Not bad jim! Lots of areas in the mid west have already seen frost and freezes and at 37 frost is very scattered at the worst in most cases.
Lowest temp here so far has been 40F. Forecasted to get to 40F again tonight. Hopefully we wont get any lower than that, but the water is still pretty warm so Im sure we will be fine. 2 more weeks until november and some of my plants are looking and even growing there best now. The majority of my plants are declining, or at least on stand still for the most part. Only plants inside are my new dioon edule, my desert rose, and my dying betel nut palm.
Good luck! Hopefully we all stay frost free for a while!
-Alex

Maybe it's a pattern, but I noticed last October was relatively chilly then November turned much milder again. Not too bad here--minimum will be tonight getting down to around 39/40 F. but I do see 70's again in the forecast. I moved the citrus into their winter shelter (one less thing to worry about). Still have out--large queen palms, cycads, Washingtonias (a half dozen big ones), non-hardy species of Trachycarpus, tropical yuccas, Chinese fans, Everglades palm, Meds, Silver Saw palmetto, Sabals, Phoenix, Chinese bananas, Oleanders, Gardenias, and tropical birds of paradise. The next move of the cold tolerant but non-hardy plants is the last one for me and I try to put it off for as long as possible (December usually). Have a great weekend all!

It reached 29 degrees here this morning. Coldest its been since last April. It didn't seem to have much impact on the banana or the most sensitive plants probably since they are closer to the house where its a few degrees warmer than the location of my thermometer. Only around 50 tonight, and three days of 70+ ahead.

It was 50 over night here about 61 right now. It was 40 yesterday night I think thats the coldest so far. Everything is still green in the yard no death or yellowing yet, bananas and trachys still putting out growth.

Mike

just noticed my Tropicana Canna is ready to bloom(-:
everything is still growing strong here although the palms slowed down a little because it hadn't rained in a month.

Really a perfect set up to harden them off for winter-stressing them in drought mode.

Put the rain cover up over the cactus as we finally got some rain,I am sure all the plants are very happy.

55f here last night after a high in the mid 70s yesterday and humidity as low as 12%
(down as low as 7% on Thurs),a little surprised the moisture overcame the dry atmosphere but it finally rained(-:

Last week we had perfect temps.in the 50's at night and low 80's during the day.The first of this week was chilly at night with lows in the low 40's and highs in the mid to low 70's.Starting Tuesday temps are going back up to 80's for highs and low 60's to high 50's for lows.The lowest we have been is 40 so far.

Looks like the cold will make it here,although briefly,it may be in the upper 20s
here Friday morning before possibly warming back to the 70s by the weekend-what a gorgeous fall!

Hey Jim,

How are you going to winter over your Thai Giant?

Sounds like you are having a beautiful fall...but sounds like the cold will really hit there soon..Brrrr....I'm not ready for the winter.

The leaves here in VB have not been like the other beautiful fall colors like in the past years. The dry conditions have caused them to just turn brown and fall off of the trees. Kind of dissapointing for viewing the leaf change here in VB.

I have started the annual ritual of preparing my tropicals for winter storage, seems like it was only a few weeks ago that we all were getting ready for the summer...where does the time go?

Take care Jim, and good luck with getting everything ready for the winter!!!

Laura in VB

Hey Laura

I will dig it up sometime this week,the plan is to keep it in the basement where it is cool(approx 38-60f)over winter.

I will also have a grow light next to 2 small basement windows,basically just try to keep it alive in any state I can.

It will be fun if it makes it cause it will be crazy huge but even if it doesn't they grow so fast that I'll still have a cool plant in a few months!

We've finally broke the 40degF mark last Thursday with a low of 39degF. We still have yet to get a frost in Metro Detroit; with the exception of the higher elevations (over 1000ft in the NW Lakes District).

Flowers are still looking great, banana tree is growing a new leaf and the deciduous are finally starting to show some color.

We are an anomoly in the Midwest due to our location and the Great Lakes effects...

We're not complaining though!

Hi Jim,

How was that record wind storm? The Thai giant leaves must have caught those high winds. We had a tornado here in Brooklyn last month and my palms survived best but broad leaf plants were damaged and torn.

The unaccuweather.com cannot predict 15 days out and when they are right it more an accident. Just my observation.

Accuweather.com doesnt even get the general pattern right 15 days in the future. They definitely are not accurate!! But one thing I do like is how they explain the weather and have lots of really nice maps, unlike weather.com which has general precipitation maps and surface palms and such.
Greg, do you still have all your plants outside. I still have all of mine outside, but it looks like (as of right now) Monday is going to get into the upper 30s in the morning which might mean the first frost (and a very early one if the forecast is right). Im watching the forecast, but if it doesnt change by Friday for the better, Im going to be spending a lot of time bringing the plants inside this weekend! The weather was so nice and warm the past few days and even the bananas are growing again! Thats going to change really quickly though!

Jim, did you get your first frost yet?

Good luck everyone!!
-Alex

Looks like Friday morning will be around 26(F),I will dig up the Thai giant tomorrow-I cut all the leaves off today.
They weren't as bad as I thought but what's the point?

The Castor beans were decimated by the drying effects of the wind and are now through,they were like trees!

It will be nice to have the plants back inside for winter,I enjoy their company(-:

50 mile per hour wind gust's the last 2 days and I swear it's windier out tonight then it was today.

The only plants I am concerned with are the Tree ferns at this point,they will get a cover and some
x-mas lights(Friday morning) as there is no more frost in the ten day forecast.

Hi Alex,

Yup, my plants are outside and since they are on the warmer side of the house they are survivng well. I'll post some pics - the palms are growing fast and its too bad I have to cover the Jelly soon b/c she is getting bigger fronds!!! I did bring my key-lime inside. They are fussy and wouldn't know it she's dropping her leaves anyway.

The warm air is locked in until this evening at least. They expected today to be 59 until the last minute. Its hitting the mid 70s today. We'll see. We usually never get a frost here because of the buildings kicking out heat island effects. We are forecast for 40-42* on the cold nights last I checked. You can use blankets to protect against frost for plants still outside. Cover your Jelly palms my friend.

PS Accu.. weather does have some good teachings:)