Pt 2:

Heres the difference that a micro-climate can make.

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If you look carefully you can see this spear/leaf has been barely damaged. Looks like this one is slowly growing as well.

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Most of these leaves are not even spotting. Pretty much untouched.

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Update of other things after the frost:

Avocado:
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Hens and chicks:

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Aloe's:

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Still leaves on the trees but not very many.
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Pt 3:

Canna's:
These guys are in one of the coldest spots on my yard. They hardly get any sun in winter.

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Plum tree 2:
Also still has leaves that won't fall unless you tug on them hard.

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Orange tree:
The oranges are pretty much ripe. Picked one a few days ago.

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Washy's:

Can't not post a pick of a palm :p

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Now I have no idea if these vines are tropcial or not. They were outside the whole time though. They are cutting's from one of my indoor plants. They actually need to be planted they have roots now.

- US_Marine

Great pics showing damage done where not protected.

Ive got a sweet little microclimate on my deck with an overhang. Ive kept my majesty palm, kentia, plumeria, Dypsis lutescens, Caryota maxima and a Veitchia arecina under it and they have survived last winter which reached 22 and this winter which so far has reached 26. if they wernt under the overhang they would have sure been goners.

Those vines are definitely tropical, Golden Pothos

I have a porch that gets southern exposure with an over hang that extends about 4-6 feet. Pretty much like your deck. I've always been tempted to try z10 palms there. lol but at the moment I havn't been able to find any I want. I was gonna buy a kentia. Where did you get the Dypsis, Caryota, and Veitchia? If I have luck with different z10 palms there for a couple of years I am gonna test a coconut palm. I've thought about that many times. I'd like to also find a Royal and King palm.

- US_Marine

Its definitely worth a try with the zone 10 plants. I got the dypsis and veitchia seeds in hawaii and i purchased the caryota seeds on rarepalmseeds.com. I had royal and king seedlings outside but they got fried on the first frost so i brought them inside.
Do you have any palms under your porch?

Hi. Wow the orange tree looks great!!! I was thinking of planting one here in Arizona this Spring.

Pics like those make me not feel so bad about being in zone 6..at the end of winter our bananas end up looking the same!

Nice pics! Frost can make bananas look terrible for a while, but in a few months they will be looking great again. The good thing about frosts is that they really do tell you where the microclimates in a yard are! I still have some geraniums flowering after a low of 22F so its in a great microclimate (nice southern exposure). The majesty palms by that spot survived past New Years Day and just died now from the most recent cold spell.
Thanks for sharing!
-Alex

I was afraid you would say that about the seeds! lol I do know of a place I can get a few of those palms and probably could order the others but they are rather expensive. Thats why I've held off. I think I can find some cheaper somewhere else. And unfortunately not yet. The only palm I have is my coco. The washy's that sprout up don't count. At the moment that space is mostly being taken up by large planters with many different types of aloes and other succulents. Ones I didn't take pictures of.

@ bob in AZ Z9- Thanks! Yeah I would pick one up. They should do pretty good for you there as long as you water well.

@ miketropic- I know right! lol But they sure do look nice when come back. Can't wait to get some fruit though :) They should be that age now. This spring/summer I shoud get a flower. They do flower and set fruit often here. This one isnt the most impressive I've seen here but I did manage to take a picture of this one up close.

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Thanks tropicalzone7!. They sure do. I just wish I was in the warmer part of town. lol
What was the low that killed your majesty?

- US_Marine

Great pics and very educational. My bananas have some damage from 2 freezing nights with 31 being the coldest but are under some pines so pretty much frost free. Much less damage than your exposed ones. Under the eves next to your house they get no frost and must be a bit warmer. Also cool to see that pathos can survive some freezing temps. I think a porch can actually get just as cold like a deck due to bridge effect. If its screened in it would be a bit warmer though.

Great pics-hope the nanas come back from where they are,looks like they do there.

Yea,pretty much any type of overhang can protect frost sensitive leaves-my stuff on the east
side of the house last way longer as there is a slight frost drift(west to east) even on calm nights
,as is noticeable on the plants planted on the west side of the house,I have seen Castor bean
leaves which are very sensitive to frost untouched under the maple tree on the east
side of the yard while the unprotected ones are completely fried.

@ LargoMar- Thanks! Yeah the over hang provided over head canopy like the pines over there. The canopy traps heat and radiates it back down. If I had pines, live oaks, etc near by they would have been untouched as well. Thats actually a good way to zone push.

Not sure how cold it will get under the porch but if there is a lot of wind that can change things.

@ jimhardy- Thanks! The banana's come back every winter. I've never lost one do to cold. They retain that size as well, I never chop them down to the ground. Not sure if they will come back the same for you but its worth a try. The stems are pretty thick and may insulate the new growth inside from the cold.

And hmmm that makes sense. The east side does get sun early in the morning so it warms up faster. I guess it also depends on if the area gets sun and if it also has a wind block.

- US_Marine