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TommyMacLuckie · 01-07-2010, 10:27 AM

If you go by the recent temperatures, we're zone 7 ha ha.

The USDA says where I'm at is 9 but I think it's more of an 8B or whatever, whatever would designate a slightly higher zone. As in, a bit closer to 9 than 8. Maybe it is 9 but we're generally on average, in the winter, 8 degrees cooler than the city (most places are even more cooler). 8A or 8B, however that works. I would think B, as in slightly warmer but that's only because I can't remember. You're talking only for about a mile or so. The lake does have an effect usually, with inversion, but when the wind is strong enough out of the N-NE-NW it might as well be a parking lot. People here swear up and down the lake keeps it warmer. But 26 degrees is 26 degrees. Or whatever. And I've measured that in my back yard, a quarter mile from the lake, and at the lakefront. So there goes that theory. If the wind was from the South, on the other hand...

I've seen different USDA hardiness maps. Some have the very end of LA being a 10. Which, I think now is all under the Gulf. Permanently. Some show a band through the middle of the lower part of the state being a 9 with rest below it being a 10? The old ones, with the browns for the 10s etc.

The recent snows people have said 'Well the snow didn't stick here because of the lake, it stuck north of 190'. Yes yes, that is true - but the wind was out of the SW. 'Oh.'

It makes a huge difference where the wind is from. But it just goes to show how easy it is for people to assume and not think.

Which I sort of got nailed with the other morning because I assumed how my front yard would work temperature wise based on history. I didn't think it would get as cold as it did in my front yard as it appears to have gotten. I still won't truly know until spring. I went ahead and mulched like a madman after the fact. It was cold enough to freeze the philos, and that has to be at least 28 degrees for those to get burnt (they're just like pipes). I just don't know how cold it did get. My microspadix looks burnt a bit and they start so show at around 26 (although I'm still having trouble grasping exactly what cold tolerance means - is it showing damage or outright death? I can't find anything that is specific about it). And it's quite protected outside naturally.

So I mulched after the bad freeze. Hopefully in this case late is better than never.

01-07-2010, 10:27 AM	#13 (permalink)
TommyMacLuckie Howboutcha! TommyMacLuckie's Photo Gallery Location: Mandeville, Louisiana Find me on the map! Zone: 8B Name: Tommy Join Date: Jul 2009 Posts: 427 BananaBucks : 253,661 Feedback: 0 / 0% Said "Thanks" 7 Times Was Thanked 375 Times in 202 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 1 Times	Re: First Freeze Of '010 For Louisiana If you go by the recent temperatures, we're zone 7 ha ha. The USDA says where I'm at is 9 but I think it's more of an 8B or whatever, whatever would designate a slightly higher zone. As in, a bit closer to 9 than 8. Maybe it is 9 but we're generally on average, in the winter, 8 degrees cooler than the city (most places are even more cooler). 8A or 8B, however that works. I would think B, as in slightly warmer but that's only because I can't remember. You're talking only for about a mile or so. The lake does have an effect usually, with inversion, but when the wind is strong enough out of the N-NE-NW it might as well be a parking lot. People here swear up and down the lake keeps it warmer. But 26 degrees is 26 degrees. Or whatever. And I've measured that in my back yard, a quarter mile from the lake, and at the lakefront. So there goes that theory. If the wind was from the South, on the other hand... I've seen different USDA hardiness maps. Some have the very end of LA being a 10. Which, I think now is all under the Gulf. Permanently. Some show a band through the middle of the lower part of the state being a 9 with rest below it being a 10? The old ones, with the browns for the 10s etc. The recent snows people have said 'Well the snow didn't stick here because of the lake, it stuck north of 190'. Yes yes, that is true - but the wind was out of the SW. 'Oh.' It makes a huge difference where the wind is from. But it just goes to show how easy it is for people to assume and not think. Which I sort of got nailed with the other morning because I assumed how my front yard would work temperature wise based on history. I didn't think it would get as cold as it did in my front yard as it appears to have gotten. I still won't truly know until spring. I went ahead and mulched like a madman after the fact. It was cold enough to freeze the philos, and that has to be at least 28 degrees for those to get burnt (they're just like pipes). I just don't know how cold it did get. My microspadix looks burnt a bit and they start so show at around 26 (although I'm still having trouble grasping exactly what cold tolerance means - is it showing damage or outright death? I can't find anything that is specific about it). And it's quite protected outside naturally. So I mulched after the bad freeze. Hopefully in this case late is better than never.