A few interesting zone-pusher plantings around Florida State University (Tallahassee)

[CodyORB]

A lush and wonderful campus, all kinds of native and outside plantings adorning the architecture. Here are some that stood out to me in an area where the airport saw 20F in the early morning hours of January 30, 2022 with multiple trips to the mid-20's through the winter. FSU is a hilly campus, so cold drainage likely helped some of these folks make it through.

I'll start off with this lovely Ceiba speciosa, Silk Floss Tree. I was blown away to see this in Tallahassee, as I've normally thought of these as 9B or 10A plants. This is the first one I've ever seen in North Florida. I'll be delighted to be back here for the fall blooms and the seed pods (if the tree is mature enough)!

Nice to see bananas make a speedy winter recovery and already start churning out fruit!

Striking Caesalpinea pulcherrima/Red Birds of Paradise planted throughout campus.

Nice bougainvillea

Not marginal but still cool:

Massive, decadent, Spanish moss-draped oak tree near Stormier Library. FSU is adorned with these beasts!

Dioon edule. I love how exotic and both futuristic/prehistoric these things look!

Big and coconut-y looking Mule in a protected area near the gym (there's another one by the law school). The palm plantings around the school and TLH were generally on the safe side by PT standards (Butia, Sabal, CIDP, Trachy, Washie, Queen, etc), but can still pull off a tropical look with more cold-resistant non-palms. I saw the Majesty palms near downtown in decent shape, but didn't get a photo of them. I hear of Bizzie's around town as well, but didn't get to see any in person during my 6-week stay. FSU/TLH are also loaded with striking flowering temperates that don't thrive as much in FL's warmer areas.

 

 

 

 

Edited August 1, 2022 by CodyORB
accidentally put too many photos

[Silas_Sancona]

3 minutes ago, CodyORB said:

A lush and wonderful campus, all kinds of native and outside plantings adorning the architecture. Here are some that stood out to me in an area where the airport saw 20F in the early morning hours of January 30, 2022 with multiple trips to the mid-20's through the winter. FSU is a hilly campus, so cold drainage likely helped some of these folks make it through.

I'll start off with this lovely Ceiba speciosa, Silk Floss Tree. I was blown away to see this in Tallahassee, as I've normally thought of these as 9B or 10A plants. This is the first one I've ever seen in North Florida. I'll be delighted to be back here for the fall blooms and the seed pods (if the tree is mature enough)!

Nice to see bananas make a speedy winter recovery and already start churning out fruit!

Striking Caesalpinea pulcherrima/Red Birds of Paradise planted throughout campus.

Nice bougainvillea

Not marginal but still cool:

Massive, decadent, Spanish moss-draped oak tree near Stormier Library. FSU is adorned with these beasts!

Dioon edule. I love how exotic and both futuristic/prehistoric these things look!

Big and coconut-y looking Mule in a protected area near the gym (there's another one by the law school). The palm plantings around the school and TLH were generally on the safe side by PT standards (Butia, Sabal, CIDP, Trachy, Washie, Queen, etc), but can still pull off a tropical look with more cold-resistant non-palms. I saw the Majesty palms near downtown in decent shape, but didn't get a photo of them. I hear of Bizzie's around town as well, but didn't get to see any in person during my 6-week stay. FSU/TLH are also loaded with striking spring-flowering temperates that don't thrive as much in FL's warmer areas.

Nice pictures.. 

Once established, Ceiba speciosa ( and a couple other sp. ) are a bit tougher than some folks might assume..  There's a well known Cactus Nursery in a 9a part of Tucson that has a few massive ones.. Nursery sits on a fairly flat area and they can get nailed during the worst winters but their Ceiba bounce back pretty effortlessly once it warms up.

Another nursery in a different part of town ( higher 9a ...or maybe mid-9b now ) has a large C. insignis?? ( ..or C. aesculifolia, a species from Sonora ) that seems to handle the same mid/ lower 20s pretty well. Campus Arboretum at the UofA ( A = Arizona ) has a few Ceiba specimens as well.  BIG Enterolobium  there as well ...Another large tropical looking tree some consider somewhat cold tender. 

That specimen in your pictures should be old enough to flower/ set seed.  Seen trees in 25gal cans loaded w/ flowers and seedpods later.

Caesaplinia pulcherrima is another subtropical that handles more cold than assumed pretty well..  Grown everywhere here, inc. the colder parts of the valley / region where they can get dusted w/ snow on rare occasion.. Most specimens seen in commercial landscapes are cut to within 14" of the ground in winter almost every year though.

[bubba]

Tallahassee gets cold! That is amazing!

[metalfan]

I've never really understood why Tallahassee gets so much colder than we do because its on the water. They routinely can have high teens there, which we haven;t seen in Gainesville since 2010

[VA Jeff]

Nice mule.  I wish mine looked that nice, but mine has more of a V keeled leaf shape on the newer leaves.

[mnorell]

On 8/1/2022 at 1:34 PM, Silas_Sancona said:

Once established, Ceiba speciosa ( and a couple other sp. ) are a bit tougher than some folks might assume..  There's a well known Cactus Nursery in a 9a part of Tucson that has a few massive ones.. Nursery sits on a fairly flat area and they can get nailed during the worst winters but their Ceiba bounce back pretty effortlessly once it warms up.

Another nursery in a different part of town ( higher 9a ...or maybe mid-9b now ) has a large C. insignis?? ( ..or C. aesculifolia, a species from Sonora ) that seems to handle the same mid/ lower 20s pretty well. Campus Arboretum at the UofA ( A = Arizona ) has a few Ceiba specimens as well.  BIG Enterolobium  there as well ...Another large tropical looking tree some consider somewhat cold tender. 

That specimen in your pictures should be old enough to flower/ set seed.  Seen trees in 25gal cans loaded w/ flowers and seedpods later.

Caesaplinia pulcherrima is another subtropical that handles more cold than assumed pretty well..  Grown everywhere here, inc. the colder parts of the valley / region where they can get dusted w/ snow on rare occasion.. Most specimens seen in commercial landscapes are cut to within 14" of the ground in winter almost every year though.

I think Ceiba speciosa is hardier in the west than the east. When I was living in Natchez, Mississippi, I had one that I planted experimentally (a friend there did this also in his yard). The climate there is a cool-winter 9a and we both lost ours either the first or second winters...I seem to remember that mine resprouted after the first winter but didn't return the second...but don't have records on the temps nor the years involved. But I think that 20F is kind of a borderline for return in the wet winters of the Deep South. Perhaps in New Orleans and Jacksonville (maybe even those sweet spots in Tallahassee) they could be okay long-term with occasional branch/trunk-damage once mature. Though I think Tallahassee is a little bit of a stretch!

Also, Caesalpinia pulcherrima varies in its cold-tolerance among populations. When I was testing these in Natchez, with a "typical" winter (low 20s extreme min most years); in both its usual red-orange-yellow and pure yellow variations, what I call the 'Caribbean form'  (most easily identifiable by the rose-style prickles on the stems), was by no means a guaranteed return there. The most tender I found to be the pink-flowered form of that type, which never returned for me even after a warmer winter. And then there is the much hardier version with stiff hairs that replace those prickles (among a few other details). This is the form used like crazy in the Sonoran desert areas and as far east as Texas and the Gulf Coast and will come back from very low temps quite reliably. I call this the 'Sonoran form' but that is just guesswork on my part because these forms are not documented in any of the botanical literature I have been able to locate, for some crazy reason. In the southeast, somewhere in Florida the 'Caribbean' form becomes the standard in the trade, to the point that the 'Sonoran' form is virtually unknown in Miami.

And regarding Enterolobium: There is (was, presumably still there) a massive E. contortisiliquum (a species from Brasil) at the L.A. County Arboretum, planted at some point in the '50s (maybe earlier), and must have endured some of the really hard freezes that hit SoCal before wall-to-wall urbanization more or less eliminated those kinds of extreme lows. I used to marvel at that tree back in the '80s as it was planted in a very conspicuous spot. Haven't been there in some years so I can't speak to its present condition (or existence). I don't know how it would compare with Mexican E. cyclocarpum, but I have a feeling that many of the species from the Pacific Dry Coastal Forest ecotype found mostly around Nayarit/Jalisco/Colima and extending both northward and southward, ending northerly inland somewhere around Alamos in Sonora, have an inherent ability to endure more cold than one might expect. All of those plants have also evolved to handle a seven-month-plus (very) dry season. The association between drought-tolerance and cold-tolerance is pretty well documented across a broad number of species. Anyone who has visited Puerto Vallarta in May and then returns in September may think they aren't even in the same place, such is the difference between the dry and wet seasons along that coast.

[ahosey01]

On 8/1/2022 at 1:12 PM, CodyORB said:

A lush and wonderful campus, all kinds of native and outside plantings adorning the architecture. Here are some that stood out to me in an area where the airport saw 20F in the early morning hours of January 30, 2022 with multiple trips to the mid-20's through the winter. FSU is a hilly campus, so cold drainage likely helped some of these folks make it through.

I'll start off with this lovely Ceiba speciosa, Silk Floss Tree. I was blown away to see this in Tallahassee, as I've normally thought of these as 9B or 10A plants. This is the first one I've ever seen in North Florida. I'll be delighted to be back here for the fall blooms and the seed pods (if the tree is mature enough)!

Nice to see bananas make a speedy winter recovery and already start churning out fruit!

Striking Caesalpinea pulcherrima/Red Birds of Paradise planted throughout campus.

Nice bougainvillea

Not marginal but still cool:

Massive, decadent, Spanish moss-draped oak tree near Stormier Library. FSU is adorned with these beasts!

Dioon edule. I love how exotic and both futuristic/prehistoric these things look!

Big and coconut-y looking Mule in a protected area near the gym (there's another one by the law school). The palm plantings around the school and TLH were generally on the safe side by PT standards (Butia, Sabal, CIDP, Trachy, Washie, Queen, etc), but can still pull off a tropical look with more cold-resistant non-palms. I saw the Majesty palms near downtown in decent shape, but didn't get a photo of them. I hear of Bizzie's around town as well, but didn't get to see any in person during my 6-week stay. FSU/TLH are also loaded with striking flowering temperates that don't thrive as much in FL's warmer areas.

 

 

 

 

San Marcos Growers, whose records I am inclined to trust, said their Ceiba speciosa suffered no damage at 18F in the winter of 90 or 91... Whichever was the bad one.

[necturus]

I haven't checked the big Ceiba speciosa in the Houston area since the bad freeze. I am sure they all went to the ground.

I had one which got over a foot in diameter at the base but froze in a lesser freeze to the low twenties/high teens years ago. Didn't even try to come back.

[gurugu]

I´m at a 10A zone here, but have never been lucky with C.aesalpinia pulcherrima. I´ve tried it many times, but no way. I have succeded with Calliandra surinmensis though, and I don´t know which of the two is more sensitive to cold, having in mind that it comes from the Guyanas.

[Fishinsteeg234]

I attended FSU from 2005- 2009, graduating in 09’. Back then I didn’t have a keen eye for for plants as I do now, and I don’t remember seeing some of the beautiful plants you have listed when I attended. However, that live oak in front of Strozizer library was a common climbing tree from the 2am crawl-backs from the strip… oh man…that tree has seen many special climbing occasions looking over Landis Green…beers chugged in that tree, slip n slides on the grass, naked dips in the fountain, you name it that tree has seen it!…..Thanks for posting!
 

[Can't think of username]

On 8/3/2022 at 2:59 PM, metalfan said:

I've never really understood why Tallahassee gets so much colder than we do because its on the water. They routinely can have high teens there, which we haven;t seen in Gainesville since 2010

(For everyone in this thread, really).

I know I'm late, but to those who aren't aware, Tallahassee's official weather station is located at the airport. This is well outside the city proper and is often a lot colder in winter (probably because of sandy soil), which even the National Weather Service makes a disclaimer of: https://www.weather.gov/tae/frost_and_freeze_info

I believe the average disparity between the airport and the city is 3.2 Celsius, which would put the city proper as 9b: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tallahassee,_Florida#Climate
And this past winter, the coldest downtown got from my personal googling for 'downtown Tallahassee weather' was -4 Celsius. I'd say that explains why the FSU plants are doing OK.

Before I knew about this, I was also shocked at how 'cold' Tallahassee was.

[D Palm]

There is absolutely no way Tallahassee is 9b. I live 120 miles due east on I-10, and I hit 19 last winter(neighbor recorded). They should get upper teens 1-2 times per decade on average. 

[CodyORB]

A week ago I returned from a trip to the Middle East. I saw some seriously exotic stuff there.

This looks a lot like a ficus dammaropsis (!?), in Tel Aviv. Plenty of big rubber trees and Indian laurel figs as well:

I saw a lot of what looked like Delonix regia as well:

The world's oldest city, Jericho, lurks behind this young planting!

It was fun to see some younger flowering Dracaena Draco's in Tel Aviv, unfortunately the seeds weren't ripe yet:

I loved seeing the abundant commercial date farms as well.

Some of the ancient-ish/Jerusalem-stone-built areas throughout the area were adorned with bougainvillea that complimented the stonework, as seen here in Jaffa (with plenty more in Jerusalem):

Old and new:

I like this little stone/succulent garden in the entry to our ornately historical Jerusalem hotel, with hibiscus in the background. An interesting find, given that Jerusalem has had pretty big dumps of snow in recent winters:

Acacia abundant throughout the Sinai peninsula in Egypt. Such an incredible area (both geographically and historically) that is practically a ghost town now for unfortunate reasons (thankfully we had security during our visit):

Can't forget papyrus in Egypt! I bought a genuine/certified artwork made of them in Cairo. T Here's a planting in front of the Egyptian Museum, with thousands-year-old works on display. What an incredible plant!

Now I'm back at uni in TLH. Hey, I've still got that ceiba to pore over!

[Silas_Sancona]

41 minutes ago, CodyORB said:

A week ago I returned from a trip to the Middle East. I saw some seriously exotic stuff there.

This looks a lot like a ficus dammaropsis (!?), in Tel Aviv. Plenty of big rubber trees and Indian laurel figs as well:

I saw a lot of what looked like Delonix regia as well:

The world's oldest city, Jericho, lurks behind this young planting!

It was fun to see some younger flowering Dracaena Draco's in Tel Aviv, unfortunately the seeds weren't ripe yet:

I loved seeing the abundant commercial date farms as well.

Some of the ancient-ish/Jerusalem-stone-built areas throughout the area were adorned with bougainvillea that complimented the stonework, as seen here in Jaffa (with plenty more in Jerusalem):

Old and new:

I like this little stone/succulent garden in the entry to our ornately historical Jerusalem hotel, with hibiscus in the background. An interesting find, given that Jerusalem has had pretty big dumps of snow in recent winters:

Acacia abundant throughout the Sinai peninsula in Egypt. Such an incredible area (both geographically and historically) that is practically a ghost town now for unfortunate reasons (thankfully we had security during our visit):

Can't forget papyrus in Egypt! I bought a genuine/certified artwork made of them in Cairo. T Here's a planting in front of the Egyptian Museum, with thousands-year-old works on display. What an incredible plant!

Now I'm back at uni in TLH. Hey, I've still got that ceiba to pore over!

  In that climate, would bet the big-leaved Ficus is F. roxburghii / auriculata  rather than F. dammaropsis.

[CodyORB]

Here are the Majesties:

 

[Silas_Sancona]

33 minutes ago, CodyORB said:

Here are the Majesties:

 

A little hungry perhaps but looking great otherwise..  For such a hardy palm, amazes me how coconutty these look. And they won't drop bombs on your head, haha. 

[CodyORB]

To add more to the saga, I found a group of Ceiba near the Dirac Library. And one is already putting out flowers!

[BigFrond]

Love the oak tree.  That looks awesome in size and shape with the moss on it.

[Zone 9a]

Tallahassee is definitely a proper Zone 9a - the airport 8b, occasionally 9a.  Some select urban heat island areas that drain cold air (we have hills downtown) may experiences a string of Zone 9b, but not consistently. Here are some pics from today (December 10) on the NE side of town.  Climate zones are not determined by all time lows or occasional dips to extremes, but expected "cold" lows outside of the mean.  The queen has been there for quite awhile. The B. nobilis and mature citrus, W. robusta, and agave are there to support 9a growing zone claim.  Let the debate begin! 

 

t

Edited December 11, 2022 by Zone 9a

[ahosey01]

On 9/7/2022 at 7:47 AM, CodyORB said:

To add more to the saga, I found a group of Ceiba near the Dirac Library. And one is already putting out flowers!

Interestingly enough - it appears that this species, which is generally evergreen, behaves more like a deciduous tree when temps are between 15F and 27F.

[Can't think of username]

On 8/21/2022 at 12:48 AM, D Palm said:

There is absolutely no way Tallahassee is 9b. I live 120 miles due east on I-10, and I hit 19 last winter(neighbor recorded). They should get upper teens 1-2 times per decade on average. 

If you didn't see Zone 9a's comment, there it is. See also FSU Tallahassee station: https://www.wunderground.com/dashboard/pws/KFLTALLA77/table/2022-01-18/2022-01-18/monthly

Need I say more?

On 12/10/2022 at 7:38 PM, Zone 9a said:

Tallahassee is definitely a proper Zone 9a - the airport 8b, occasionally 9a.  Some select urban heat island areas that drain cold air (we have hills downtown) may experiences a string of Zone 9b, but not consistently. Here are some pics from today (December 10) on the NE side of town.  Climate zones are not determined by all time lows or occasional dips to extremes, but expected "cold" lows outside of the mean.  The queen has been there for quite awhile. The B. nobilis and mature citrus, W. robusta, and agave are there to support 9a growing zone claim.  Let the debate begin! 

 

t

Hi Zone 9a! I'm not into palms or plants but I am into climate, so it's great to hear your input as a local.😀

I was wondering what your thoughts are on the FSU Tallahassee station? Copy pasting a comment I made from another thread, since the station started recording in June 2014:

-Most months beside January haven't recorded a frost. The only November to get a frost was 2014, the only Decembers to get frost were 2017+2020, the only February to get frost was 2015, and no Marches have recorded frost, compared to the airport getting frost all Decembers all Novembers except 2015+2017+2019+2020, all Februaries except 2018+2019, and all Marches except 2015+2016+2020.

-The frosts, if they happen, are really not all that cold either.  Only winter 2014-15+2017-18 were 9a, while 2016-17+2020-21+2021-22 were 9b and 2015-16+2018-19+2019-20 were 10a (even frostless 10a for 2018-19), compared to the airport having all seasons except 2015-16+2019-20 (9b) and 2021-22 (8b) as 9a. 

And I was told by kinzyjr that there would be stations downtown more protected from cold, since they are surrounded by concrete and asphalt on 3 sides compared to the FSU station being surrounded by open air on 3 sides. Since you are in Tallahassee and undoubtedly know way more than I do I'll take your word on anything, but I'm wondering based on the great frequency of 9b+ whether it's possible this FSU station or at least the downtown surrounded stations might actually be 9b instead of 9a that can get strings of 9b?

Finally you and CodyORB are absolutely right on the cold air drainage. I don't know how I missed Cody's comment when I first came to the thread.
That FSU station is 2 1/2 times the elevation of the airport, and such fabulous cold air drainage with the urbanization and being in an area that gets mostly radiational freezes works wonders.

For everyone in the thread, FSU Tallahassee only got to -2.8 Celsius on January 30, 2022. As little as I know about plants that was undoubtedly much easier on whatever FSU Tallahassee has planted than the cold hole airport's -7.2 Celsius on the day would be.

Edited December 18, 2022 by Can't think of username

[Zone 9a]

Everything you said in your post is accurate. A very small pocket of 10a may exist, but that in no way represents the majority of the city which i still place as a solid 9a. The campus, 9b. But...this current arctic forecast may challenge the 9a/b years we've had. Tallahassee is vulnerable to these major arctic outbreaks and can send us into a Zone 8b winter throughout the majority of the city. If the forecast holds, it is looking pretty chilly. Highs may not reach 40. Also, it is more about the time below 32. A quick dip to 22 and back up to 60 is far less damaging than a drop to 22 with a high of 38. 

Edited December 19, 2022 by Zone 9a

[kinzyjr]

5 hours ago, Can't think of username said:

If you didn't see Zone 9a's comment, there it is. See also FSU Tallahassee station: https://www.wunderground.com/dashboard/pws/KFLTALLA77/table/2022-01-18/2022-01-18/monthly

Need I say more?

This station is at the top of a 7-story parking garage:

https://www.palmtalk.org/forum/topic/75122-florida-winter-2022-2023/?do=findComment&comment=1087439

Content of my post from the link copied below for easy reference.

***========================================================================================================================================================***

The readings at this station cannot be considered in a direct comparison with airport weather stations due to its placement.  This weather station is mounted at on the top floor of a 7-story parking garage.  There is no doubt from my point of view that the middle of town would have a more protected microclimate due to all of the concrete and asphalt surfaces, but the difference would have to be quantified with a different station.

This April 2016 view shows the Davis Vantage Pro 2 most clearly:

In the May 2022 view, it looks like they may have shortened the pole a bit, but the readings are still going to be high due to the concrete surface and elevation well above 6 feet.

***========================================================================================================================================================***

[Can't think of username]

8 minutes ago, kinzyjr said:

This station is at the top of a 7-story parking garage:

https://www.palmtalk.org/forum/topic/75122-florida-winter-2022-2023/?do=findComment&comment=1087439

Content of my post from the link copied below for easy reference.

***========================================================================================================================================================***

The readings at this station cannot be considered in a direct comparison with airport weather stations due to its placement.  This weather station is mounted at on the top floor of a 7-story parking garage.  There is no doubt from my point of view that the middle of town would have a more protected microclimate due to all of the concrete and asphalt surfaces, but the difference would have to be quantified with a different station.

This April 2016 view shows the Davis Vantage Pro 2 most clearly:

In the May 2022 view, it looks like they may have shortened the pole a bit, but the readings are still going to be high due to the concrete surface and elevation well above 6 feet.

***========================================================================================================================================================***

Thanks again, copying the older comments is always a good reference. Particularly the change of positioning in the weather station, I think I may have missed that the first time around and it would explain why the pre-May 2022 discrepancies are different from similar post-May 2022 weather events.

I have to say, you guys really have all bases covered for knowledge! Can't tell you how much I appreciate how on top of things members here are, especially compared to my 'point of reference' of City-Data.😁
It's both polite and helpful to pitch in as much as you are.

1 hour ago, Zone 9a said:

Everything you said in your post is accurate. A very small pocket of 10a may exist, but that in no way represents the majority of the city which i still place as a solid 9a. The campus, 9b. But...this current arctic forecast may challenge the 9a/b years we've had. Tallahassee is vulnerable to these major arctic outbreaks and can send us into a Zone 8b winter throughout the majority of the city. If the forecast holds, it is looking pretty chilly. Highs may not reach 40. Also, it is more about the time below 32. A quick dip to 22 and back up to 60 is far less damaging than a drop to 22 with a high of 38. 

That makes sense for a plant, it seems kind of analogous to the temperature of warmer water one might put their hands in to thaw them out from getting cold for example.  

As for major arctic outbreaks, you're probably at least somewhat right in terms of a few times a decade or so. This is looking quite comparable to December 2000/January 2001, or January 2003, which seemed pretty cold AND advective, removing much of the downtown's advantage. 

[CodyORB]

Well the cold events of December 2022 stung pretty much everything pushing the zone... and then some...

Weather data for Tallahassee airport, which has a separate microclimate from FSU but has the most easily available temp history from WeatherUnderground:

Philodendrons and shell gingers are completely defoliated, period. These were the most jarring to see, it looked like a ghastly massacre:

Hawaiian ti, bananas, and citrus trees too (psst psst Livistona Chilensis in the mid-background took minor damage):

The ceiba defoliated; we'll see if it comes back in the spring:

Birds of paradise (background) defoliated even in protected locations; rhapis (foreground) took moderate damage:

A melted opuntia. Yikes:

Even yuccas took some damage:

Red birds of paradise defoliated:

Palms had some surprises. This queen took heavy damage despite its location between two buildings. I honestly thought these were OK for 8B but I guess not. It looked like a ghost:

These small Washintonia robustas got badly burned in a relatively protected location (!!!):

CIDPs were a mixed bag, some (first two) don't look good (turning to a grey, slate-like color), but others (the duo in front of the Westcott building) and a few other younger specimens only took minor damage (to older fronds and some newer/upper ones):

Phoenix dactyliferas held up very well:

Bismarckias were a pleasant surprise, only minor burns!

Mules did amazing, both in protected (first) and open (second) areas!

Cycads: Sagos generally held up well, although some showed mild to moderate leaf damage. All of the dioons I saw held up excellently:

I don't know the ID of these other plants, but I thought they looked neat. The first looked surprisingly tropical for such great hardiness:

Is this some kind of juniper? Thanks!

Tomorrow I'll check out a few more species (the Majesties and the bougainvillea). And that'll be a wrap!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited January 9, 2023 by CodyORB

[Silas_Sancona]

1 hour ago, CodyORB said:

Well the cold events of December 2022 stung pretty much everything pushing the zone... and then some...

Weather data for Tallahassee airport, which has a separate microclimate from FSU but has the most easily available temp history from WeatherUnderground:

Philodendrons and shell gingers are completely defoliated, period. These were the most jarring to see, it looked like a ghastly massacre:

Hawaiian ti, bananas, and citrus trees too (psst psst Livistona Chilensis in the mid-background took minor damage):

The ceiba defoliated; we'll see if it comes back in the spring:

Birds of paradise (background) defoliated even in protected locations; rhapis (foreground) took moderate damage:

A melted opuntia. Yikes:

Even yuccas took some damage:

Red birds of paradise defoliated:

Palms had some surprises. This queen took heavy damage despite its location between two buildings. I honestly thought these were OK for 8B but I guess not. It looked like a ghost:

These small Washintonia robustas got badly burned in a relatively protected location (!!!):

CIDPs were a mixed bag, some (first two) don't look good (turning to a grey, slate-like color), but others (the duo in front of the Westcott building) and a few other younger specimens only took minor damage (to older fronds and some newer/upper ones):

Phoenix dactyliferas held up very well:

Bismarckias were a pleasant surprise, only minor burns!

Mules did amazing, both in protected (first) and open (second) areas!

Cycads: Sagos generally held up well, although some showed mild to moderate leaf damage. All of the dioons I saw held up excellently:

I don't know the ID of these other plants, but I thought they looked neat. The first looked surprisingly tropical for such great hardiness:

Is this some kind of juniper? Thanks!

Tomorrow I'll check out a few more species (the Majesties and the bougainvillea). And that'll be a wrap!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Two last pictures:

#1:  Cast Iron Plant

#2:  98% sure that is a Deodar Cedar. Both are ( ...were, many spectacular, old specimens of both have been removed around San Jose over the years ) VERY common in central CA. Blue Atlas Cedar look similar but have stiffer looking growth / shorter individual needles along the branches. Branches themselves are held more horizontally ( Deodar, older trees esp. ) vs. some degree of weeping ( Blue Atlas ). Cousins / neighborhood friends and i used to use the cones off a massive Deodar growing in a neighbor's yard as Grenades in games of war as kids.. 😁

Red Birds should have no issues / will re-foliate once it warms up. Saw surprisingly sizeable specimens in Patagonia, AZ ..which is a classic zone 8 and can drop to the mid /lower teens.  These survive the colder spots in Tucson where it can get down to ..about 19-18F every few winters also.

Though they did suffer some deg. of damage, some Floss Silk Trees in Tucson that have survived a couple brushes w/ 19-17F cold as well.

Shell Ginger should.....  return from the roots.  Watch them though.

Yucca and Opuntia have to be very tender sp. since we have both here and they tolerate teens where they grow in colder pockets out the desert / mountains north or east of here.

Edited January 9, 2023 by Silas_Sancona
edit

[CodyORB]

Majesties and bougainvillea got burned bad. Some aloes melted. However, some cool-looking variegated yuccas took no damage.

[Tomas]

On 1/10/2023 at 4:50 AM, CodyORB said:

Majesties and bougainvillea got burned bad.

I wonder why the red hybrid of Bougainvillea, there are more cold hardy ones.

#1 Winter 2017 and -4°C, #2 the same year, summer, #3 2019

Edited January 11, 2023 by Tomas

[redbeard917]

On 1/9/2023 at 1:40 AM, CodyORB said:

Well the cold events of December 2022 stung pretty much everything pushing the zone... and then some...

Weather data for Tallahassee airport, which has a separate microclimate from FSU but has the most easily available temp history from WeatherUnderground:

Philodendrons and shell gingers are completely defoliated, period. These were the most jarring to see, it looked like a ghastly massacre:

Hawaiian ti, bananas, and citrus trees too (psst psst Livistona Chilensis in the mid-background took minor damage):

The ceiba defoliated; we'll see if it comes back in the spring:

Birds of paradise (background) defoliated even in protected locations; rhapis (foreground) took moderate damage:

A melted opuntia. Yikes:

Even yuccas took some damage:

Red birds of paradise defoliated:

Palms had some surprises. This queen took heavy damage despite its location between two buildings. I honestly thought these were OK for 8B but I guess not. It looked like a ghost:

These small Washintonia robustas got badly burned in a relatively protected location (!!!):

CIDPs were a mixed bag, some (first two) don't look good (turning to a grey, slate-like color), but others (the duo in front of the Westcott building) and a few other younger specimens only took minor damage (to older fronds and some newer/upper ones):

Phoenix dactyliferas held up very well:

Bismarckias were a pleasant surprise, only minor burns!

Mules did amazing, both in protected (first) and open (second) areas!

Cycads: Sagos generally held up well, although some showed mild to moderate leaf damage. All of the dioons I saw held up excellently:

I don't know the ID of these other plants, but I thought they looked neat. The first looked surprisingly tropical for such great hardiness:

Is this some kind of juniper? Thanks!

Tomorrow I'll check out a few more species (the Majesties and the bougainvillea). And that'll be a wrap!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Definitely clear winners and losers after the cold there. I have a small home in the same county and had quite a bit of damage to my Livistona nitida, but it is finally growing out of it. Thanks for the update. The last two photos which you asked about are probably cast iron plant and deodar cedar.