Brian,

That Acacia coming along nicely. They're fairly quick growers too. I tried an A. dealbata several years ago and it froze during winter and died in the Spring. It was black like it had been burnt by fire. I also lost an A. baileyana that year as well. Temps that year dipped to 13F one night, enough to do them in.
I've since planted A. melanoxylon and it's pulled through without any trouble. Temps haven't been that nasty either. I have an A. rubida, A. sylvestris and A. dealbata var. subalpinia (the last two...thanks to Ian) will be planted next Spring. You gotta like the early blooms on the Acacia.

Cheers, Barrie.

Hi, Barrie. I am just courious, what year did it get down to 13F? That seems too cold if it is after 1990. My temps here have never even gone below 20.5F since I have lived here (1994), and my elderly neighbors on either side of me tell me the coldest they have seen since the moved here during, and shortly after WWII, that even though the official record is 7F well away from the water in Bremerton, in 1990, here on the water both claim 11F as the coldest they have seen. Just two degrees colder than the temperature you experienced. Was this 1989, or 1990? If this is recent, than I suspect that maybe your temp may not have been so cold. From looking at your collection of wonderful semi-hardy plants, I would think you live in an area which rarely sees these kind of lows. I sure don't want to give you the impression that you are incorrect, it just seems like a pretty cold temp. By the way, I really enjoy looking at the pictures you post on the web. Beautiful variety of plants. Take care.

-Brian

Brian,

Yup ... 13.1 fahrenheit to be exact. That's according to my digital thermometer. It was in early January 2003. I watched periodically thoughout the evening as the mercury dropped steadily. I recall turning in for the night with the temp at about 16F and checked for the recorded low in the morning (13.1F) Those Acacia trees are the only things I lost. All the Eucalyptus never flinched.
Don't forget I'm in the Great White North (Vancouver Island) and it's gotta stay that cold so our igloos won't melt !!!

Cheers, Barrie.

Hey, as far as the climate studies I have done, there is some very, very mild locals on the western side of Vancouver Island. Even similar to the southern Oregon coast. Great White North! Yea right. Anyway, we all have some bad frosts from time to time. I think the lack of cloud cover that makes most of southern Vancouver Island so attractive is the reason for some colder that normal radiation frosts. I think I get 16.5 more inches of rain than Victoria, if memory serves. I would take that good, with a little bit of the cold bad any day. Take care.

-Brian

My A. dealbata var. subalpina has got to be just about as tall as the Bremerton tree, but it is a lot skinnier. It set some seed this year for the first time. It is also putting up root suckers. I didn't really plan on that!

Various places in the Northwest have had severe freezes with temperatures close to all time record lows since 1990. Eastern Washington in Dec 1996. Southwestern BC in Jan 2004. Southwest Oregon in December 1998. All of these freezes were less severe in the Seattle area. That is why I think the climate is not really getting warmer overall in our region, in a way that will enable us to get away with long term survival of more tender plants. The Seattle area is long overdue.

That having been said... I also think the Pacific Northwest's best microclimates for marginally hardy plants, as well as the most idyllic gardening spots, are on the islands in the Strait of Georgia. As you go north from Vancouver, influence from the outflow of the Fraser Canyon diminishes, and the higher Coast Mountains more effectively block cold air from getting west. Tofino and Estavan point are mild, but cooler year-round than the southwest coast of Oregon and too stormy for my taste!

Great pic, Brian! I have always been interested in the microclimates in various parts of the PNW. I found January of 2004 in Portland particularly hard on some of my plants, particularly my phormiums. They have not recovered their former size yet. The cold, dry winds coming out of the Columbia Gorge seem harder on plants than cold temperatures.

That's a nice tree. I've seen pics. of that big one before and it is obviousley thriving by the looks of it. I was in town today where two A.baileyana grow. One is 'Purpurea' and the other is regular form. The purpurea came from me as a seedling nearly 9 years ago. The regular form was planted in 1998 and now it is one beautful specimen. I was there today looking at it. The trees are loaded to the max with buds. They always bloom in late Winter. Both are in sheltered location right near the ocean. I have a few in my own garden, but one in particular planted in 1998 has never been bothered by cold. My baileyana froze a couple of years ago. I lost the first one in 1989, they are quite marginal. I have a couple outdoors that I got from Barrie, hopefully they will do good. I also have a melanoxylon in the garden for a couple of years now. There some quite large established melanoxylon on our island. I was in a garden on Thursday where a big one grows. The coldest Winters usually wack them back. Cheers, Joe

Here is another picture of the parent tree blooming in the winter of 2003. Notice the size of the leaves reletive to bailyania.
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damn thats nice....i have a shoestring, weeping,catclaw,whitethorn, blackthorn,mulga, but dont have that silver wattle(Acacia dealbata) . any seeds to share?