Your yard looks great. Love the tall cactus. Your washy's will be out of control in a couple years. Good luck.

You definitely have a green thumb for exotics. Those Washys convince me I should plant mine in the ground next spring. Mine grew nowhere near that fast this year. Everything looks awesome Jim.

Amazing! I can't imagine the labor involved in protecting them every winter. Do you have any palms or cactus/ agave that don't need protection there?

Nice pics! Everything looks great! That Columnar cacti is Huge! Those Washys will definitely be Giants probably by this time next years! And your tree ferns still put mine to shame!
Thanks for sharing!
-Alex

Hi Jim,

Always love to see your yard!!!

Everything looks wonderful...

Someone stole your Jade? Right from your front porch?

Quite selective arent they? I just wish that they ran into the Agave on their way off of the porch!! : )

Oh..that Agave looks awesome!!! It is going to be rough bringing thst beauty inside...watch out for those points..Yikes!!!

Take care,

Thanks for the pics...

Laura in VB

I'm not 100% sure if Laura would notice one of her potted plumerias was stolen. I mean, there are only about 500 of them. Then again, she probably would!

I didnt read the part about your jade plant. Sorry to hear that. Hopefully the person who steals it also steals a beautiful hanging basket of posion Ivy.

I think Laura would definitely notice if one of her plumerias was stolen! There should be a lifetime jail sentence for a person who would steal a beautiful potted plumeria !

If people were so interested in the plants, they really should just ask. I know that if someone came to me and really liked one of my plants I would try to give them a cutting of it (if it can be grown by cuttings) or at least give them a great place to buy them with lots of information about it. Its sad to think that no matter where you live, some of your plants are probably at risk for being stolen.
-Alex

Thanks guys/gals

You guys crack me up!

I was pretty surprised when I got home and noticed the Jade was
gone,my guess is,someone that walks by frequently did it.

Everything gets covered although supposedly some of the cactus
are zone4-5 so they should survive with moisture protection?????

I won't be trying that,although I may plant a larger Y.Faxoniana or
Y.Thompsoniana and try it....when I have a $100 I can afford to lose!

Trying the T.ferns has been a lot of fun,they should be monsters next year!

Hello Everyone,

I was just tslking about that Jade plant being taken to my DH just an hour ago and said that someone had taken another tree from your yard last year..If my memory is correct?

We did think like you JIm, it had to be someone who admires your yard. But doesnt have the decency to even inquire about how one can find a wonderful plant. They think that they can come into our yards and have what they want.

That is when i wish that i had Randy's dogs ready... : )

Give them something to think about... : )

Wetsuiter,

You are to funny!! LMAO... "What is wrong with you?...I only have 499 Plumeria!" LOL.... You are correct, i would notice it in a heartbeat if someone helped themselves.

Im "inspector Laura" with my plants and trees...this summer i noticed one of my Gardenias missing from the back yard in a container..i started asking if anyone had seen it..Then i started thinking about the workmen who had been in the yard, and i couldnt imagine that one of them had taken this tree. Well.. I found out what had happened, it was me!!! I had propped the fence door open and used the container to hold the door open and forgot that it was there. SO... I do notice, but i sometimes forget!!! LOL!!!

Alex,

I agree, if someone wants a cutting or even a rooted tree, i would gladly help them. If they take a Plumeria..Woooo!
i would have to put on my "NRA" hat and go searching.. : )

Im sorry JIm that they took your property...

People still amaze me with what they will do..sometimes its terrible, but mostly its good..I like to concentrate on the "GOOD..."

Have a great day everyone, thanks for the chuckles...

I guess everyone knows that i love Palms and Plumeria!! LOL...

Take care of that beautiful yard Jim!!!

Laura in VB

Hey Jim,
I know how it feels when someone fools with your plants.People pull the leaves off my banana plants I have at the end of my driveway at the road.I'm moving them next spring futher down in my yard.I hate to move them because they look so good there,oh well.
I like the Brahea super silver,i've been thinking of trying one of those myself.I dident think they were that cold hardy,yours looks like it's doing great.You know I have 10 of the C.ceriferas,there real tough palms,i've never had spear pull on any of them,even after a soaking rain then cold temps.That fortunei that you trunk cut looks like it never missed a beat.If I wouldent have seen your pics.where you cut it back,I would not believe it was ever cut down.Your Washys have growed a lot this year.I wonder what they will look like next year?I'm still amazed at what you can grow.I always enjoy seeing pics. of your plants.You are a real inspiration!!!
Randy

Thanks Randy....

I really like the Cerifera,one of them did fully pull but
has grown back from the side shoots.

Sometimes I wish I was in a more secluded spot,although not
as many people would get to see the garden,less wind and
traffic would be very nice!

Jim, how do you protect your palms?

Hey very cool pictures your yard looks like a jungle i love it. Im in zone 5b also and good to know that your washys are doing great cant wait till mine get to that size. awesome gardener you are.

Everything looks great Jim! Everything has gotten so big. My yard looks like crap right now because everything is dead or in the house. I'm digging them up every year until they're too big to do that or until I run out of room storing them in the house. It's getting close! My wife won't let indulge as much as you do.. I have enough to protect outside. I can't imagine how long it takes you to do all that!

Kevin

I use a variety of methods...the center area is where the "hoop-house"
goes,this covers about 7 palms in addition to the cactus.
This year I will make it 2 layers(plastic) thick with 1" bubble wrap
in between,hopefully I can heat it with a 1500wt heater on 750wt setting.

Quite a few of the other Palms/T.ferns get styrofoam rose covers,
I think I have about 20 of those-the rest get enclosures
made out of wire fencing with 2 layers of bubble wrap and foam
sheeting in between to make them more opaque so there is less heating.

The Washys get Redwood slat fencing with(what else)more bubble wrap,3 layers this time.

The Washys and T.ferns are on Thermocubes-on/off at 35/45F.

Everything but the hoop-house is heated with X-mas lights.

Thanks kaotickelly!

Hey Bradleyo!

What are you digging up?

You have a bunch of stuff you protect,right?

Click here for forecast

Nice pics Jim. You obviously have a passion for the tropics. Imagine if you lived in a warmer climate?! WOW :)

I dug up the washies and the sago. The trachy and 3 minors are staying in the ground. Most everything died last year except for the minors. Even my needle pulled it's spear and looked like absolute crap. It was technically still alive, but I have much better looking needles in waiting and I didn't feel like waiting for a recovery. Only protecting my palms, mulch for the more tender perennials. Next year I think I'll be willing to put more stuff in the ground for the winter. Every year I chicken out and dig them while I can to let them get maximum size. I'm running out of space in the grow room and in my windows tho!

Doesn't digging them up, potting them and replanting them each year cause the palms more trauma, (not to mention your back)??? Wouldn't a good winter system like what Jim or ArcticTropic do each fall, be easier in the long run?

I think Brad may be right on the edge of where some of these
may just make it and was trying that????

One thing I have found is these smaller plants lack by a big
margin,the hardiness claims that are made for more mature cold hardy palms.....
but then there are always surprises(so far(-;)like the Bulgarian Trachy,smaller
T.Nainital and my C.Cerifera,these were pretty hardy even at a young age.

I am hoping this year they will(all) be a little hardier than last but this brings up another thought........

I think it is important to try a few of the same varieties as
even plants from the same seed batch vary quite a bit in hardiness.

It is possible(just to pick up on something mentioned above)
that the divided leaves of some Sabals are 10F hardier than the young strap leaves...

Click for weather forecast

Wetsuitor: The only ones I dug up this year were 4 washies and a sago palm, each of which would take considerable protection here including heat. I will be leaving those in when they get 2 big to handle, but the washies seem to take root distubance very well and overwinter well indoors. There is of course some set back and it is slow to get growing in the spring, however I'm not ready to get into an elaborate heating system yet. I'm trying to work out my kinks this year on a trachy. Plus my wife would kill me if I had Jim's setup!

I live in maybe the coldest winter 6a in America. This will be my 3rd winter here, the lowest low each of the past 2 years is -2, and -8F, HOWEVER, it is the norm to go 3 weeks at a time never getting above freezing. Last December and January, we had 9 days that got above freezing during the day, and most of those were in the 33-38F range for highs. We also had 2 3-weeks seesions of consecutive below freezing weather. The other problem is that I generally don't see grass from Dec.1 to mid-March, it never gets warm enough to ever melt the snow. Last year I lost 2 decent sized trachies and a sabal palmetto, and my minors and needle that survived received considerable damage, the minors burned 98%, the only things left were the emerging spears. Needle had spear pull with surving pups. That was with frost cloth wrapped unheated leaf cages, which provided 0-30% damage and no losses the year before.