AnnaJW

doubravsky,

Nice to hear from the other local! But, SORRY to hear about the damage!
My Hibiscus plants are almost gone now, too. One of my Plumeria totally; but I'm trying so hard to keep the one I got from my dad years ago...
Maybe, hopefully, we will all get some pleasant surprises here when we thaw out, and our plants will re-generate!

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-Anna Banana -

Living my life in MMORPG's

doubravsky

It will be interesting to see what comes back and what doesn't. Hopefully some of it will be good news.

STEELVIPER

I can deal with the cold. But its the wind that is driving me crazy. Wind everyday!! well almost.

Anna- here is a website i found. Just in case you may need to RE-SUPPLY this spring. LOL

http://hometown.aol.com/rosieolo/banana.html

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AnnaJW

Thanks, Mark! Bookmarked!
Just came in from my last round of blanketing. At almost 11:45. The citrus trees this time. NOW - where is that wind when we need it? It was totally still out there.

__________________
-Anna Banana -

Living my life in MMORPG's

Steve L

In Lake Charles, LA, we had our Arctic blast the first week of December. One night of 24, then 25, then 26 but this happens one a year in the winter for us but not usually until January. Of course, everything is fried. I have over 60 gingers and everyone of them is down to the ground. I don't have that many bananas, most of which are ornamentals, and the leaves are toast but the pseudostems are green and firm and that includes an 8 foot Ae Ae with 3 pups. In fact, it started growing again as our temps moderated quite a bit until yesterday but the pups were pushing out new leaves. I have a few cold hardy heliconia in the ground against the south side of my house under an oak tree canopy and suprisingly, they are ok, still pushing out new leaves. Everything else is tucked safely in my greenhouse. We are now experiencing the cold front you folks in CA got a few days ago but our temps are predicted to stay above freezing. Predictions of sleet, and 20 to 30 mph north winds though. This will last a couple of more days.

Steve

STEELVIPER

Sorry to hear about you gingers steve.They will pop back out in spring?So far my gingers and heliconias are doing fine. Of course they are container grown. Or they would be fried to dust by now. It was 30F last night. We should see some warmer temps,and maybe some rain soon.

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Steve L

Mark,

The gingers go down just about every winter so it's no big deal and my favorite heliconias are container grown in the greenhouse so I am ok. I've got heliconias Pedro Ortiz, Rostrata, and Eden Pink in the ground covered by a large portable greenhouse which are in great shape so far and another heliconia, Red Angusta, covered by yet another portable greenhouse that is coming into full bloom now. But we still have 6 to 8 weeks of the potential of damaging cold weather and it just seems to drag on and on.

Steve

imdocrob

Yes, I do feel bad about all our banana losses but the big picture is that this is not our livelyhood. I feel really bad for the poor citrus farmers and insurance co. who will be hit the hardest by this freeze.

Valenciaguy

Even though i don't live in Cal. up here we are having some bad weather alwell. freezing rain, hate the stuff my fruit trees and bushes should be fine since they are peaches, blueberry ect. and they aren't very large yet that is when freezing rain kills fruit trees. all my tropicals are inside nice and warm and toasty. Good luck to all of you with your bananas and tropicals i know i would just be freaking if i was you.

AnnaJW

imdocrob,
Yes, the losses to the citrus farmers is just devastating. I wonder how many of the smaller farms will be able to even afford to keep going?

Valenciaguy,
Thanks for the kind words! Now my palms - especially the Phoenix palms - are fried. Totally heartbreakng!

__________________
-Anna Banana -

Living my life in MMORPG's

JoeS475

Reading 16 degrees in NJ right now, my basjoos are unprotected in the garage, hopefully they'll be fine. This time of year it's not uncommon for our temperature to be in the single digits, but I feel for you guys in CA, you're really not expecting what you got! Best of luck in the spring!

~Joe

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eggo

Mitchell, your yard looks similiar to mine. Except I didn't get any ice here.

momoese

Where are you located eggo?

STEELVIPER

Yup. may be a few years till the citrus crop is back to speed. My mexican lime took it on the chin. I hope it will recover. It was 27F last night.

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Lilith

Okay....
I don't live in California (anymore, but I did, in Culver City, for 7 years). I live in North FL where it is not uncommon to get exactly the type of weather you guys in So Cal just got, once or twice in a winter. We haven't had it yet this winter, but that's not to say we won't before Spring.
I can assure you, because I know that you are all very sad about the damage (and I would be too), that it really is not as bad as it looks. The same thing that has happened to your bananas happens to mine almost every year! And I have never lost a banana plant. I have a bunch of different types, ornamental and fruiting, and they always come back. We get lows between 20-32 usually 2-3 times a winter, not just once, so mine get multiple hits (even though they are spaced pretty widely apart) and still, I reiterate, I have never lost plants. They look like hell until they releaf in March/April. You may lose an isolated plant, but you should get replacements from the root system that was undamaged. Our ground never feeezes here, and yours didn't either in this latest weather event.
Don't cut all those damaged leaves off. Leave them there until your weather warms up. They will hang down and look bad, but they can actually protect your trunk a little by insulating if there is any further cold.
You just have to hang on and wait another month or so, then it will all be over and your banana groves will make a comeback. Trust me. Its heartbreaking, I know, but if you had to deal with it almost every year, like I do, it gets to be a kind of resignation you go through.

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11/2008 Outer Banks Marathon 26.2, Kitty Hawk NC--3:50
2/2009 5 Points of Life Marathon, 26.2, Gainesville FL--4:00
4/2009 Boston Marathon, 26.2-- 4:38
10/2009 Marine Corps Marathon, DC, 26.2--457
1/2010 Houston Marathon, 26.2--3:55:09
2/2010 5 Points of Life Marathon, Gainesville--415
Halloween Day 2010 Marine Corps Marathon, DC--
2/2011--Austin TX Marathon--

JoeS475

OK went down to 15 last night here and froze the new spears (there were no leaves) on my basjoos solid. They are unprotected in my garage except for the soil they are in so I'm really hoping the corm is ok. Moved them indoors tonight since its going down to about 11 or 12 degrees...

~Joe

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jeffreyp

I had always thought california had mild winters, boy was I wrong..reminds me of ventura highway by america..

http://knbc.nbcweatherplus.com/weath...59/detail.html

STEELVIPER

I can't speak for the northern part of California,but the southern part of Ca has mild winters. Are avg high and low for this time of year is about 68F/43F. Winters like the one we are having now seem to happen once every 15years. The prob. has been the wind we have been getting. Out of 7 days a week, maybe 3 are windless.

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51st state

not that it's any consolation to you guys but we've got the opposite weather. We've had very few frosts so far this winter. The weather has just been driving in off the atlantic. lows of 47 F. (10 C).
I know its anecdotal but the global weather patterns really seem to be changing. What have we done to the planet.

All my plants are in a 5 foot high enclosure with a soil warming cable I set up within the greenhouse. apart from the little ones which are bathing in a really, really warm propagator and are growing like crazy.

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eggo

Mitchell, Im in N Long Beach, somewhere in between 32 and 33 was about as cold as we got. I know others out there experience much colder temps, scary.