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Spring has sprung in the south


Kennybenjamin

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Yeah the wind in Adelaide is horrendous today too. I spent the morning at a dog show and despite wearing sunglasses my eyes feel as if someone has thrown sand in them.

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Finally started to calm down here now.

I spent the first 28 years of my life in Adelaide Pip. From a palm perspective I dont know if Adelaide's climate is much better than Melbourne's!

Climatic Zone: Vile..

Location: 37.765 (S) : 144.920 (E)

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nice... although I don't get motivated when its too warm outside. I get lazy. So I will try to do plantings as early as I can before the heat sets in... our springs are windy here.. I don't have bad allergies thank goodness- but that sand will do a good job ruining my day all on its own.

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I'm sick of the wind here. For the last week it's been gusting annoying westerly winds that are blowing any warmth away. It's cold when the sun is behind the clouds, then for the brief moment that it pops out behind a cloud you start to sweat. Real crumby weather. I can't wait for some warmth and blue skies again.

I hope we get the 27C they forecast for Thursday and then the thunderstorm they reckon will come through afterwards. September is always 75% winter and 25% warmer than winter though. October is the real turning point here. I hope it is anyway.

Millbrook, "Kinjarling" Noongar word meaning "Place of Rain", Rainbow Coast, Western Australia 35S. Warm temperate. Csb Koeppen Climate classification. Cool nights all year round.

 

 

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Finally started to calm down here now.

I spent the first 28 years of my life in Adelaide Pip. From a palm perspective I dont know if Adelaide's climate is much better than Melbourne's!

I don't think it is that different for palm growing. Although Melbourne is a much larger city it has more of everything. Palms seem to be use much more in public gardens there. Have you seen any large Roystonea growing in Melbourne?

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We are in for a hot one in Brissie today..... 32 C in the city which means that my place will likely be closer to 34 C. Chance of a storm this afternoon but I won't hold my breath? The hose will seeing some action at my place later today!

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Pip, I am not aware if there are any Roystonea's in Melbourne. The botanic gardens would be a good starting point if you were looking to see one, or maybe other Melbourne based palmtalkers (I dont know any of them however).

Ben, I would think as long as the wind does not blow, and the hose is pumping, the palms will love it.

Melbourne was "interesting" yesterday - 22 degrees at 3pm, 10.3 degrees at 4pm....

Climatic Zone: Vile..

Location: 37.765 (S) : 144.920 (E)

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The wind has stopped here since yesterday as I'm right under a high pressure zone. My September averages were 8C min, 23.1C max. Coldest night was 0.9C and warmest day 32.8C.

Pip I think Miccles may have planted a Roystonea borinquena in his Melbourne garden. I know he was at least thinking of one before he headed up to Cairns. I would imagine that Roystonea in Melbourne though not totally impossible would be a tough grow. If you had a cool summer it would really look like rubbish. They need lots of heat to look good.

Millbrook, "Kinjarling" Noongar word meaning "Place of Rain", Rainbow Coast, Western Australia 35S. Warm temperate. Csb Koeppen Climate classification. Cool nights all year round.

 

 

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Tyrone, thanks for the info. I reckon Pip should give the Roystonea a try. In recent years one thing Adelaide has had plenty of is summer heat!

Climatic Zone: Vile..

Location: 37.765 (S) : 144.920 (E)

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Tyrone, thanks for the info. I reckon Pip should give the Roystonea a try. In recent years one thing Adelaide has had plenty of is summer heat!

Roystonea do grow in Adelaide. I don't think the nurseries offer them very often due to how much water is needed to grow them well.

I planted a seedling in a clients garden last year but unfortunately will probably not get the chance to see how it grows. The client is nutty about their tropical garden so I think it will be successful.

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Finally started to calm down here now.

I spent the first 28 years of my life in Adelaide Pip. From a palm perspective I dont know if Adelaide's climate is much better than Melbourne's!

Me too. I don't think I've said that too often! Spent half my life in each city, disowned by both. Is Bordertown some kind of compromise? (Of course not).

Adelaide is at 35 as opposed to Melb's 38 deg South- same as Sydney. Overall, warmer and traditionally drier. Victoria's rainfall is declining though and our extreme heat events give Adelaide a run for its heatwave money. I have friends in Adelaide with more success growing heat-loving palms. Subtropical montane and cloud forest palms are better here, but the clock is ticking on those guys, too. Desert palms and those from higher altitude are the best chance of a successful palm canopy in the long term. For example, Brahea armata adores being cooked. Parajubaea torallyi is totally unmarked in 45 degree conditions. ( talking Celsius people - 113F :0. )

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Tyrone, thanks for the info. I reckon Pip should give the Roystonea a try. In recent years one thing Adelaide has had plenty of is summer heat!

Roystonea do grow in Adelaide. I don't think the nurseries offer them very often due to how much water is needed to grow them well.

I planted a seedling in a clients garden last year but unfortunately will probably not get the chance to see how it grows. The client is nutty about their tropical garden so I think it will be successful.

Yes Roystonea is worth a go in Adelaide. They can be touchy in Perth at 32S, but given the right conditions can fruit in Perth. For what it's worth I'm giving R borinquena a try here and I'm just a few kms within the 34's but really should be considered 35S. I had a nice R oleracea in Perth as well as a good regia. If my borinquena (supposedly the most cold tolerant) does alright here, I may give regia a try in a north facing heat sink area protected from the wind by giant bamboo. At the moment my borinquena packs the full punch of the wind on the island on a lake. Probably not ideal, but it's still green. It had two leaves but a few weeks back a storm smashed it's largest leaf into the ground. I'm waiting for this summer for it to pull out of the holding pattern it's in at the moment.

Millbrook, "Kinjarling" Noongar word meaning "Place of Rain", Rainbow Coast, Western Australia 35S. Warm temperate. Csb Koeppen Climate classification. Cool nights all year round.

 

 

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Well it was a tropical sort of day today. I got up this morning and it felt like Qld, with thunder clouds and all warm. My weather station recorded a 28.4C max before the batteries went on the outdoors unit (I must put Lithiums in). It may have hit 30C. We had some periods of rain and then sun and humidity was sky high all day with a haze blocking visibility to about 10kms. At 7.45 pm it's just under 20C 75% RH and all the frogs are going crazy outside en masse. I can hear three species all going at once with different calls. Who said the country is quiet. It's deafening.

If this is summer weather, then bring it on.

Millbrook, "Kinjarling" Noongar word meaning "Place of Rain", Rainbow Coast, Western Australia 35S. Warm temperate. Csb Koeppen Climate classification. Cool nights all year round.

 

 

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Yay! That weather will reach me by Saturday. It was cool and cloudy but no rain here this morning but it cleared nicely by the time I got to Port Adelaide for some Dolphin spotting. Came home with sun burn but did manage to see a few Dolphins.

Thanks for your advice about Roystonea, Tyrone. The one I planted last year was in north eastern Adelaide suburb was in a wind protected position right next to heated swimming pool intended to be used year round (the heat pump is massive). I think it will do well. All the others I've spotted have been planted on the north side of the houses.

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Yay! That weather will reach me by Saturday. It was cool and cloudy but no rain here this morning but it cleared nicely by the time I got to Port Adelaide for some Dolphin spotting. Came home with sun burn but did manage to see a few Dolphins.

Thanks for your advice about Roystonea, Tyrone. The one I planted last year was in north eastern Adelaide suburb was in a wind protected position right next to heated swimming pool intended to be used year round (the heat pump is massive). I think it will do well. All the others I've spotted have been planted on the north side of the houses.

Yes, that would be the way you'd want to plant a Roystonea. They can take some cold weather even frost, but the averages need to be relatively high for them to succeed. In their native area in Florida they can occasionally get a freeze, but because the weather is normally like SE QLD and north they keep going. Cold, damp, shady aspects don't suit them. Warm to hot, damp and sunny is what they love.

Millbrook, "Kinjarling" Noongar word meaning "Place of Rain", Rainbow Coast, Western Australia 35S. Warm temperate. Csb Koeppen Climate classification. Cool nights all year round.

 

 

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I think it's the cold wind that damages Roystonea in our part of the world, I'm sure if we didn't have wind, they would look perfect.

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Still no rain this corner of the country, and still doesn't look like any's coming any time soon. Average max. temperature for September was 37.2, average for October (3 days) is 38.0. Darwin was 33.2 for September and 33.3 for October. Amazing the difference a few kms from the coast can make. Darwin's been getting the sea breeze mid morning, we're getting it late afternoon.

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Had about 15mm of rain this weekend. Some real heavy but brief downpours at times. The grass is now growing at an insane pace as the average temps have risen a bit too.

Millbrook, "Kinjarling" Noongar word meaning "Place of Rain", Rainbow Coast, Western Australia 35S. Warm temperate. Csb Koeppen Climate classification. Cool nights all year round.

 

 

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A hot northerly wind is trying to push everything horizontal here right now has also dried up the few spots of rain.

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A hot northerly wind is trying to push everything horizontal here right now has also dried up the few spots of rain.

Yep, that's very annoying isn't it!! That's the sort of weather we get here in Brissie too, except our worst winds are westerlies not northerlies. I suppose both of those winds are coming from the same place...... Outback oz.

I hope you and I both get some rainfall very soon!!

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What a weird day. Min 2.1C max 30.6C and almost dead still. Not the driest air either. Weird.

Millbrook, "Kinjarling" Noongar word meaning "Place of Rain", Rainbow Coast, Western Australia 35S. Warm temperate. Csb Koeppen Climate classification. Cool nights all year round.

 

 

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Any rain Tyrone? And did you get the cold weather that came through Melbourne yesterday?

Climatic Zone: Vile..

Location: 37.765 (S) : 144.920 (E)

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No rain today. We had that cold here on Saturday Sunday. My October temp graph is looking schizophrenic at the moment. Looks like thunderstorms and rain from Fri to Mon coming up.

Millbrook, "Kinjarling" Noongar word meaning "Place of Rain", Rainbow Coast, Western Australia 35S. Warm temperate. Csb Koeppen Climate classification. Cool nights all year round.

 

 

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First storm for the season tonight, however it's absolutely p... weak. I've been staying up watching it come in on the radar. But it's breaking up as it approaches. Light spitting rain so far, nothing registered in the rain gauge. Average maximum temp for October is 38.4 now and slowly creeping up. In a fortnights time the sun will be directly overhead.

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Brisbane weather has been very ordinary!! Dry and windy which we hate!! There has been the promise of rain but it never eventuates... I think Pedro in Northern nsw has been getting some precipitation??

Dry and windy here...... Palm killing weather!!

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Yeah, no better down here on the Goldie either Ben...storms have basically missed our area...we just get the edge of them and a few spits of rain...hate to think what my water bill is going to be like!

Daryl

Gold Coast, Queensland Latitude 28S. Mild, Humid Subtropical climate. Rainfall - not consistent enough!

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First rain of the season, got 10.5mm last night and 3mm this evening. But it's brought the temps down, only got to 37.2 tiday. Bureau's looking at perhaps another 2 days with some rain about and then back to sunny and hot again.

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Seems like everyone has their challenges at the moment. Maybe a dry summer?!

We are getting some warm weather over the next 5 days, I am hoping that is the end of any prolonged cooler weather in Melbourne

Climatic Zone: Vile..

Location: 37.765 (S) : 144.920 (E)

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I'm beginning to think spring is over because Adelaide is looking at a low of 21 and a high of 37. Its time to clean the pool.

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We had over 50mm of rain here over the weekend (mostly Sunday) from strong storms. The rain gauge overflowed so I can't really say exactly how much we got. The lakes are full to overflowing again and the house tank is overflowing which is a great position to be in before summer kicks in, whenever it decides to kick in. It's been quite wintery here lately.

Millbrook, "Kinjarling" Noongar word meaning "Place of Rain", Rainbow Coast, Western Australia 35S. Warm temperate. Csb Koeppen Climate classification. Cool nights all year round.

 

 

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Lucky you Tyrone. I wish Adelaide had received it's usual spring rain my rainwater tanks are dry. I have to use town water now. Rainwater tastes so much better.

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No let up to the dry air here, October average temp still holding at 38.4 and one week to high sun here. Struggling to keep some plants going, but have lost some as well.

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Must be tough up there tropicbreeze. 6months with little rain and high heat! Have you got a huge tank to catch heaps of wet season rain?

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I irrigate directly from the bore which also fills a small tank with pressure pump for house, etc. A few years back I got hold of a second hand 45,000 L tank with liner but haven't put it up yet. Installation has to be cyclone coded and that costs.

But amazingly enough, last night I was awoken by the sound of torrential rain, about 1:00 am. A small cell formed overhead and opened up. Got 24.5mm, all in about 15 minutes. The most anyone else in the Darwin area got was 1 - 2mm. Even the weather bureau's Noonamah AWS only got 2.8mm. The cell moved west to the coast affecting only Berry Springs and probably Dundee Beach. It pays to whinge and moan about the dry weather, as they say it's the squeeky wheel that gets the oil. :winkie:

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Awesome, but costly, depending on how deep down you have to go. Looking at about 45 - 50 metres, don't expect much change out of $15,000. If you're looking at less depth there's not a lot of difference, you're still having to pay for the drill rig to go out, set up, and then clean up afterwards and return to base. Then there's the cost of maintenance on the pump and electricity to run it. Town water is a lot cheaper even though at times subject to restrictions. But, like "The windows on the bus....", the watertable under your land goes up and down ..... up and down. And that can be a worry at times.

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Thanks for the info. I often dream of having unlimited 'free' water. But that initial outlay might be a bit to much to swallow. Im not sure about permits and all that around these parts. If you were looking at it, how much space does it take up now that it's finished? A small shed size?

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On Wednesday night I got another 31mm of rain. We had thunderstorms that lasted for 10hrs straight. About a flash of lightening every 1-5 seconds for 10hrs. That boosted the lake levels to heights I've never seen here before. It kept raining yesterday but the lakes have dropped down to their "full" level as they drain out into the river system here. The place is a squelchy swamp at the moment with standing water everywhere. Since Sunday we've received 80-90mm of rain which I think exceeds the October average. I was getting ready to install more extensive irrigation here, but this rain has given me a couple of weeks I think. I'm lucky that I can pump irrigation water straight out of the lake.

NApalm, if you put a submersible pump in, you get a 100mm diameter hole drilled into the ground, you throw the pump down the bottom of the hole, the hole has a cap on top of the spear with the main water line and power going down the hole going through the cap, you put a small "bore box" on top of it and bury it all underground so you don't even see it. Your depth to ground water is what determines the cost and what sort of ground you're drilling into. In Perth the ground water was only a few metres down and you had to drill through sand and clay, maybe limestone closer to the coast and the installation costs were about $3000-$5000 including pump. The pumps are around $1500-$2000 retail for a good one. Some places you have to go down further. Some drillers are prepared to drill through anything. Others get scared when it's anything other than sand because it may damage their drill bit which is diamond tipped and very expensive to replace.

Millbrook, "Kinjarling" Noongar word meaning "Place of Rain", Rainbow Coast, Western Australia 35S. Warm temperate. Csb Koeppen Climate classification. Cool nights all year round.

 

 

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