Jim...I really applaud all of your ways that you grow and care for your plants!!! They look better than alot of plants here in VB...Congratulations!!! and Good Luck this winter!!!

Same goes for you too Don!!! 3 truckloads given away??? That must have been hard to do!!! I'm having second thoughts about giving away one of my Christmas palms (9 footer) because my ceilings are only 8 feet tall... It was a beauty...but my friend has a better place for it to grow...I still feel bad about giving it away though!!! LOL !!! It seems that you work so hard for them to grow...then they're to big to keep!!!

Stay warm everyone!!!

Laura in VB

Hi Laura,
Yes it is hard,but I know there going to a good home to continue growing.
I'm a full house now,don't thin k I could get much more inside,without crowding a bunch up that would make them get a lot less sun light.
I have several plants leaning more than the leaning tower of Pizza,trying to keep them a another year,before I have to give them away as well.
Keep warm
Don

You are not alone Jim! Come up to the Twin Cities and see how it is... TODAY: Snowing with accumulation for the SECOND time this week. We have a couple inches on the ground now, and it continues. Avg high is 62, low 40. It has not been out of the 30s for a few days! We have been down to 28 so far. Lost all the veggies several days ago.

With the forecast in mind several days ago, I broke down and dug up my bananas (basjoos). I was going to winter them in ground this year but they were just too nice. One got to 8 feet, the other about 6, even with this lousy summer we had. I had harvested/potted 5 large pups from them this summer, the largest is over 4 feet tall now. They all have pups now too, some a foot tall. I've got an indoor banana farm going now! 4-season porch is a jungle now. All the potted trees and plants which reside by the pool during the summer are now squeezed into the porch. 4.5' trachy, 3' trachy, 4.5' robusta, 6' xmas, 3' euro fan, 4.5' multi pygmy date, etc, etc. Most will over-winter at a retail store I own. Starting to look like a jungle in there now too!

My 7 foot trachy and 3 1/2 foot needle are my only remaining tropicals outside. I'm actually getting nervous about the trachy in this weather. It is large and mature, but it was planted this April and took most of the summer to get established before it perked up and any spears began to really grow and open. The trunk is 11 inches in diameter. The needle looks good. I was planning on covering them both in early/mid November when we should be getting this weather. This is just crazy! I hear it is supposed to hit the 60s again by the weekend though. Hmmm... what to do.

Its getting alot cooler here too. I might see 39 this week, so all the tender palnts will be inside by then. So far every airplant is off the trees, most of the palms are inside now (still have to bring in my bottle palm and areca, and my cycad will be going in soon too), and my philodendron's leaves are cut off and the plant is inside now and it was given some plant food. My thanksgiving cactus is budding so it should be blooming a little before thanksgiving and will be going inside before a frost hits it.
Good news is my lemon tree is now making more flower buds which probably means additional lemons. Also one of my hibiscus might be making a seed pod, but I not 100% sure since Ive never had a hibsicus make a seed pod before.

Average highs now over here are in the low to mid 60s with nights in the low 50s, but the actual forcast is leaning toward 50 degree days and 40 degree nights. Im getting a feeling its going to be a cold winter over here but it looks alot worse for the midwest. Some places didnt even get a chance to see the fall colors because the snow froze and weighed down alot of the leaves off the trees. Hopefully this doesnt mean a cold winter for alot of the country, but it looks like florida is being cooked right now. The tropical plants there are probably growing as fast as ever.

Happy B-day T7!

B.T.W. Where are you located in zone 7?

Thanks alot!

Im around the NYC/NJ metro area so its an official zone 7a, but most winters are 7b's lately (hopefully this winter is a 7b one too!). It looks like that 39 degree night got bumped up 1 degree to 40 degrees, so Im feeling a little better about leaving a few plants outside another day or 2.
I still have all my cannas and elephant ears outside as well as 3/4 hibsicus (one of them that I took in was infested with aphids so its being treated outside right now) my areca and bismarkia palms, my sago palm, 2/3 crotons, the mother-in-law tongues and a few others.

Good luck with all your plants. Did any of them get "frost bitten yet"?

Yea,The cananas are pretty toasty,Castor's are melted,only on top though,all the big leaves are still in good shape.It's weird,some of the stuff looks o.k.considering,whats interesting is only half the EE's ended up burnt and one of the Basjoos doesn't look to bad.I will try and post some pics tomorrow.The low temps the last 4 nights went- 32F 30F 37F 31F- could have been worse.

here in Virgiia Beach right now the weather is rapidly changing like always this time of year. each day you dont know what to expect, hot some days and cold the other. last friday it was basically 90 and sat 85 sun and mon highs of 70s and lows of 50s. then yesterday approx. 80. then today avg of 55. i think midnight last night is the high for today. the northern cold weather is fighting against the warm south, each day blowing back and forth. I guess this is about it 50s-60s for a while... hopefully a short winter for some good spring tropicals. -Justin in VB

Happy B-day T7. You're consistent, not wanting to give any location specifics - that's OK its a fallen world and we have to be careful. Last nite the temps in Brooklyn hovered in the low 40s before daybreak.

Jim- our temps are below normal in NYC as well - best bet is to prepare for a cold winter. Weather is unpredictable. We should be in the mid sixties on average during the day and we repeadedly dip below that and they are forcasting 2 days in the 40s. Really below normal.

Va Beach - is that you Laura? Your weather is so salvageable. I considered living down there - its a real zone battle there where you can get away with lots of great plants and palms for years and have to buckle up when the real cold comes. I have learned the more established a palm or fig tree becomes the cold hardiness increases dramatically. The first year I placed my fig in it died to the ground on single digit nights. After it was well established - 6 degrees last year did not touch it.

We were actually pretty close to a frost this morning (38 degrees). I thought I was going to lose my bismarkia palm, but thankfully everything is still going strong. All the heat is just south of us (Virginia beach seems to be on both sides of it). So far we havent gotten anything particuarly warm, but after this cold and rainy weekend comming (40s for HIGH temperatures, but the lows wont be colder than that) temps will start to make a rebound next week with some low to mid 60s (about average).

I can tell this is going to be a long winter for me since im already fighting scale, white flies, and aphids and most of these plants have been inside for only a week. If anyone knows something that will get rid of any of these things, I would appreciate it greatly. I usually wash off all the palnts before they go inside, but some of them are so big that getting the soil wet would have made it too heavy for me to carry up the 3 stairs which lead to the door. But so far I have isolated all the infested plants into the garage which is not heated in any way and can get below freezing during a bad winter.
Also, sorry I havent given my exact location, I guess im a little paranoid about giving too much info. on the internet :)

Good luck!

Hey Greg....I'm still here in VB!!! The person that posted above "Tropicpalms" is a friend of mine in VB...We are having a big chill down here...BRRRRR!!! but I think it will warm back up next week...we're having a little cold snap and shaking things up abit!!! My potted palms are still outside...I'll probably bring them inside (two weeks) or so...I have started trimming up my plumerias and have brought in some of the larger ones...just so when the really big chill hits...I won't break my back or neck!!! LOL!!! this year I'm bring them inside in stages...How is it up in NY? I bet the leaves are beautiful up there!!!
Take Care everyone!!!

Stay warm!!!! :)

Laura in VB

NY is fine for now. I usually do not place my potted palms inside my home-made green house until lat Nov. Even if we get a little cold weather (30ish)the palms do fine because the daytime always rebounds usually into the 40s. It interesting that the city never and I mean never gets a frost - too many buildings and subways causing a heat island effect. T7 probably notices during our local weather forecast all surrounding areas often are 3-9 degrees cooler. Although huge open parks in the city will have some frost, but not our court yards. We experience a big temp drop instead when big fronts come thru. Which when it hits in Dec nite temps drop in the 20s and our winter begins then.

Here it is, October 17, and my 4 outdoor palms are still uncovered, enjoying the Fall sunshine here in northern Utah. It has gotten down to 22-23 F. at night, but the palms seem to shrug off the cold weather so far.

Kevin

So far all my current plants outside has seen 38 degrees (no frost) and made it with flying colors. My hibiscus, areca palm, sago palm, all my bulbs, and citruses all made it thorugh well so Im happy about that.

My area is usually about as warm as NYC at night (sometimes warmer especially during the summer and occasionally a little cooler during the witner) but its usually about the same. But once you get far from the coast and the city, it gets really cold. Im pretty sure that areas only 50-75 miles west of the city has already gotten below 32 and even some wintery precipitation.

Its going to warm up nicely this week into the mid 60s on some days so that will dry out what all this rain caused.

Good luck with all your palms and autumn.

Here I had frost on the car early morning this past week.---Very early for this to happen. Had gotten the citrus collection inside a few weeks ago as I was sensing that the temps were going downhill prematurely. Still, have out my Washingtonias, Chinese fans, Abysinian bananas, orleanders, Phoenix, Queen palms, cycads, and air plants. This week is supposed to be mostly in the mid 60's though. There is supposed to be a strong El Nino.--Probably the explanation of a virtual absence of Atlantic hurricanes this year and the present cat 4 off the West coast of Mexico (their season is normally well over by now). Perhaps related to our own messed up weather patterns of late.

Hurricane Rick now a cat 5 and possibly strengthening!--Yes, it's been a weird year.

Hi
While I feel for you . It has at LAST dropped below "unbearable" lol 60 degrees this morning instead of 80. Makes me want to get naked and go roll in the grass!!!
Have been setting record highs for the past week and the drought continues.. This mean an end to the hurricane season. HOORAY HOORAY!!! gary

Hmmmm......El Nino and below normal temps-This will be a wild winter for sure!

Glad some of you are cooling off!

Here's are some pics of the damage caused by a week or so of lows in the 30s 37F 34 33 32 31 30

One of the nights was headed to the low 20s but some clouds moved in and kept it from going under 30,anyway,here's a few pics,the season continues kinda-

Large Castor's -ones on left were sheltered a little by the tree on the left of it.

These Castor's are protected overhead by a large Maple,quite a difference in the damage

The leaves of these EE's were closer to the house and ended up undamaged,the leaves that were out farther fried,interesting the diff a few feet can make!

These Castors' were totally untouched by frost,they are still under the tree,kinda and helped out by the roof of the porch

This banana is in the best shape of the 3 Basjoos left outside for overwintering/The banana on the west side of the house is 80% damaged the one on the south side but farther west is 50% and this is maybe 20-30% probably less- interestingly even though temps were in the 30s and 40s in the last 7-10 days the Basjoos still grew,if only a half inch.I didn't know they still grew below 50,probably the warmer soil temps-

Finally Tetrapanex,unfazed-what a great plant!

Jim, your part of the world is supposed to be warmer than normal this winter due to El Nino.--The South East is supposed to be cooler and wetter than normal. The North East may go either cooler or warmer than normal (no big help there). Still, I am expecting a very stormy winter for much the East coast. Already had two noresters in under a week and October weather is usually sunny, dry, boring and uneventful.

I hear ya nj-
but I won't believe it until I see it!
As of Nov 2007 we have been below normal(highs)every single month with July being the coolest July ever.
I am all for it though! Wolud be nice to get a break from heating my palm/cactus enclosures but every year they get more established I plan on heating less,last year was only below 15F.this year will be more like somewhere between 5-10F,unless the cold hits before they get a chance to harden off/adjust to winter like temps.

Hi
While basking in the cool air noticed that the county set a record low of 54 yesterday while last week set 3 record highs . 94 had held since 1901!!!
Could be a real fun winter !!! lol
Isn't mid October about normal for a frost in Iowa??
gary

"Isn't mid October about normal for a frost in Iowa??"

Absolutely right Gary,whats not normal*is to have 3-4 days where highs don't get out of the low 40s or stay in the 30s all day or,in this case a few days in a row.Some nearby cities had record low high temps a couple of times in a week.
We are also running 13F below avg for high temps for the month,about a month ahead of schedule,we have also not had one day with an above avg high.
The funny* thing is tomorrow is supposed to be 70+ and although it's been unseasonably cold,with multiple frosts,we still have not had a killing frost and one is not forecast through the next ten days.

WE actually had snow in the surrounding areas (nornmally colder)of NYC Fri-Sat eves... up to a few inches, Its very unusual but rebounding fast. NYC went to 39-40 for a hour or two.

Jim-those castors look neat. You are good with pics. Also those cement blocks and porch stop the frost. A few feet makes a big difference. Homes with a warm side are a whole zone higher and add some protection and get another half zone.

Im pretty sure I saw some frost in my area this morning, but no plants have any damage at all.
But sunny skies are ahead and days in the 60s for at least a week. Thats our usual fall weather and defiantely more enjoyable than the 2 noreasters we got this past weekend.

Good luck everyone!

Saw more light frost this morning. But conditions improving big time after a lousy weekend of cold, rain, and wind. Today, there wasn't a cloud in the sky. Can't believe how far south this cold and premature frostiness has penetrated! My bananas got hit by last night's frost.--Usually, I don't have to lift them until mid to late November. Other than them, the other (sub)tropicals look okay (California fans, dates, queens, even the Abyssinian bananas). We may have another big nor'easter this coming weekend. Hang on!

Hi
Isn't it funny about gardeners ?? No matter where you live there is still an urge to push the limits.lol
On the florida forum someone asked about how to prepare for cold. Was rather surprised at the number of people who said get rid of the ones injured by cold particularly when there are so many plants that require cool rest periods.
If we didn't have the cold couldn't grow tomatoes at all. Oh well to each his own I guess. Good luck with the coming winter I have all my water heaters installed ,"Warm room" is already infra red tested for the birds I"M READY!!! gary

Greg,I saw that snow,I think we are going to have a wild winter-BIG TIME!
One article I read said we are in a 11 year low sunspot cycle=colder weather some areas will see warmer in responce to the colder weather in other places,also it said global warming/El Nino would not offset this.
If you combine El Nino and an active northern jet stream....yikes!
I just hope it isn't cloudy all the time but it probably will be!

I actually took the Castor's out yesterday(at least the bigger ones,the C's under the tree are still looking pretty good)they were shading my Agave,Butia and Washy,they now get 3 more hrs of sunlight.

Njoasis,we had our first above avg day(this month) yesterday 69F.

I was looking at our highs for Oct the past 2 years, 81F and 85F! We have not even hit 70 this month and July was the coolest ever only 80F avg high for the month,we didn't even hit 90F once.Nice summer though(-:

Gary-nor'easter for Florida this year?(-; Southeaster?

Hi
Gave up a long time ago trying to predict winter lol
Have not had a hard freeze since 82 but did have a wet cold front that produced flurries within 10 miles of me.
Last snow was in 77 pushed all the way to the keys .
Looking at records the earliest frost was Oct latest in March. Normal is frost every 5th year. I'll bet you money this winter will be either higher or lower than "normal"lol Hurricane season was slightly below "normal" Whatever the heck that is?? lol. Bermuda High remained strong all summer so steering was away from N. America. Gray precicted that!!! but he over estimated the numbers but was accurate on intensity. from what I gather this is being caused by the melting polar cap.
Note that Bermuda has now been hit twice as well as Ireland. Oh well whatever comes we'll deal with it?? lol gary

Yea,I think the Bermuda high was suppressed to the south a little in response to the polar low that kept the mid-west WAY cooler than avg.Very strange that out normally southerly winds were missing a lot of the summer.
The latest info I have seen on the polar caps shows they have not been on the decline that last few(maybe 2)years or so,this maybe in response to much lower solar activity then is usually seen,even in a low cycle like we have seen.
From what I read yesterday about solar cycles there is evidence the sun is becoming active again,so maybe we will see a return to a little closer to avg weather beginning next summer or the one after,(depending on how fast we pull out of this low cycle)we'll just have to wait and see.
If this is true I will miss the cooler summers but the colder winter weather can go bye,bye as far as I'm concerned,although we have had cooler springs without the usual frost killing off the flowers as soon as they get going.If it ain't one thing,it's another.(-;
I do believe we are in for a wild winter and I do get a kick out of these folks that say it's going to be a cold winter,isn't it always cold in winter?,now if someone said it was going to be a warm winter and it was(or a cold summer)that would be a noteworthy prediction!

Hi
I hear ya!! I like the ones who measure the fuzz on caterpillars .lol Last winter was severe in 7/8/9 florida but above in 10 and 11.
For my own prognostications I use the weather in Iowa.
In 3 days it will reach florida the colder the more severe it will be here.
Have never gardened anywhere but zone 10 but guess what ?? It's not perfect for sure .
Have been doing some reading on the Ice ages particularly the "Mini" ones and they don't think global warming is moderating these much larger cycles at all.
They're predicting just the opposite of the "warming"
camp.
Being 6 feet above sea level I'm leaning toward ice age as the least of the two evils??
Oh well they all make interesting reading for sure!!!
gary

I ended up in a panic Monday night. We don't normally get our first frost here until well into November, and then suddenly - WHAM - 31 degrees. Ice on my windshield. I have a PVC-framed temporary greenhouse that I had been working on that got rammed from the planning to emergency construction phase to save what I had.

I *appear* to have gotten away with it.... although I wonder if my neighbors thought me digging up papayas to move them into pots at 2 AM was me disposing of a body.

Va canuck.....Great story!!!! Glad you saved your papayas!! I think that this is the next project on my list of "wants"...did you purchase yours at a nursery? or did you start yours from seed?

Did anyone in uniform knock on your door the next morning? LOL !!!! My neighbors probably wonder whats up with me too!!! I bet they used to film me up in my Palms trimming them...thinking that maybe they would get a good video that they could send in to the "funniest home videos!!!" LOL!!!!

Fortunately....they never had the photo op!!!

Have a great day everyone!!!

Laura in VB

I have grown all my papayas from seed. One $4 papaya from the grocery store will give me 300 plants in only a few weeks. Of all things to spend money on at a nursery, a papaya is probably not one of them, since they grow so fast and easy. If there is money to be made in selling papaya plants, then I'm going to make that my new career.

One even flowered a few weeks ago but has since developed a somewhat downward attitude when exposed to 40 degrees.

Since you are in Virginia Beach and I am in Chesapeake... you want one? Got anything interesting to trade for one?

I think my neighbors are more concerned about what now looks like a 9 foot wide, 8 foot tall, 46 foot long glowworm in my backyard.

Hi JIm and everyone, yup there was snow in northern NJ Friday night - it was a shock and today is 72.. but not as warm as we usually see in October warm-ups.

Gary
I remember 1983 being a cold winter at least around(I believe)X-mas eve,I lived in St.Louis then,it was -22 on my thermometer with 40-50mph winds.I think the wind chill was like -60F.
I think this was the time the cold swept through Florida and blew straight down the whole state,(winds NNW)I remember seeing clouds(satelite) down wind of lake Okeechobee(sp?)and wondered if there were any lake effect snow flurries,it was seriously cold!

I brought my Papayas in a few weeks ago,they responded by dropping all their leaves.I don't have a sunny enough spot inside that's not dry, so I have them in a little tent I made that will at least keep them humid,hopefully this will keep them alive until spring?(-:

Greg
We usually see a few 80F days in Oct.We hit 70 for the first time(73) all month,until 3 days ago we had not even hit an avg temp!
I hope Nov is sunny.Cool or warm? not that important- but more sun would be nice after the way Oct has been so far!!!!!!

Va canuck......I picked up one at the store this afternoon and I will attempt to root this seed...any tips?
Thanks for the offer...I have pindo seeds...sabal seeds...if you want any let me know...

Laura in VB

i have grown many papayas from a single belize papaya from the store. some doing better than others but all quite interesting... a few are about a foot now sice spring, I posted a few pics a few months ago. thanks -Justin

Yea,I think I chimed in on that one-right around the time I got mine.

Hi
You are all brave people not to mention hard working lol
I think if I lived anywhere but zone 10 i'd grow fir trees lol. Yes there are tropical species but what is more beautiful than a blue spruce with a light covering of snow??. Not only beautiful to look at but smell fabulous as a bonus. Maybe a redwood forest right at dawn??
My daughter who lives in Kansas comes very close to calling me dirty names when I complain about the weather lol Love to call my brother and tell him that we are under a "frost watch". He does call me dirty names lol
Good luck everybody!!! gary

I have had great success using those Jiffy pellets. I would take the papaya seeds and put them in a bowl of water, and clean off the squoosy coatings. Those that float or aren't black get tossed. Then I would blow up the Jiffy pellets with water and stick 2 seeds in each one, and I use plastic chinese food containers with the lid on loosely to hold them. Then I put them in a kitchen cabinet that has a small desk lamp in it which heats it to 97-100 degrees. I find that they sprout in only about 4-5 days that way.

On a counter at room temp, they take many weeks. Even just on a counter with a lamp shining on them, they germinate MUCH faster.

I find germination rate is high but die off is also high. IF they make it to about 4 inches tall, they usually keep on trucking.

Gary-
If you start complaining here about the cold down there I will call you dirty names! LOL j.k.
I know what you mean though my mom lives in Phoenix,when she starts telling me it's cold there......Whaawhaawhaa only in the 60s in Jan? poor baby! She never wants to trade,it's all relative-pun intended.

Va canuck-
I wonder how my Papayas will do inside this winter?
They are in a nice humid tent out of the direct sunlight in a west window.

Va canuck.......thanks for the info!!! I'll let you know what happens...thanks again....

Laura in VB

Those that I've overwintered indoors I have nothing special to take care of. Generally, they don't grow much, carry fewer leaves, but otherwise seem fine. I had mine in a sunny east-facing picture window. I have followed the suggestions of others when it comes to watering - go light. I wait until the soil is fairly dry, then give it a good watering.

I also noticed my cat loves to eat the leaves. Although it seems they are harmless to her, it's not too good for the plant to be eaten.

The weather has improved a little although we are still getting a lot of rain 2.11" a few days ago and .37" last night.
Even with the cold Oct we have had the Castors,Bananas,Canna's and quite a few other tender plants are still going.
The lowest temps we have seen are about 30F.
Pretty unusual this far north to see Bananas,Cannas etc,still going into Nov.

Our first frost is typically November 1st and fortunately there is still no sign of one for the next 10 days. Even though its been a cool month, night temperatures havent been too bad and the heater hasnt been put into alot of use yet.

My bananas got hit by the frost and have burnt leaves--normally this doesn't happen until into November. Some I have containerized and put into sheltered conditions until Spring. A few of the taller one I just cut back and hoping they will still grow some. It seems lately (especially this year) that Autumn starts out quite frosty then seems to mellow into relatively sunny, mild Novembers. Extended forecasts for the time being are frost free and the last couple of days have been gorgeous so not complaining yet.

I hear ya,nothing below 32(F) in our 10 day either.
This time of year it only takes clear skies at night if the wind isn't out of the south.
60(F)+through Sat-

It would be nice to get a dry sunny stretch of at least a week or 2,even if it did get chilly-and some sun would be nice for a change!

thats strange for all the zone 7 people we don't get frost until early-mid december. It's not unusual to see begonias geraniums and spike plants alive in january.

For most of zone 7 the growing season ends around the 1st of november to the 15 of november.
Good thing about living along the coast is frost comes pretty late in the fall because the sea temperatures are still fairly warm from the summer
The northeast and mid atlantic should watch out on friday morning though, because many areas will be getting a hard frost, that includes NYC, philly, and maybe DC, (as well as all the coastal areas which are the few areas that havent gotten a frost yeton the eastern seabord).

Also those spike plants are very close relatives to ti plants. Spike plants are also known as Cabbage trees and can grow really large (and look quite tropical too). They are cold tolerant to 10F making them zone 8 plants, but Ive seen a some survive zone 7 winters in pots. I saw someone near me planted them in the ground and they survived three winters with no protection at all and were in very exposed areas. They got to be almost 4 feet tall, and if they were protected that one cold night, they would probably still be alive today.

Good luck.

I have seen spike plants alive here in Dec,at least they look alive until you pull the spear.Last night was 28(F) air temp at the ground 30(F) a few feet higher.
The Canna's and EE's finally got it.The Tetra panex was coated with a heavy layer of frost but still looks great,most of the Castor's are toast as the cover of the tree they were under is blown now-no more leaves!
The ones next to the porch still look o.k. Which is cool because this is where I would like to try some Tree ferns,with major protection in winter of course!