumies, that is an excellent idea! We have loads of mix matched gloves that the cat plays with that would be purrrrfect! LOL! They (The plumies, not the cats) are out under the canopy, so might could use some added warmth in a week or two......actually tomorrow I think it is back in the high 60's or 70's!
This message was edited Jan 4, 2008 7:43 PM
Imadigger, I bet many of us will borrow your idea of tip covering the plumies.
T77, what a great idea for lonlely gloves, or even socks!
Randy, that Pink Cloud is just heavenly.
I'm hoping that the cold winds didn't burn all the flowers and tiny fruit on my mango tree. I happened to look up this afternoon and realized the tree is covered. Fingers are crossed!
It is an interesting plant...first season I've had it..had no idea what the blooms even looked like till it bloomed recently.
Randy, that is beautiful!
SV, socks would also be a great idea....we have lots of those also!
Going to my Mom's so will see y'all later gators! Have fun chattin'!!!!
Wonder how everyone is doing in northern CA. They are getting hit with a blizzard right now.
Yesterday morning we were down to 4 above zero! But going to the high 50's this weekend! May even hit 60!
Rj your picture is beautiful!!!
Randy,those flowers remind me of Ivy geranium flowers!!!
Seems you all favored well against the cold,Is Jan. and Feb.the worst when it comes to cold there south Texas?
Usually, it is the coldest in Jan and Feb, but we have had a freeze in March, and I think one around Easter one year, which was a total surprise! We are actually considered SouthEast Texashere with Corpus Christi being "South".
When we first moved to Texas in the late 70's we hardly ever had a cold cold day. To me it's just been the past few years that it has really been this cold. And of course this year it is just WEIRD.....in the high 60's and 70*'s, and then the cold front comes in......we have a freeze for four to six hours....then back up....Repeat about every ten days. The plants don't know what to do! They put out new leaves and then get zapped! Poor things!
Thanks for all the tips on protecting the plants. May I ask a question, if anyone could answer?
We had some guava seedlings. . .some were in the "greenhouse" and some were in water bottles left under a covered patio. The ones on the patio fared much better than the ones in the greenhouse. My dad blames it on me for completely zipping up the greenhouse. I thought if I left a crack, it would get even colder. But maybe the patio was just warmer because of the heat from the house? Or did the water bottle do the trick? Should I just abandon the greenhouse and move all my plants under the covered patio and perhaps hang curtains around it the next time it gets really cold? Sorry for the questions. . .just trying to figure things out without having to kill my plants in an experiment.
Rj, your pink cloud is beautiful. May I have an id? I tried searching but nothing like that popped up, although I did find beauty bush pink cloud that was beautiful too. Also, how about this one? I found it going through the tropical threads. http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/fp.php?pid=4309199 I think its super gorgeous! Thanks in advance.
Lana
Sure..the pink cloud is Dombeya x seminole - Pink Cloud
the other is Solanum seaforthianum, - Brazillian night shade
And speaking of purple...I just noticed the Iochroma is blooming...it's really tall...past the even of the house..
Lana,no doubt being next to the house was a bit warmer,and beit some air movement.
If you would have left even a light bulb on inside the greenhouse,probably would have helped immensely or even a fan inside there also.
Finally a nice day,sunny and 55*,open the doors to the greenhouses,and what a nice welcome of fresh air and sunshine,shinning thru the door,also a few surprises!
and another one
Feeling Peachy!!!!
Another bird,also beginning to bloom.
Does a red pineapple throw a red pineapple or just a ordinary one?
So nice to see all the blooming flowers! They are gorgeous! Had a very nice day today, and DH even got to go ride the Harley. :) Suppose to be 65º tomorrow, but chance of rain. I got everything moved to the new green house today and able to sit out there and enjoy everything, was so nice! :) Hope everyone gets past their cold weather, and of course the plants, too! Can't wait to see more things in bloom, but wish it is in my green house! LOL Oh wait, I have petunias blooming. :)
The hibiscus are gorgeous. I should go upstairs and see if mine are blooming! And I am trying to figure out what that is..in the blue tub? Bird? Snake? What?????
That would scare me enough I wouldn't stick my hand in his pot! LOL
AAAWWW. Just part of Don's funny bone. He has cute little things all over the place. Most of them are plaxtice. heheheheh
But that one is mighty mean looking! LOL