Hi Trsh,

Amen, I hear you. S. Florida looks real good, North and Central Florida are good climates but they have been getting strong cold snaps with temps into teens and 20s. The south gets cool (not really cold) as well, but it doesn't last long and the sun is so strong that it forces most day temps into the 60s on cooler days.

Our NYC temps have been OK as well.

All my plants are still outside except for my Coconut palms. I wanted their newest frond to grow well and nights in the 40s are a bit too cold for them. It will not be long at all before frost. You can feel the cold weather coming in the morning air, but at least afternoons have been warm (mid to upper 60s). Looks like 50s in the forecast though. I will probably start talking the plants inside this weekend only because I have time to do it this weekend and I may not have time to do it a night before frost comes!
-Alex

Florida sounds great, I can live with 20's for a minute. I am getting tired of the single digit temps. and tons of snow.

I have been staying in NYC this week, and what can I say, the urban heat island effect seems really strong here. Temps have been low to mid 60s by day and mid 50s at night (compared to 40s outside of the city). I have seen a number of healthy palms, ficus and other tropicals outside of shops and other businesses. All of the tender annuals are looking as if it is the middle of summer. Also, the trees are all still green, hardly any fall color yet. Surprising to see that peak fall foliage time in NYC (at least this year) will come in November. Sorry to veer a bit off topic, just my observations.

Still have out all my big C. revolutas, Washingtonias, Queens, Citrus, Meds, Orleanders, Date palms (mostly canariensis), Tropical guava, avocados, triangle palms, Sabals,etc. Brought in so far--Ficus, most of the bananas, plumeria, more tropical palms (Hyophorbes, Cocos, Manila palm etc). Still no frost but is getting chilly for a few days. I am outside Manhattan but in the immediate Metro area so do benefit from the "heat island" to some extent. I remember seeing impatients and geraniums still in bloom in NYC--into December! My pet peeve?!--I live in NJ and get my "local" national weather report from a place one gardening zone beneath me. When I got up this morning, my temp was 39 F according to the weather station Nat. Weather was reporting but the temperature in MY backyard was actually in the low 50's.

Annuals still do pretty well in October most years. I dont think Manhattan has gotten lower than the mid 40s yet this season. Some trees have changed color, but most of them are still green (some just starting to color up). Usually peak fall color is sometime in early to mid November and the trees are bare by late november, early december the latest.

I had some impatients survive and bloom right up to November 30th last winter in my yard and I've seen roses in bloom almost up to December! Falls here are usually very mild thanks to the warm ocean and urban heat island, but all forecasts are pointing toward a very cold late Fall, so temperatures will probably be below average in November which means an early frost. But people's annuals still do look like summer, hopefully this very cold weather coming this week wont do any damage to them!

Hope you liked NYC!
-Alex

Still, it is expected to be "milder" than last winter. Really don't think it could be much worse in terms of prolonged cold and SNOW! A "normal" winter in the NYC Metro I can survive, marginally, but last winter was just ridiculous!

Hey William, you made correct observations. Many times, especially in Spring, Summer and Fall, northern and western suburbs typically drop at night by 7-14 degrees cooler. The heat Island effect is particularly strong in Manhattan with the epicenter of the effect in Times Square I have notice. It fans out to Brooklyn, the Bronx, Queens and Newark NJ. For example in mid winter, during thaws, when the wind changes to the south or east, Midtown Manhattan can be 60ish all night, Brooklyn mid 50s and northwestern suburbs 30s. Its interesting. I credit some of the warmth to a major underground heated infrastructure, densely packed tall buildings, being surrounded by water and coastal Jersey urbanized & buffering by adding a couple of degrees to cold air before it even arrives in NYC. Plus the snow "usually" melts immediately in the city and is gone in a few days to a week, with last year being an exception. Without a solid snow pack NYC temps fluxuate higher during the day and hold the heat island temps steady, whereas suburbs radiate heat off the snow pack and on clear nights, temps drop off sharply.

Tropicalzone, it is amazing that you are saying early to mid November (which is obviously accurate), when in an online thread from just 11 years ago, a poster reports that the peak time for fall color in the NYC metro area is early to mid October. I would say that the urban heat island's effect is generally understated, especially in the cases of the most massive urban areas.
BrooklynGreg, it is very interesting to read such a detailed analysis of this subject. I would imagine it to be very difficult for significant depths of snow to accumulate in Manhattan, except in the depths of winter. If I lived in Times Square, I would try leaving a large Washingtonia or Sabal out for a winter to see if it would survive. Also, does anybody know what the lowest temp NYC (Manhattan) has recorded in the last 10 years? 5 years? Last year?

Sabal or a Trachys for sure,would probably survive until
the worst of the winter weather-no way on the Washy though.

The urban heat island is very understated. Its amazing how mild some parts of Manhattan can feel in the winter (lots of microclimates!). I would love to see a trachy planted somewhere in the city, I know that if it had overhead protection, (which is actually pretty easy to find in the city by entryways) it would have no problem surviving the winter! I dont think the washy would make it, but there was a sabal palmetto that survived one winter in DC, so I bet that in a good spot, it could handle the best NYC microclimate also!

As for the lowest temperature in the heart of NYC, Im not even sure if there is official information on that because the weather recordings for Manhattan are taken in Central Park. And if there are any weather stations in manhattan island by the buildings, then they are probably on top of the buildings which means that they are recording much colder temperatures than they would at street level.

I noticed a lot more foliage color change this week. Its amazing what one week can do. We will probably start to get the best color some time late next week.

I took some plants inside today, this forecast looks COLD!
-Alex