I'll probably just throw the frost blankets on and make sure the plants are well watered.

Probably just cover with a sheet. I only have one little tree, and we have somewhat of a micro climate where it is, plus i'm at the edge of the city, so not as cold.

Now,
all my aloes, and cactus and succulents...not sure. lol..

I thought I heard some snickers too Peter. ;-)

JoJo

snicker, snicker,

no seriously though I hope your trees do ok. Today is sunny and 36 degrees. Headed down to 21 tonight. burrrr.

Mike

Let us know how you both fare. It was chilly here last night, but nothing as cold as you're facing. Good luck!

Patty S.

Same forecast for the top of zone 8. I am going with multiple standard sheets with a bucket of warm water by the base.

Mine all did OK including 2 small flowering shrubs I didnt cover.

How are you and your plants Peter?

Mksmth.. stop that... lol.. were not use to this! lol...
Could'nt handle your temps! Brrrr!! Hope your staying warm!

JoJo

This post was edited by jojosplants on Tue, Dec 11, 12 at 22:03

Hey Jojo:

Everything went fine. No obvious damage. The low temp here was only 34 (at 6:23am this morning, see graphic). Based on two years of weather data now, I think we are in a relatively warm microclimate here at 2982 feet on the east side. We are on the top of a large hill so I think the colder air drains away towards the washes. I have a weather station here with multiple wireless thermometers, one of which is in my citrus "mini-orchard". I did run my irrigation last night but didn't put up any frost cloth. Let's hope this is the coldest for the season. And, it appears we *finally* are going to get some rain Thursday/Friday.....

Happy Holidays!

Peter

My cheapo digital thermometer recorded a minimum this AM of 34, so we stayed above freezing here on the west side of Tucson as well. I had applied a good coat of anti-transpirant to all my freeze sensitive plants Saturday. With that, I feel fairly safe down to ~28 without covering up, depending on moisture and wind. It's been a weird fall though, my citrus trees were/are still hardening off a fairly good growth flush and this is late for that. I still have a few figs on the fig trees. They're toast now, not that the fruit this late is worth anything.

We definitely could use a good rain. Here is hoping we all get some.

It looked like you were spared based on the weather data I saw, the low was only 34 in most places.

I would agree with bada_bing and not get worried until you have several hours of sub 28 weather. Even my potted citrus (including tender lemons and limes) have been unscathed by 30 degrees while outside.

Anyway, to make you feel better: 400 miles away and 4,000 feet higher, we've just had -4, followed by two nights around 12 degrees. I will not be surprised if we get at least one more subzero night this winter (2 subzero nights per year is the average here, a zone 6b). I'll start to worry about my covered pomegranates if we get much below -10.

Hi Bada and Fab:

Thanks for the replies. Now that my trees are a year older, I'm not getting as concerned about low temps. They are now 3+ years old and have good growth and size. BB -- what anti-transpirant do you use? Where did you get it? Could I use it on cactus or is it for leafed plants only? Do you have any pix of your trees? Fab -- where in NM are you? Thanks for the reassurance about temps. I hope this is about as cold as it gets this season...

Happy holidays and stay warm :-)

P.

My weather station recorded a low of 35 on tuesday so no worries here. I did cover with frost cloth just in case ;)

pgde: I'm in the Santa Fe area, same altitude and similar climate to Flagstaff's, except different precip patterns (Flag has more in winter, SF has more in summer).

It's going to be a chilly one tonight! I hope everyone fairs good tonight! I have a few cactus and succulents that got wet yesterday I'm a little concerned about. My lemon, is small, in ground , but a few years old and tough. lol..

I used to live on the east side Peter. It's good your on a hill! I was down lower , not sure of elevation, but we were in a little bit of a pocket and it was cold! Tanque verde , wrightstown area. Now I'm over by A mountian, and maybe 100 yards or so from the Santa Cruz river. But not too bad . My yard has a few micro climates.

We did get a decent amount of rain. Much needed, and the dust has settled for awhile. Heard it's going to warm up a bit again next week. Today was cold and i'm a big baby! lol!

Anyway...
Stay warm everyone!
and may all your plants be safe!

JoJo