Anyone have frost damage yet?

OK...it's starting. Black impatiens, begonias, and prostrate Calla lilies.
The Fuchsias will be next.

So much for Sunny Southern California !

My callas are fine--they're in a pretty protected area though. But I have seen damage on my Tibouchina, Vitex trifolia 'Fascination', and Hamelia patens. Of course I'm farther north where we expect things like this a little more, but we had about 4-5 straight days where it got below 30 at night, two mornings in a row my thermometer was reading 25-26. Seems like the cold and frost is starting earlier than it did last year so I'm worried about what the rest of the winter has in store for us!

Brugs look bad, most of the coleus is done for which is to be expected.

J.D., you've had frost in Long Beach? I'm stunned......I thought last year was a quirk and we've had no frost at our place so I really am surprised.

We haven't had frost either but my coleus are gone and so are the begonias. Hakone grass is yellow but it happens even when the temperature is moderate.

That cold air comes in right off the ocean and I swear, it all setlles where I am !

I left a coffee cup outside last night with about a half an inch of water in it, and it was frozen this morning !

No lizards doing push ups on the fence, either !

That's so funny to see it what it doing! lol...


No lizards doing push ups on the fence, either !

No more lizards or other reptiles for a while, I'm afraid !

Has it hurt your plants? Zone 10 is not allowed to have freezing weather!

Well, It cause of the global warming.... It's the way goes for climate....

So they SAY ! Last year I lost a lot of things...fuchsias, SWORD FERN, (who'd have thought) and my Brugmansia looked like someone took a torch to it.

MANY people around here lost tropicals last winter...Banana's , Agapanthus, Plumerias, Gardenias, Hibiscus, etc.

For the past two weeks, my DL's just sort of 1/2 open and the color is totally washed out and not the least bit attractive.

J.D.......I think you're in the Twilight Zone...it can't possibly be colder there than here. And I would think that your garden, being so enclosed and protected would stay warm. Do you think it's just the opposite? That the cold settles in there and can't escape?

You should replace your fuchsias with some hardy ones JD. They are equally as pretty and mine flew through the freeze last year. I can't believe that you lost sword fern though. My brugs didn't make it through the freeze either. Hopefully this year won't be as bad.

Sheri, YES ! That must be why. The cold air has nowhere to go.

Doss...The Fuchsias I lost were Voodoo, Swingtime and Winston Churchill...I thought they WERE tough ones !

Those are supposed to be tough. You are right. And Voodoo is one of my favorites. I guess all of mine are right next to the house which helps.

My neighbor two blocks down the hill has much colder temperatures than I do too. She maintains it's because she's in a local valley and the cold air sinks.

All my brugs I thought I lost last winter all came back eventualy.

Mike, I just cut any daylily scapes this time of year, not worth seeing their pitiful attempt of bloom.

I lost a ton of brugs last winter. The first time for that too.

So far this year it has been so much warmer than last year. My coleus are rotting but that is due to the wetness. My beginias are doing great. They seem to love the colder weather. I even have outside rexes that are gorgeous.

I even have brugs blooming this late with no protection at all. That is a first too though for in years past many would all be in the hoophouse by the end of October. This year I have a die if you must attitude with them. And my hoophouse has so many hibiscus in there, not much room for brugs.

I took this pic today.

Here is an outside begonia that languished all summer and in the last 2 months it has so taken off. And even flowering! I took its pic today to get an ID on it. I want more. LOL

That begonia is gorgeous Kell. I have one that stays outside too. I did bring it in with the freeze last winter though. It might have made it but I didn't want to chance it.

Hi Doss. I had a farfugium question last week. I was hoping you would know the answer but you never came by. I should go find where I posted it and grab your expect knowledge on it.

You know you are the one that hooked me on farfugiums. I just love their name.

What kind of begonia is your hardy one?

All my begonias look fine too, they sure surprised me last year. The canes are beautiful.
I am removing anything this year again that just gets hit too hard, not worth it.
I have several brugs still blooming and a couple that don't show any effects at all.
Kell which one is that, is it the big yellow from SF, I can't remember it's name right now. Mine's blooming too.

I think it may be. The blooms last flush, looked more like it. But it should be in the backyard not the front if it is that one. I also had another yellow from there and it may be that. Heaven forbid I ever label anything. The whole time is was growing I was convinced it was a double pink one a friend had given me. I was so shocked when it bloomed. Sue, let me see your bloom please.

Doss, if you have time would take a look see.
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/796317/

It's a cane begonia - don't know it's name. It was a gift from my father. I went to the foliage plants forum Kell. I sure hope that I answered your question.
Looks as if I might enjoy the foliage plant forum. I never go there.

I thought canes were cold sensitive. I had one defoliate in just the last 2 days.

Thanks Doss

All my canes lost everything last winter, some where I thought they were totally gone. All came back. Right now all look great, no leaf loss at all. I find the canes quite tough, planted several in large pots and in the ground so they can grow bigger and recover from the frost even better.
Pics tomorrow.

To be honest canes hate me, I think. Though I have a very special one from my trip to LA that loves me. But I bought a so cool one at Longs which is in my living room window so kind of dark, and it is slowly dying. Maybe it needs more light?

Sue, I remember pics of your canes in your living room that were to die for.

That one gets a lot of bright light. I had to cut in in half and just rooted those in water and added it to the same pot.

We haven't been hit very hard by the frosts. It was about 31 degrees for two or three days and last night it hit 33 degrees. We are on railnwatch right now. I can hardly wait for the rain The only plants hit by frost were a Columbine and the lantanas. I guess we are lucky.

Thanks,

Chuck

Hurrah, it's raining!

It rained here last night and the temp was up this morning.

Mike, we also had white stuff on the ground here. DH always takes a walk around before he leaves for work and he said there was frost on the bridge over the pond, and a few small plants look pretty bad. Put some row cover over the plumies, since Harbor Freight has been out of stock and we didn't get the greenhouse we wanted up. grrrrr

Sherry, you must be insulated in some way. We had low 30s here for a number of nights.

k

That's why our area is called Winterwarm, I guess. Of course, the corner where I've got new salvia beds is the one spot that if we do get frost...it's right there. I look like an umbrella farm...did I mention this before? All of my plant tables and whiskey barrels have umbrellas...the small 'bistro' umbrellas from HF for $7...and the row cover over the tables (beneath the umbrellas) just in case I think we might get some frost. However, if it's going to rain, I have to go out and remove the cover and close the umbrellas, so a couple of times now I've been out there at midnight playing with the umbrellas. So now I have mixed feelings about the rain...lol...
BTW, Kathleen...still watching those loquats... It's odd, they've not lost more leaves, but have not put out any new growth yet either.

Sherry....your garden must look like Mary Poppins' parking lot !

Kathleen, I'll have to look it up and see if it's ever snowed here. They got snow in Malibu last winter.

J.D. It looks 'jaunty'. We do have a lot of umbrellas here...I like dappled light or shade..... can't stand glaring sun, so everywhere that seems too sunburnt to me, I put up another umbrella. There are 6 around the house, one in the garden with chairs beneath, one in front of the workshop, about 25 small ones and 3 large ones in the nursery. Mary Poppins has got nothin' on me!
We had snow here once maybe 18 years ago, or 19, or 20...somewhere around there.

Mike, by 'white stuff' I meant that white frost on the ground. :-)

I was wondering... !

I has white tiny hail 2 yrs ago in Fontana, CA... Sometime very rare to get snow about 6 yrs ago, too!

As I was kid which it got ice on dog water dish, too!

I have a bad sleet (mixed rain and snow) this weekend...

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year 2008!

Merry Christmas, Anna.

Merry Christmas, Everyone!

Mike, you got me to thinking and I think I do remember snow falling nearby when I was a kid. We lived in Gardena and I wanted to go see it, but I seem to remember being told it was way out past the airport, which could be Santa Monica, and it would be gone before we got there. lol My childhood memories are not real vivid, but I think this one is correct.

We generally went to Big Bear for sledding. Dad made a 'toboggan' out of a piece of sheet metal and it flew down the mountain.

Sherry, duh - Winterwarm! Should have thought about that.

Have had frost 4 days this month already (in Los Angeles county!)... but nothing badly injured... just a few sensitive palm leaves.

I grew up in Lomita Sherry and remember fondly many trips to Big Bear in the summer and the winter. Gardena High always beat us in football. :-)