Soooo....18 degrees in Kure Beach

We were "only" supposed to get down to 22, but it dipped lower. Wind chill of SEVEN too.
I just went out and checked on the plants I thought might have trouble.
Bower vine: This is on the North side of the front yard and winds are completely unencumbered in the front yard. It has some leaf damage, but overall looks fine.
White bird of paradise: it's up against the south side of the house, on the east corner. As expected, it has plenty of leaf burn. DH is bringing more pine straw to help it through tonight's cold.
Spider plants: they've been in the ground for years and as expected, the ones in the front year that are exposed have black leaves and the ones on the south side of the house, look better.
Fatsia and cast iron plants: Both look like they'll have damage; the leaves have frozen. Dislike, but they'll be fine.
Noid succulent - not too sure about this one. It looks fine, but it's also completely frozen, plant and soil.
Today it should get up to a whole 34 and tonight it's supposed to get down to 30.
Barb

Hoping for the best for your plants tonight...

Entlie

As of 3:00 AM, it's 24 degrees, so we staying a little warmer....
BTW- I'm up this ungodly early because I go into work at 5. ;)
Barb

It's a shame when freezes damage our cherished plants. May all your plants return robustly this spring. I do have concerns for your succulent, especially if it's frozen all the way through. My unprotected, out of zone date palms are already toast. I'll probably replace at least one with a Pindo palm.

Temps here bottomed out @ 14f. I'm super curious about anyone growing X butiagrus - Mule palm. I still don't think they're hardy to 10f, but I'd love for someone, especially in zone 8a, to prove me wrong.

Good riddance, polar vortex, and cheers to an early spring, Barb.

Yep! Donna, I think you're right about the succulent. I check on it after it had been in the greenhouse for a day and it was melted. I'm HOPING that they're still life in the base of it. We will see.
I left my mule palms outside, they're in pots, got exposed to the winds and I didn't protected them at all. They're wasn't any damage. Yea! Since I bought mine at Plant Delights, I'll ask them what theirs looks like today when I call them, (I'm trying to buy a plant and have a friend pick it up this afternoon.)
Barb

Yes! I so wanted to hear the Mule Palm made it. I was going to buy one last year during a trip to Fl, but I chickened out because I'm afraid they're not cold hardy all the way to 10f. I belong to the SE palm Society, where I'm hoping to learn how the Mule fared in the upstate. If an unprotected Mule made it up there, I'll definitely buy one this spring.

Thanks again, Barb.

Well ya know, I do have two........

I posted some of my before and after pics on the tropical forum.
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1347020/

It is 68 degrees here late this afternoon but it looks like we are due for more cold weather the end of next week. :-(

ardesia, I just looked at your pictures/ Oh, ick! Nothing looks dead, but still.
Barb

The prolonged cold was unprecedented so who knows what will come back. It will be a learning experience for us all. My ponkan citrus is fine as is the grapefruit tree but the meyer lemon and a neighbor's navel orange look like they are finished for good, their leaves are already falling. A DG friend in central FL says citrus do not recover well. They may live but they never bear fruit the same way or it might be very bitter if they do bear. I am looking at this as a good opportunity to clear out my overgrown garden. Some of my succulents are mush too. I am starting to notice a strange, rotting foliage odor outside. It is weird.

Wishing everyone a better new year and enough energy to clean up this mess. :-)

I think my grapefruit is fine and the Clementine just has curled leaves. but we're been gone since Thursday, so thinks might look worse now.
Several of my smaller succulents are gone I'm sure. I have cuttings in the greenhouse, so no permanent loss.

Agonizing before and after pics, ardesia. Do you know what your lowest temperature was? Do the date palms look affected? That's such a lovely, semi tropical part of SC - hope things rebound for you.

Hope your citus is okay, Barb. I'm still waiting to hear from someone in the upstate of SC concerning the condition of their unprotected Mule Palms. In my backyard, the temp drops all the way down to 10f several times each decade, so I need to be certain the palm is fully cold hardy to zone 8a.

We went down to 24 and it was below freezing for about 30 hours. I am seeing more and more damage each day, it is going to be a mess to clean up. Should have already started that but it is too depressing.

We left for a family event on Thursday, when it warmed back up. When we got home tonight I saw a LOT more damage than there was on Thursday.
The bird of paradise is really looking bad. It isn't dead, but if temps continue to get low, it just may not survive.
The potted plants I had covered made it through, but some are looking better than others. The fish tail palms are brown, as is most of the boston fern. The Bilburgia nutans 'Queens Tears' is actually limp, but not dead.
The grapefruit is mighty upset with very curled and burned leaves. The bower vine next to it is pretty much all brown.
My star jasmine is a lot worse of than I expected, while the Washington orange I had next to it, both covered with a sheet, looks fine.
One plant that did make it through fine is one I bought in September at Plant Delights Nursery, a deciduous agave - Manfreda undulata 'Chocolate Chips'.
I guess I'll be trimming back some plants tomorrow.
Barb

How are the mule palms doing folks? In my neighborhood I see where the Washingtonias, generally super hardy, really took a hit. They didn't brown off until yesterday and today they are looking miserable. These are huge, 25' - 30', established trees. Ouch.

Mine are in pots and were pretty much exposed to the cold North wind the whole time. They show no damage. Yea!
Barb

That's great news.

I spoke with the owner of Moultie Farms, in St Augustine, and he told me he couldn't guarantee a Mule palm in my location, but he did say they were cold hardy in your area, ardesia. I've gotten no feedback from the SE Palm Society, except from someone in the upstate who protected his 10' and 12' palms. I refuse to try and wrap a 12' palm - it's too dangerous. It's really impressive that yours survived in exposed pots, Barb - maybe they really are cold hardy all the way to 10f. Can you tell yet if your mules have more queen or pindo traits?

I'll take a picture. They look more like pindos, which could explain they're hardiness.

Here are pics of the mule palm and the queen. One is MUCH happier than the other. ;)
Barb

Well, crap on a cracker.
http://www.wunderground.com/cgi-bin/findweather/getForecast?query=zmw:28449.1.99999
The cold is supposed to stay around for a week.