Wow, you guys got hit last night, Donna! We only got down to 33 here north of Sac...

Last Jan., when we had at least a week of temps into the low 20s, I had a LOT of damage to my Pelargoniums. But mine are the huge, shrubby, prolific ones with big clusters of pink *gag* blooms...LOL...which have returned with a vengeance - even with no attention from me, such as watering during the hot months. Propagation is from stems (trunks?) snapped off and stuffed into the ground. :D

I hope your geraniums are ok with the only the one night into the 20s! I'll keep my fingers crossed for you.

Brenda

Good luck with your plants, Donna. The surprise freeze last January killed off several of my plants also.
The newspaper in Pasadena on the Internet said it would only get down to 40 degrees last night, adding "present temp 39". The weather forecasts seem all wrong. I'm just two blocks north of Pasadena, and my indoor/outdoor thermometer says a 36 degree low last night.

At 7am here it was 34 and I have frost. I can see it on my steps up my slope, neighbors vehicles etc. TV weatherperson said 36 and coldest night this week.

34 at 6am yesterday here in Fairfield, today's a bit warmer with clouds coming in.

Donna- you can cover a bed by getting some plant or row-cover that comes in a roll. Or you could try putting up a small hoop house over them; they are portable, I am sure you know what I mean. In a pinch, even a sheet will do for a night or two. Good luck with them; I bet they will pull through. Take some cuttings if you are not sure so you can start some more.

Weather reports are extremely wierd. Bakersfield low supposedly 40, but nearby Shafter, 33 and Delano, 32. Go figure. There are no micro climates here. It's one big flat valley.

If it did get down around freezing, I'd like to dispell one myth about Pothos. I haven't brought them in because they are hanging vines and I don't have anywhere to hang them inside. But despite the cold, they seem healthy as ever. I accidentally cut a chunk off while pruning away some browned leaves about 3 weeks ago and replanted that chunk. It too, is doing healthy as ever.

Pothos can without doubt, tolerate temps down into the 30s.

At 10 am it's 43* on my covered patio. Don't know when it started raining, but it's a light misty rain, the good kind that soaks in.

Every fall, I spray Cloud cover on my lemon trees and other frost tender plants. It seems to work especially if I keep the soil moist. I will spray again in January.

Penny

Penny,
I was wondering about Cloud cover. You don't have to reapply after rain? Does it leave a residue?

Bearstate, the microclimate is all the concrete of the city of Bakersfield. It radiates warmth at night gathered from the day. The small towns in rural areas are cold because they dont have that heat sink.

I have some stuff (I can't remember the name) that protects like the Cloud Cover. It does help, if I remember to spray it on in advance. I just have to find it and put it on. I will try to get some of the fabric to cover my plants. I just have too many plants to keep covering and uncovering all the time. That what I get for getting 5 acres. The only damage that I noticed from the one night of below freezing temp was that one orange tree had just a little bit of it's new tender little leaves burnt a bit. everything else was OK.