We had a light frost about 5 weeks ago, the lowest we got so far is 34 F so no freeze just yet, luckily.

Same here US Marine. I have a few lonely cannas out in the open that are toast, but nothing else has been damaged. Not even the flower spikes on my aloe maculata, aloe hardyii or aloe burgersfortensis have sustained damage at this point. It should warm right back up at the end of the week :)

No frost in coastal Los Angeles, BUT, yes to frost in the high desert areas. Here by the coast we've been having unseasonably cold weather at night. Days are running at around 65 clear and sunny, nights are dipping into the low to mid 40s, although a bit farther inland night time temps are in the high 30s. Forecast says night temps are on the rise. My plumeria obtusa and Terminalia Catappa spend all day out in the sun and I bring them in until we get milder night temps. All other plants are out (Ti plants, pigmy dates, king palms, arecas, crotons, Giant Birds of P, Philodendrons, agave attenuatas, pothos, all ferns, bougainvilleas, sagos, etc. Good luck guys! keep 'em warm!

Frost! I wish. We've had 2 degree weather already. Last year it was -20 around Thanksgiving.

We've had an exceptionally mild December along the Delaware coastwith temps in the 60's and capped by the last two days reaching 70. That came to an abrupt end last night and temps tumbled 30 degrees in an hour or two. Forcast low of 28 this Saturday night, so I'm getting help wrapping my pindo tomorrow. A fellow member of this forum is guiding me since I've never had to winterize my windmills. The pindo was an experiment this summer and it did exceptionally well, so I'll give it a fighting chance.

On the bright side the local tv weather geek talked about a stationary low pressure system in Northern Canada (usually winter high pressure) that will keep the Eastern US relatively mild for the next weeks. Let's see if this is true!

So far we had a few frosts on cars and roofs and some on the plants, but my Bananas are almost finished pushing a new leaf and most of my tender tropical plants are still alive and well! My Mandevillas still have blooms and its almost mid December. Going into the mid 20s for low temperatures this weekend so that should put a complete end to the growing season for good. But none of the palms need protection yet and Im hoping its going to stay like that for at least a few more weeks!
Every day that goes by is one day closer to spring!
-Alex

I get snow almost every day here. It never sticks, though. We got about an inch or 2 the other day. Luckily Im moving to Kentucky on Wednsday, so maybe I wont get snow for a while. :D

Yep, KY definitely should have less snow than our house in Ohio gets. The weather warms up a bit quicker and the sun will be a little bit stronger since you will be farther south. And your that much closer to warmer climates like Florida!
-Alex

The bay area hasn't had any plant frost-but at 38f you can see some roof and car frost. I would say that a 32f hits about every other year on average here on the eastbay. Last year-35 was our lowest.
But,I tell ya-even at 38f and filling the gas tank at 6am..THAT'S a cold temperature.

At least there are no "Lake Effect Snows" in Kentucky! But every climate will bring its own unique challenges.

Last night was the coldest so far at 27F. Still, I managed to work outside quite a bit today. The sun was great but not much better than 40F. in the shade. Remaining containerized palms outside (Washingtonias, Meds, Butias Sabals and Phoenix Dates), are in a bit of a microclimate--full southern exposure, protected on two sides by walls and a lot of black top in the parking lot area. Everything else is finally under shelter. You can actually sit outside comfortably and catch some rays--and not in any way a cold weather person here! Weather looks like it will be moderating and would love to keep the one still out, out as long as possible.

The temperature has been down to 48 degrees once this year but not to bad so far. Hope it stays that way. Good luck to everyone.

We had a freeze a few days ago. The mandevillas are finished for the year and the lantanas are mostly finished also. But some surprising things with no damage were the cat palms and passiflora. My Nun Orchid outside (one was inside, but one was not healthy so I planned on leaving it outside) had some damage, but it still has some green so Im definitely going to take it inside! It doesnt deserve to be left outside if it can stay green after a low temperature of about 25F.
The forecast looks pretty good for now considering its December.
-Alex

It's funny Alex how some little dud plants can win our hearts(or at least minds),by being a survivor.

I was never a fan of Needle palms...they kind of looked like weeds
to me and I thought no one would even know it's a palm because it is so shrubby.

But....after covering one with only leaves and having it survive
temps that hit -18F one winter,I am now much more interested!

My other larger one has never pulled and is ALWAYS the least damaged after winter...

Click for weather forecast

Interesting how many frost days we just had, but alot of bananas are still standing green. Anyone else notice how different the these frost have been over past ones?

- US_Marine

Yep we had 35f frost in Hayward-and it tip melted newest,softest growth Brugmansia-but banana's are still green M.paradisica the big ornamnetal around town look like summer,E.ventricosa is looking worn,and M.sumatrana-the red splotched banana is on the fence-chilled looking,and yet STILL growing new leaves...sloooowly.
Its not that temps are much warmer..there about average. Its the huge amount of sunny days and dry air and ground I think.
King palms,Howea's and Phoenix sp. all look summer like. Only Dypsis like D. lutescens has turned yellow..but thats typical for them this time of year. ALL Chamedorea sp.look great. I wish I had more.
One last specialty of closer to the coast-cane begonias- In bloom and adding a very tropical look to shade. Great plants.