In cold hardy palm terms 14 is zone 8A, and for our region, zone 7A, due to cold duration and cold winds ground-planted palms need to be covered or sheltered some how.

The duration of cold is what will be the real killer with this cold snap. Even in Florida, an area that usually recovers fast from any cold weather, the temperatures have been cold. Yesterday Orlando, FL did not even get to 50F! They saw several hours of temperatures in the 30s and Im sure the tropical plants will not be happy.
It got down to 12F according to the weather station in my yard. It is in a cold spot in my yard, so Im sure that the area where my palms are planted did stay warmer than 12F, but either way, its cold out there. My palms and subtropical plants are all protected and Im hoping for the best. I guess any damage will show by the weekend when this warm-up comes. Some are saying that this is only the start of a lot more cold, but I really hope not!

So far its still a zone 8a winter and if it doesnt get colder than this, then it can still be remembered as a mild winter.

-Alex

Agreed. 12 isn't so bad for January. This would make it the second zone 8a winter for us.

Today was a really nice spring day (Well actually yesterday now that it is Sunday). Got up to 64F at the local weather stations and 63F in my yard. What were the temperatures during this warm-up by you guys? It seems like the majority of the country, east and west coast, got nice weather!

The week started out cold, but it seems like warm weather is really what is stronger so far this winter. I have my doubts that it will be like this all winter long and I am expecting come true winter days soon, but I'm enjoying all the warm days right now. Every day that goes by is a day closer to spring and it looks like my palms will not need any protection at all for the next 10 days and the only time they were protected this winter was Monday-Wednesday of this week because of the cold weather.

I took a few plants outside, gave them some much needed water and pruning and now they are back inside. I also did some cleaning of dead annuals. And I found out that passion vines stay evergreen (12F did not do any damage to the leaves!). I always thought they were dieback vines!

Hope everyone is having some good weather.

-Alex

Indeed. Beautiful here yesterday. Crowds at the beach resembling a Summer afternoon. And, we have not seen a snowflake yet. Dug up some canna bulbs only recently, with others just staying in ground. Arctic blast the other night only just wiped out the 1 or 2 remaining begonias in my annual beds. Bound to change at some point, but I haven't even covered my tiki bar yet, and may not this year. Enjoy. A season so far reminiscent of '07.

Brutal hit of cold in early April after a very
mild March(whole winter for that matter)in 2006-2007.

I am really enjoying having the palms uncovered this much
but do hope we get the cold out of the way in winter....
if there is to be much of any.(-;

Click for weather forecast

I agree, I would rather have the cold in Winter than Spring. Right now most of my plants are inside so other than the palms that I protect and the more tender subtropicals, it doesnt really matter how cold it gets out there. But once Spring comes, the weather affects all my plants and if we are going to get frosts right up to mid April, then thats going to kill about 2 weeks of the growing season (at least one banana leaf!)
Hoping for a mild winter AND spring for all of us! Looks like late winter may get cold so hopefully if that does happen, the cold does not stick around for Spring.

-Alex

Really do need a period of sustained SEASONAL cold to keep things dormant so a sudden bitter cold snap doesn't do a lot of damage. As much as I enjoyed seeing 60s and even a 70 in D ecember, my spring camellias enjoyed it too much. Their beautiful pink blossoms are nice and brown now. Fortunately there are still plenty of buds, but some are opening again with days in 60s and 50s again. I'd honest prefer our average 42F high and 28F average temps for a while.

Looks like we will get knocked back for a few days....
then it looks like it warms right back up,unless you get snowfall.

Really not much snow cover to speak of in the lower 48-
helps the air modify.

Click for weather forecast

Yep, the cold still looks like it isn't staying for long. I might not even cover the palms with this cold spell since night temperatures are forecasted to be well above 20F every night. But the rain on Thursday might invite some bud rot with the cold weather following the rain so I may protect the palms from the precipiation.
I hope the warm weather stays! Every day thats warm is one less day that can be cold this winter and it takes us just a little bit closer to spring!
-Alex

Yep, the cold still looks like it isn't staying for long. I might not even cover the palms with this cold spell since night temperatures are forecasted to be well above 20F every night. But the rain on Thursday might invite some bud rot with the cold weather following the rain so I may protect the palms from the precipiation.
I hope the warm weather stays! Every day thats warm is one less day that can be cold this winter and it takes us just a little bit closer to spring!
-Alex

Yep,Yep

I would definitely keep the spears dry-this time of year a forecast
in the low 20s can easily be mid teens.

Click for weather forecast

Is it just me or does anyone else notice buds on the trees?

I hope it stays mild, I just don't want it to interfere with the warmth of early Spring.

I can live with some winter weather...esp when it warms up for a few days too-
last year we already had 6 weeks of winter weather by now!!!

Today is about the third or fourth day of wintery weather so far this year.(-: