Rainy Season Starts Off with a Bang

[Yunder Wækraus]

On 7/24/2016, 10:48:10, Cocoa Beach Jason said:

Sorry guys I think I jinxed beachside central FL starting this post. I don't think my yard has seen rain in about 3 weeks and it has been a hot hell hole here. Cocoa Beach is also turning brown. Luckily we have irrigation that the city lets us turn on 2 x a week. I see big storm clouds west of us very often but it just hasn't made it to the barrier islands. 

It's bad. I'm losing plants. I don't have sprinklers, and I only expected to water a few plants by hose. I feel like I'm back in CA :-( 

[palmsOrl]

15 hours ago, Yunder Wækraus said:

It's bad. I'm losing plants. I don't have sprinklers, and I only expected to water a few plants by hose. I feel like I'm back in CA :-( 

I'm also losing plants (orchids, palms, others).  This has been an awful summer.

[willo68]

Rain passes me by every day and downpours everywhere else it seems. I collect rain water when i get my once in a blue moon rain so i keep the manual watering going at least once a week sometimes twice if i have time. I have not loss anything yet in fact everyone is growing new leaves, although realllll slow but ill take it. Even the orchids have all bloomed again this year but you can see the heat stress an lack of constant rain on them. Seems like the rains will be a wash this year so the struggle will continue. I only lost one palm this year so far, Euterpe Edulis, in a pot due to i guess mealy bugs( white fluffy thingys). I didnt catch them on time and when i did i sprayed and finished her off, also noticed some black thingys i guess are scale on many of my palms so ive been running around with a rubbing alcohol cotton swab on them to control it. Anyone else see these this year? Never had this before but the alcohol is working.  

[palmsOrl]

I've gotten to where I just hit an individual palm with systemic (imidocloprid) if insect problems become significant (usually the same for fungal issues, though it is often too late and I have seldom been able to ultimately save a palm once disease becomes apparent).  Spider mites are often a problem in warm/hot dry weather here.  So far, I have lost the following to the relentless heat/sun and lack of moisture: Areca vestiaria orange, Neoveitchia storckii, Pinanga coronata, Archontophoenix purpurea and my Pinanga javana looks bad.  Even the row of small Hawaiian tall Coconuts in full sun on the side yard look yellowish from the unending scorching sun.

We did actually get 0.6" of rain this past afternoon, due to the unexpected appearance of widespread shower and thunderstorm activity on Friday.  So my location has probably seen very roughly 3.5" of rain since July 1.  Still, the overall dry pattern looks locked in and the forecast seems to lack any indications of a fundamental change in the current pattern that would bring normal 40% on average rain chances to the area for a sustained period of time.  The Cape Verde hurricane season shows signs of life though, so maybe we can get some bursts of tropical moisture (minus a hurricane) from the tropical Atlantic before the rainy season winds down late in September.

 

[willo68]

Wow, that sucks. You lost some some pretty neat stuff. Glad i have some queens around to give shade when needed. Hope it rains soon, my barrels are empty and its time to get the hose out again and with work i can be gone for 5 days so have to water like crazy before i leave.