2007 2007_01 - 2007 California Freeze (AAAAA More data)

[epicure3]

After 29F. No frost.

schefflera. No damage to large specimens. Each 10 feet tall by 8 feet wide.

anthuriums, diffenbachia, song of india, birds nest anthuriums, agalonema, neoreglia (bromeliad), crotons. All under schefflera. All undamaged.

spathodea. Undamaged in full exposure. 7 feet tall fully leafed out.

Plumeria. 1 defoliated but appears undamaged. Fully exposed. 1 under hibiscus canopy undamaged and fully leafed out.

dracaena marginata. Fully exposed. Undamaged.

Clusia Rosea. Covered in frost cloth. No freeze damage (under banana and majesty canopy), but accelerated yellowing of large leaves.

Ti plants. Some freeze burn on one plant, fully exposed. The others under canopy are fine.

ficus lyrata. Some burn to upper leaves but, otherwise, unfazed. About 8 feet tall.

Mango. Under blanket. About 5 feet tall by 5 feet wide (about 40 gallon). Unfazed. Not in bloom. Thank goodness.

Pandanus tectorius. Fully exposed. Very surprised at no damage (at least yet).

Bromeliads look fine. Pineapple was covered but haven't looked underneath yet.

Ixora, under canopy undamaged.

Heliconias!! 2 fully exposed no damage.

2 under some canopy undamaged.

Bananas. One has serious damage to leaves but looks like it will survive since it didn't fall over (about 10 feet tall).

One fruiting banana dead. It was dying anyway since it had fruited, but this just finished it off.

Key lime under a huge cloth undamaged. tree about 8 feet tall by 7 feet wide. Fruit undamaged as well.

Tahiti lime undamaged. Fully exposed.. About 40 gallon size.

acerola cherry. 7 feet tall by about 3 feet wide. Wasn't looking that great before the freeze, but doesn't look to be any worse off.

Brugmansia. 3 trees. Each about 10 feet tall. Looks a little damaged but haven't fully checked it out yet.

Ok, checked it out. All 3 brugs, each about 10 feet tall by 5-6' wide completely defoliated. They are (or were) beautiful specimens. I hope they come back.

colocasias. Mostly under canopy all seem undamaged.

Seagrape. Undamaged, but also protected with heat.

Jade plants. Surprisingly undamaged.

coffea arabica. Don't know yet, but should be ok under canopy.

ginger. Unscathed.

Philodendrons. Undamaged.

ficus elastica. Undamaged. Under a little canopy but also in the coldest part of the yard.

Almost forgot....papaya. Somehow, someway, is still looking like it did before the cold. Alive. Maybe it's frozen stiff in a vertical position and rigor mortis set in.

[spockvr6]

(epicure3 @ Jan. 15 2007,23:10)

QUOTE

Seagrape. Undamaged, but also protected with heat.

Did the leaves change color a bit?

Ive found that mine,although they will take some cold, are very sensitive to temps much under about 40F in showing foliar "change".

And, new growth (the tender red leaves) seem to easily get nipped at even mid 30's.

But, the plant as a whole keeps flying along...these are very fast shrubs/trees.

[epicure3]

(spockvr6 @ Jan. 15 2007,23:19)

QUOTE

(epicure3 @ Jan. 15 2007,23:10)

QUOTE

Seagrape. Undamaged, but also protected with heat.

Did the leaves change color a bit?

Ive found that mine,although they will take some cold, are very sensitive to temps much under about 40F in showing foliar "change".

And, new growth (the tender red leaves) seem to easily get nipped at even mid 30's.

But, the plant as a whole keeps flying along...these are very fast shrubs/trees.

I had the heat a blastin' on them so there was no damage or discoloration.

[Don Little]

Tupidanthus calyptratus at 29 lost its newest leaves but plant should be ok

3 Ensete ventricossum all lost foilage and leaves look like cooked spinach at 29

Monstera deliciosa and Philodendrum congo and selloum no damage at 29

Helliconia latispatha, rostrata, andromeda, golden torch, and lady di all died to the ground at 29

Ti plant (cordyline terminalis 'red sister') no damage at 29

large and small birds of paradise no damage at 29

cyathea cooperi and dicksonia antartica no damage at 29 along with staghorn ferns

Small plumeria on front patio, not sure how cold but still has leaves intact

[Kim]

Ensete ventricosum, leaves wilted more each morning.

Musas:  those on south side of house no damage.  Those in open, younger specimens, leaves scorched at low of 31.

Heliconias:  this was my first plant to show damage after 32.2 low; was in open, no cover.  Other heliconia no damage under canopy even after low of 31.

Various bromeliads:  even with ice in central cups, no visible damage, but may show up later??

Bromeliad Androlepis skinnerii:  last winter looked really bad in shady part of garden, moved to sunny part of garden.  One leaf cold-damaged on each plant, much less damage than last year, even though it has been colder this year.  Better location.

[doubravsky]

24 degree low for several hours under freezing. No frost.

Ensetes and musas, those that still had leaves after all the winds, were totally decimated. I wonder if they'll come back?

Many of the bamboos, gigantochloa, dendrocalamus and even a couple bambusas, all of the leaves were white and crispy.

Hibiscus rosa-sinensis, various varieties, leaves turned to chocolate and fell off one day later.

Ficus Nekbudu, major leaf damage to all leaves. It will defoliate completely.

Rauvolfia... leaves turned to chocolate by Sun. am.

Ficus Dammaropsis.. major leaf damage.

Alpinia Zerumbet, 25% leaf damage.

Various Bromeliads.. even with ice in cups, seem fine so far.

Crotons.. under king palm canopy, seem fine.

[epicure3]

(doubravsky @ Jan. 16 2007,12:25)

QUOTE

24 degree low for several hours under freezing. No frost.

Ensetes and musas, those that still had leaves after all the winds, were totally decimated. I wonder if they'll come back?

Many of the bamboos, gigantochloa, dendrocalamus and even a couple bambusas, all of the leaves were white and crispy.

Hibiscus rosa-sinensis, various varieties, leaves turned to chocolate and fell off one day later.

Ficus Nekbudu, major leaf damage to all leaves. It will defoliate completely.

Rauvolfia... leaves turned to chocolate by Sun. am.

Ficus Dammaropsis.. major leaf damage.

Alpinia Zerumbet, 25% leaf damage.

Various Bromeliads.. even with ice in cups, seem fine so far.

Crotons.. under king palm canopy, seem fine.

You'll know pretty quick, I would think on the bananas as they will just fall over in a big pile of mush if they croak.

[tropicalb]

all manner of cycads under shadecloth

Temps under the cloth unknown /  no frost

Temps outside the cloth 29F to 32F 4 nights in a row

No damage

[Matt in SD]

My lowest temp was 33F on Saturday night, which means that there were likely some areas on my property that got to freezing, but just barely.

Bananas seem to me to clearly be the most tender commonly grown tropical.  It's a bit hard to tell because they are so completely shredded by wind, but there is some cold damage on my more exposed bananas.  

The only other plant with any sign of cold damage is a Brugmansia 'charles grimaldi' that has a few wilted leaves at the very top.

[LJG]

Fycus lyrata

28 Degrees/No frost

After three days of freeze, browning and shedding.

[LJG]

28 Degrees/No frost

Travelers Palm/Ravenala madagascariensis:

[STEVE IN SO CAL]

At the risk of sounding like Bossy Bob...there's a lot of Chatty Cathys on this thread. Let's keep it about the freeze data...whoever volunteers to edit this work someday will have to sift thru less BS if we keep it to the point. Clever, witty quips are unavoidable(since this is a comedy club as well), as well as comments and observations pertinent to the subject.

Also, some are assuming we know how cold it was, what size the plant, etc so please be complete...I'm assuming that incomplete data will be edited out, so you're wasting your time sharing incomplete data.

We have one chance to get this right, so lets not bugger it up  

Don't forget, there is a weather thread for conversation re this event

[Walter John]

settle big fella.

[MattyB]

Clever, witty quips are unavoidable

Don't flatter yerself Steve! :laugh:   Just joking, I agree with what you said.  It takes some big seeds to try and wrangle this group.

[Geoff]

The San Fernando Valley saw some severe damage this weekend... temps were officially recorded from 25F to 28F... my yard thermometer in the shade said 27F for over 5 hours.  However damage to several species of Trachycarpus and outright killing off of Dypsis baroniis might mean it was colder than that.

Every Scheffleria actinophylla in the valley, I have seen so far, are all a lovely choclate color... though now i see they are turning a crispy brown.  My one seedling tree 5' tall is melted to the ground, stem and all.

Bougainvillea all defoliated completely.

Strelitzia nicolais were severely damaged, but variable depeding on locatioin.  S reginaes were fried to a crisp here and there, but untouched in other areas.

Brugmansias totally defoliated of course, as were all Plumerias, Jatrophas, Passifloras, Bougainvilleas...

Platyceriums were either toasted completely (I lost two) or badly damaged depending on the species.  My surprise was P adinum showed almost no damage, though all my P bifurcatums were turned black.  ONe P veitcii totally killed while another older one hardly touched.

Blechnum gibbum killed outright

Cyathea cooperi Brentwood lost all fronds save the new crozier which seems OK... so far.  C medularis killed.

Many species of Aloes severely damaged, though they are taking longer to show their damage: A plicatilis, A vaotsanda, A hardyi, A imalotensis all hit hard.  Agave gypsophila also hit hard.

Alocasia macrorhiza melted to the ground.  All Colocasias as well.

Of course all Pachypodiums defoliated, some damaged worse, though.

All fuschias were defoliated, and pretty sure they won't be coming back.

Bananas and Canas melted to the ground

Dracaena marginatas all defoliated, and D dracos show severe leaf damage.

Common Lantana defoliated (3' tall bush, no protection)

Euphorbia ammaks and ingens moderately to severely damaged and many 'melting' arms 6 days later

Beaucarnea recurvata and guatamalensis severely torched and probably defoliated completely

Papayrus all burnt to the ground

Multiple Encephalartos seedlngs (caudeces less than 4" in diameter) lost most or all leaves (green varieties only)

ZAmia furfuraceas either totally or partially defoliate

Cycas thouarsii badly scorched

Dioon mejiae- some burned and one defoliated

Philodendron bipinnatum (spelling?) killed... mostly

Agaves tequiliana, gypsophylla, careibicola and Furcraea macdougallii all had mod leaf damage

Sadly... roses were untouched.

[PALM MOD]

I agree Steve.

Let's try and keep this particular forum dedicated to data.

[DoomsDave]

Will do, and thanks to our illustrious moderator for alphabetizing everything.  It'll avoid dupe submissions . . . .

dave

[Peter]

Geoff,

where in the valley are you?  I've got a lot of the same plants in Woodland Hills and mine seem to have come thru in much better shape.

[BS Man about Palms]

Several times in the past couple days I've wanted to reply in here, but I just primarilly post observations..

[JEFF IN MODESTO]

Bananas and Heliconias lost 90% leaves,

10 ft tall lychee, 8 ft tall Longan no damage.

20 ft tall 10 year old Macadamia nut  tree... no damage. 7 year old 20 ft tall by 12ft dia.  Cherimoya, lost about 80% of the outside canopy leaves..... still looks like it will recover.

Many tropical guava to 15 ft tall.... some still carrying fruit... lost about 80% of the leaves.

10 ft tall Jaboticaba... no damage. 10 ft tall Roseapple... no damage.

Official low in Modesto was 23f... My garden temps bottomed out at 26.9f

Jeff

[Bilbo]

Aw shucks guys and welcome to Boresville.

OK :I But  do guarantee this works.

Fatsia japonica "Aurea" is Grrrreat in the right shady place preferably next water.

Forget the plain one or indeed "Variegata".

Regardez

Juan

[neoflora]

This is a palm I got from Mardy! D. cabadae look-alike. 3 days at 34 looks good.

[STEVE IN SO CAL]

Bossy Bob here again...

I'm starting to see damage on palms that I thought were going to be OK. My big Rav Glauca is now just starting to show damage, and a Pritchardia that was on the south side of my house next to my constantly used and warm chimney, is starting to fold. Three days ago, these palms looked perfect...

Please be thorough, and if need be, edit your posts to reflect final damage. I'm waiting to share my data when damage shows in its final stage.

Remember, this is a thread dedicated to gathering cold damage data, and we may not(hopefully)have the opportunity to compile such important data anytime soon.

So, please update damage as needed...

[MattyB]

Yes, I too have seen some latent damage.  I've been editing accordingly.  Let's try and make this as scientific as possible.  It will pay off down the road.

[Walter John]

any pics ?

[Shon]

You guys are right on my stuff has taken a turn for the worse 3/4 of my front yard might be lost.

[DoomsDave]

Alas!

I've been updating.

And praying . . . .

So far, things are holding at the levels they were earlier, but, yeah there may indeed be latent damage, given the length of the freeze.

Don't step on cracks . . .

dave

[Gtlevine]

Watch careful for secondary fungal infections that may not show up until spring.

Gary

[neoflora]

Gary, Whatever happens will happen. I will be surfing. I am not spraying any fungicides. If the palms die I will plant new ones. All my butias look better every day.

[neoflora]

Don't know about you guys, but this is supposed be fun!

[BS Man about Palms]

(Shon @ Jan. 19 2007,15:35)

QUOTE

You guys are right on my stuff has taken a turn for the worse 3/4 of my front yard might be lost.

Shon-

I have been looking around town and snuck by Steve in SD's yard today, a lot of places look merely tattered.   You got hit hard.  Maybe you should post a few pics to have us share your misery.

Hang in there pal.

Bill

[DoomsDave]

Shon:

This too, shall pass.

Like gas . . .

dave

[aztropic]

Looks like the papaya had a little trouble with the chill,after 2 nights of 25F.Also lost a few 10 ft tall plumarias which are currently bleeding brown sap from top to bottom.Top 3 feet are drying up and mushy.Expect these plants are already dead.Guava took a few days to show the true damage but all the leaves have since dried up.

aztropic

Mesa,Arizona

[epicure3]

(aztropic @ Jan. 20 2007,10:52)

QUOTE

Looks like the papaya had a little trouble with the chill,after 2 nights of 25F.Also lost a few 10 ft tall plumarias which are currently bleeding brown sap from top to bottom.Top 3 feet are drying up and mushy.Expect these plants are already dead.Guava took a few days to show the true damage but all the leaves have since dried up.

aztropic

Mesa,Arizona

Wow. That papaya looks as if it was a rally nice plant before the freeze. If the stem misn't mushy, it may still come back this spring. Papayas will also branch out after cold damage so you may end up with multiple trunks.

[neoflora]

Wal, I need someone to show me how to post pictures!

[STEVE IN SO CAL]

(neoflora @ Jan. 19 2007,22:23)

QUOTE

Don't know about you guys, but this is supposed be fun!

Ron...if you keep it up, I'm going to have to throw a flag. Taunting is a 15 degree penalty, you don't want that  

[Kim]

More damage showing up now, more than a week later.

I had 3 nights with temps at 32.2, 31, and 32.

Agave attenuatta, which at first looked fine, now has a pitted surface to most of the leaves.

Cordyline fruticosum -- some varieties remain undamaged while others show lots of burning on leaves.  

Aechmea blanchetiana -- a few leaves on the very large mother plant looking very bleached.  Though damaged, I think it will still live; the two attached pups look generally good.

Neoregelia 'Kahala Dawn' showing discoloration and misshapen leaves on plant that was more exposed; other plant with more overhead cover undamaged.

Tillandsia secunda -- I have numerous large pups scattered around.  Two in the center 'cold trough' of my garden are looking very pale yellow rather than the usual grey-green.  

Oranges have fallen off the dwarf valencia orange, a few burned leaves.  Dwarf meyer lemon still appears undamaged.

[BS Man about Palms]

I have been thinking a little about this, this week.  As many of us are now seeing some decline in the look or condition, I would offer that we just add to the thread on that palm, rather than editing.  That way we would get a real time indicator as to when the damage shows up.  (3 days, a week, etc.)

My 2 cents worth.

Bill

[STEVE IN SO CAL]

Bill...what about noting that on this date(date of edit) you are updating your observations to reflect real damage. Then it all stays together in one post per observer...

As I've said before, I'm waiting to add my data. Things are still going bad here. There are some 40' tall Canarys down the hill that are turning completely brown. They looked fine a week ago.

[Kathy]

Yes, I like it when people edit their original post and simply note "Edit on (date x), new observations....."

This way I do not need to play detective and spend minutes and minutes trying to match to the first post and figure out a chain of events among posts far apart.