Art_R

My Namwah flowered the first week of December. I thought this was terrible timing, but we didn't have a freeze this year. So now in April, there are plenty of leaves on the pseudostem and the bananas are filling in very nicely. In fact this the third straight year without a freeze. That made me start to wonder what zone we're really in?

We bought our house in Ormond Beach, FL, USA in 2009. Back then we were in zone 9a. In 2012, the USDA updated the map and Ormond Beach became zone 9b. I decided to geek-out a little and tabulate the annual low temperatures for the past 10 years and found the average for the past 10 years was 32.4 degrees F (very zone 10-like). I know that the USDA zones are based on 30 year averages, not 10 year averages. So I can't definitively say that Ormond Beach is now in zone 10, but it sure makes me think we are at least headed in that direction. Although the cold temperatures in Texas this year seem to contradict my theory. What does everyone think about this?

Temperatures in Ormond Beach, FL, USA

This is what happens when an engineer retires.

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Here's what I'm growing: Grand Naine, Namwa, Blue Java, Raja Puri, Patupi, & a mystery nanner

Starstryke

Well we got colder than we have in decades in 9a SE Texas with a low temperature of 13F but most of my bananas survived. Not sure about adding more but if I do I will need to replace the Aeae.

Backyard Banana Joe

Not sure, but my dwarf Cavendish lost all !eaves despite no frosts, and our neighbors soursop tree died. so it got cold even if it didn't frost. I dunno.

pitangadiego

All "zones' are averages, and subject to variation and other issues. FL is pretty uniform in elevation, whereas in San Diego you can change 200' in a short distance from tops of mesas to bottoms of canyons and valleys which can mean 20 degrees difference within 1/2 a mile at times. But all would be considered the same "Zone". We were probably 5-7 degrees about our usual lows this year, which sounds good. But had the worst winds we have had in 30+ years. Probably because of the higher low temps, my fig trees are breaking more buds that usual - guessing related to lack of normal chill. Weather is an every changing thing. Look at any chart for annual rainfall by year, high and low temps by year for any given date.

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