Southern Hemisphere growing season 23/24

[Tyrone]

Got shade cloth out and misters fitted.

Last night was the warmest night I’ve ever recorded here. I’ve been here just over 10 years and never recorded a minimum of 20C or higher. Last night around 11pm it dropped to 20.2C and then got warmer. Most of the time after that it sat in the 22,23C range. This morning at 6.15am it was already 24C. That’s our average max temp in summer. It’s been so warm due to the cloud cover over us from a decaying cyclone out in the Indian Ocean. I’m hoping the cloud hangs around today to take the edge off of the sun. I think though we are definitely headed for anything from 40-44C today. 

[Tyrone]

The worst case scenario happened. 44.1C

Even the middle of town got into the 40s along the coast.

[cbmnz]

1 hour ago, Tyrone said:

The worst case scenario happened. 44.1C

Even the middle of town got into the 40s along the coast.

Wow, as in extreme as opposed to good,  guess the cloud cover cleared. Hope no further damage. That's well outside what a Chatham Nikau has to endure where they come from.

 

[Tyrone]

2 hours ago, cbmnz said:

Wow, as in extreme as opposed to good,  guess the cloud cover cleared. Hope no further damage. That's well outside what a Chatham Nikau has to endure where they come from.

 

A weather station about a km away hit 44.9C. Though not an official reading I believe it. Absolutely insane heat for this far south on the southern ocean. I never even experienced that level of heat in Perth when I had my palm garden. My Abyssinian banana looks a bit melted. Heliconias are also a bit melted.. Some of my newly planted Chathams though under canopy had gaps in the canopy and they look a bit limp and burnt. I’ve also got some Archontophoenix purpureas that were undamaged from the 41C we had the other week and were just opening a new spear and the new frond is damaged now. I’ve never experienced that level of heat in my life and I’ve travelled in the Pilbara in summer. The problem is I can’t hydrate everything now in one hit as I simply don’t have enough water to water everything in one night. For this sort of heat and for cold and frost, canopy is king. 

[tim_brissy_13]

On 2/20/2024 at 11:25 PM, Tyrone said:

A weather station about a km away hit 44.9C. Though not an official reading I believe it. Absolutely insane heat for this far south on the southern ocean. I never even experienced that level of heat in Perth when I had my palm garden. My Abyssinian banana looks a bit melted. Heliconias are also a bit melted.. Some of my newly planted Chathams though under canopy had gaps in the canopy and they look a bit limp and burnt. I’ve also got some Archontophoenix purpureas that were undamaged from the 41C we had the other week and were just opening a new spear and the new frond is damaged now. I’ve never experienced that level of heat in my life and I’ve travelled in the Pilbara in summer. The problem is I can’t hydrate everything now in one hit as I simply don’t have enough water to water everything in one night. For this sort of heat and for cold and frost, canopy is king. 

Hi Tyrone, I assume your Lepidorrachis is not enjoying this. Is it still alive? I’m pretty convinced I could be successful here under dense canopy but getting my hands on one is the current challenge. 
 

Overnight minimum of 23C last night for us. Yesterday was 35C, today headed for 36C before a cool change and a few days in the low 20s. Typical Melbourne. 

[Tyrone]

2 hours ago, tim_brissy_13 said:

Hi Tyrone, I assume your Lepidorrachis is not enjoying this. Is it still alive? I’m pretty convinced I could be successful here under dense canopy but getting my hands on one is the current challenge. 
 

Overnight minimum of 23C last night for us. Yesterday was 35C, today headed for 36C before a cool change and a few days in the low 20s. Typical Melbourne. 

The Leppidorrachis I planted out is now long dead. There’s no way it would have survived Tuesday. 

[Tyrone]

Some after shots. The Chatham Nikau and tree ferns came through with flying colours. Abysinnian banana though was stir fried a bit. The soil never dried out either. The bananas slightly tinged on a couple of leaves but otherwise are ok. The soil for the bananas is always very moist. 

[Tyrone]

Close up of Abysinnian banana. Kentias got burnt too. The Kentias are under tree canopy too, but the little breaks in the canopy let the red hot sun burn through. It was a mega hot day. 

[PalmCode]

On 2/22/2024 at 12:00 PM, Tyrone said:

The Leppidorrachis I planted out is now long dead. There’s no way it would have survived Tuesday. 

Gutterd to hear that...Do you have any more of them? Your climate can centanly see some extreme heat just like that.

[Tyrone]

21 hours ago, PalmCode said:

Gutterd to hear that...Do you have any more of them? Your climate can centanly see some extreme heat just like that.

I may have some seeds that might still germinate. I have some sad seedlings that just browned off in the heat without seeing a ray of sunshine. They can take years to come up.

However I don’t think there’s much hope for this species here. Maybe if my property was on a peninsula surrounded by the southern ocean under deep canopy where it only ever occasionally gets over 30C then this species may stand a chance. 
 

I got quite a few to germinate in years past and thought that I’d nailed it and these would be a relatively easy grow. But come late summer early autumn they would suddenly go downhill. That was even though they were in very sheltered shady conditions and stayed moist and I thought cool. Obviously not cool enough. I’ve realised that it’s the dewpoint that matters. That’s what I also found with Juania, only they were even worse. We could have a 32C day but reach dewpoints around 22, 23C and within a couple of days you could see the brown tipping start and it would progress to whole leaves dying or the entire plant. Juania’s dewpoint max at a guess was 18, or 19C. The problem with the shadehouse was it was moist so the dewpoint was probably even a few degrees higher, even though the temp was lower than ambient. Dewpoints are impossible to fight when you need a lower dewpoint. You basically need a refrigerative air con unit and then some mister system to put moisture back into the air at the right temp. (I’m not NASA so that is beyond me.)

 

In the case of Leppidorrachis this observation makes a ton of sense to me. On LHI, you don’t see a single Leppidorrachis until you are at the top of Mt Gower. They start abruptly and you would definitely be in the 800m asl mark. Hedyscepe on the other hand gradually start. When Hedyscepe start (around 400m at a guess) you are still in Howea belmoreana territory and they coexist as you ascend for quite a bit before Hedyscepe becomes dominant. Hedyscepe continue right to the top with Leppidorrachis but there is no gradual introduction to Leppidorrachis. You almost turn a corner and bang, there they are. Thinking of seed dispersal, many Leppidorrachis seed must fall to lower elevations due to gravity, water movement, or birds, yet they mustn’t come up or live for long. 
 

The max temp at the top mustn’t be higher than around 22C as at sea level 850m below roughly, never gets above 28, 29C. If the top got to 22C with a dewpoint of 22C it’s now in cloud with 100% RH. That’s the limit I think for this species. It would never see 35C with 23C dewpoints which is lowland tropical conditions. 
 

So my LHI species limit is Hedyscepe which grows well in the right area. My Leppidorrachis that died was planted right next to a nice Hedyscepe in the shade, and that one didn’t bat an eye lid thru that 45C day. 
 

So I’ve come to realise that at my place, even though it averages a certain type of weather pattern, it’s the extremes that limit what I can grow. Either extreme cold or extreme heat. They do the damage. That’s the sobering truth of gardening anywhere I suppose.

[PalmCode]

6 hours ago, Tyrone said:

I may have some seeds that might still germinate. I have some sad seedlings that just browned off in the heat without seeing a ray of sunshine. They can take years to come up.

However I don’t think there’s much hope for this species here. Maybe if my property was on a peninsula surrounded by the southern ocean under deep canopy where it only ever occasionally gets over 30C then this species may stand a chance. 
 

I got quite a few to germinate in years past and thought that I’d nailed it and these would be a relatively easy grow. But come late summer early autumn they would suddenly go downhill. That was even though they were in very sheltered shady conditions and stayed moist and I thought cool. Obviously not cool enough. I’ve realised that it’s the dewpoint that matters. That’s what I also found with Juania, only they were even worse. We could have a 32C day but reach dewpoints around 22, 23C and within a couple of days you could see the brown tipping start and it would progress to whole leaves dying or the entire plant. Juania’s dewpoint max at a guess was 18, or 19C. The problem with the shadehouse was it was moist so the dewpoint was probably even a few degrees higher, even though the temp was lower than ambient. Dewpoints are impossible to fight when you need a lower dewpoint. You basically need a refrigerative air con unit and then some mister system to put moisture back into the air at the right temp. (I’m not NASA so that is beyond me.)

 

In the case of Leppidorrachis this observation makes a ton of sense to me. On LHI, you don’t see a single Leppidorrachis until you are at the top of Mt Gower. They start abruptly and you would definitely be in the 800m asl mark. Hedyscepe on the other hand gradually start. When Hedyscepe start (around 400m at a guess) you are still in Howea belmoreana territory and they coexist as you ascend for quite a bit before Hedyscepe becomes dominant. Hedyscepe continue right to the top with Leppidorrachis but there is no gradual introduction to Leppidorrachis. You almost turn a corner and bang, there they are. Thinking of seed dispersal, many Leppidorrachis seed must fall to lower elevations due to gravity, water movement, or birds, yet they mustn’t come up or live for long. 
 

The max temp at the top mustn’t be higher than around 22C as at sea level 850m below roughly, never gets above 28, 29C. If the top got to 22C with a dewpoint of 22C it’s now in cloud with 100% RH. That’s the limit I think for this species. It would never see 35C with 23C dewpoints which is lowland tropical conditions. 
 

So my LHI species limit is Hedyscepe which grows well in the right area. My Leppidorrachis that died was planted right next to a nice Hedyscepe in the shade, and that one didn’t bat an eye lid thru that 45C day. 
 

So I’ve come to realise that at my place, even though it averages a certain type of weather pattern, it’s the extremes that limit what I can grow. Either extreme cold or extreme heat. They do the damage. That’s the sobering truth of gardening anywhere I suppose.

Thanks for that in depth reply Tyrone, fascinating stuff... Those natural conditions required to grow Leppidorrachis outside their natural range must be an all most impossible challenge unless you have those milder, warm summer temperatures and the good dewpoints as you've described. It's good to hear your Hedyscepe is fine though.

[PalmCode]

Got to 28C today. There might be a chance of some rain the next couple days(10-20mm)  which would be good.

Edited February 24 by PalmCode

[tropicbreeze]

On 2/10/2024 at 11:17 AM, Tyrone said:

Just got some liners in two ponds in. Another to go. In the heat you just want shade and water. 

 

With all those ponds/waterholes you have do you have issues with algal growth?

[tropicbreeze]

February turned out a touch over average rainfall at my place keeping the wet season also running a touch above average. The baton has now been passed to March, let's hope it can keep up the pace. March is a relatively high rainfall month here, average 9.3 mm per day. It's April when it drops off drammatically.

February Mean minimum 25.5. mean maximum 33.3
The sun has passed its high point and is edging down northwards. Currently UV predictions up to between 16 - 15 (instead of consistantly to 16).

The weather models are in 'docile mode' for the forecast period (10 days).

[Tyrone]

23 hours ago, tropicbreeze said:

 

With all those ponds/waterholes you have do you have issues with algal growth?

Surprisingly no. I don’t know why. You would think so right. 

[tropicbreeze]

On 3/2/2024 at 2:54 PM, Tyrone said:

Surprisingly no. I don’t know why. You would think so right. 

Algae needs nutrients, sunlight and of course some algae to start it off. My main dam itself doesn't get it, not to any noticeable extent. It was there when I bought the place and it's surrounded by large canopied trees. I dug out a large outlet channel and then an inlet one.  Great for backyard canoeing. But both the inlet and outlet are more in the sun most of the day. There's always been a lot of traffic from waterbirds that will  carry algae around. Apart from the water table, the dam is fed by surface run off water. There'll always be nutrients there.

[peachy]

This was meant to be an El Nino season,  dreaded by all.  They are now calling it a wet El Nino. I think they are ashamed to admit that El Nino had a gender reassignment.  The killing heat seems to have finished but the humidity is brutal. I don't ever remember it being this high for so long. It has been one long battle with mealy bug too.

Peachy 

[Tyrone]

11 hours ago, tropicbreeze said:

Algae needs nutrients, sunlight and of course some algae to start it off. My main dam itself doesn't get it, not to any noticeable extent. It was there when I bought the place and it's surrounded by large canopied trees. I dug out a large outlet channel and then an inlet one.  Great for backyard canoeing. But both the inlet and outlet are more in the sun most of the day. There's always been a lot of traffic from waterbirds that will  carry algae around. Apart from the water table, the dam is fed by surface run off water. There'll always be nutrients there.

That’s a beautiful place. Very nice, 

[tropicbreeze]

On 3/4/2024 at 8:21 PM, Tyrone said:

That’s a beautiful place. Very nice, 

Thanks, Tyrone. That's part of the main dam and has a lot of shade from trees. No sign of algal issues there. By the way, you might get the remnants of a cyclone next week.

The weather is certainly different to what I expect from an El Nino year. March has started off quite wet. Rainfall is running at 173% of average for the month. Still only a third of the way through but the rain is expected to continue for another week at least. The wet season is currently running at 110%. Makes you wonder what will happen when we move into a La Nina year.

[Tyrone]

17 hours ago, tropicbreeze said:

Thanks, Tyrone. That's part of the main dam and has a lot of shade from trees. No sign of algal issues there. By the way, you might get the remnants of a cyclone next week.

The weather is certainly different to what I expect from an El Nino year. March has started off quite wet. Rainfall is running at 173% of average for the month. Still only a third of the way through but the rain is expected to continue for another week at least. The wet season is currently running at 110%. Makes you wonder what will happen when we move into a La Nina year.

I’m starting to think about winter. I hope it’s a warm one. So far that’s what the models are saying but we just had a wet El Niño which makes no sense, so who knows. 

[tropicbreeze]

Will El Niño ever be the same again!

My March rainfall is currently running at 201.6% of average, wet season total is running at 113.8%. Really noticeable when going out bush. Many places inaccessible by vehicle, and some risky on foot. Crocs love it, it greatly extends their hunting grounds. Land animals move slower through water, crocs 'rocket' through, and know it.

Weather Situation: A tropical low near the Tiwi Islands is forecast to move east over the western Arnhem district during today. A strengthening monsoonal flow on the northern flank of the low brings the risk of damaging winds gusts while heavy rainfall is more likely on the southern and western flanks.

Strong west to northwesterly winds averaging 50 to 60 km/h with DAMAGING WIND GUSTS of around 90 km/h are possible over the northern Daly district, Cobourg Peninsula and the Tiwi Islands from early Thursday morning. DAMAGING WINDS GUSTS are expected to extend east along the north Arnhem coast during Thursday afternoon.

HEAVY RAINFALL which may lead to FLASH FLOODING is forecast for northern Daly district from early Thursday morning, extending across more inland areas of the Daly and western Arnhem districts Thursday afternoon and evening. Six-hourly rainfall totals between 100 to 150 mm are likely, with 24 hour totals of around 180 mm also possible.

A separate Severe Weather Warning for DAMAGING SURF is current for coastal areas between Elcho Island and the Cobourg Peninsula as well as the north Tiwi Islands coast. See http://www.bom.gov.au/nt/warnings/ for more information.

A Flood Watch is current for northern and western Top End catchments. See http://www.bom.gov.au/nt/warnings/ for more information.

Locations which may be affected include Darwin, Palmerston, Jabiru, Maningrida, Wurrumiyanga and Pirlangimpi.

Severe weather is no longer occurring in the Carpentaria district and the warning for this district is CANCELLED.

The Northern Territory Emergency Service advises that people should:
* secure loose outside objects and seek shelter when conditions deteriorate
* pull over if it is raining heavily and you cannot see, park with your hazard lights on until the rain clears
* avoid driving into water of unknown depth and current
* create your own sandbags if there is flooding, by using pillow cases or shopping bags filled with sand and place them around doorways to protect your home
* stay away from flooded drains, rivers, streams and waterways
* ensure pets and animals are safe
* be prepared in case of power outages, have an emergency kit with a radio, torch, spare batteries and first aid kit
* for emergency help in floods, storms and cyclones, contact the NTES on 132 500. For more safety tips visit www.securent.nt.gov.au

The next Severe Weather Warning will be issued by 11:00 am ACST Thursday.

Warnings are also available through TV and Radio broadcasts, the Bureau's website at www.bom.gov.au or call 1300 659 210. The Bureau and Northern Territory Emergency Service would appreciate warnings being broadcast regularly.

 

 

 

 

[Tyrone]

Well the warmer nights of summer are over but we’ve been getting some warm days of late. It got to 32C yesterday and 33C today but the temps are going down to the low twenties on Monday. It’s very dry though. It could be the driest start to the year on record. The ground has dried out and everything feels more like Southern California than normal, which is fine. We are meant to be going for a warmer winter according to the BOM but what I’ve learned over the last few years, is the average temps don’t really limit what can be grown too much, it’s the extremes that do. Here the coldest to hottest can vary by nearly 48C!!!!

[cbmnz]

Been a poor March, will finish somewhere between 1.2 and 2.0C below average, with below average sun as well. A sudden drop off after a fairly warm and sunny February.  A low of 4.1C this morning is my lowest since last Spring. No damaging storms and everything in the garden looks happy enough but it must have slowed everything down early.  

[cbmnz]

Spotted this one on a walk today. I've drawn some lines to help as it is partially obscured, but it had a fully healthy crown at the top. It probably half fell over about 50 years ago  but just turned towards the sky and kept on growing.

[cbmnz]

There were some seriously tall ones visible from this track.

[Tyrone]

14 hours ago, cbmnz said:

Been a poor March, will finish somewhere between 1.2 and 2.0C below average, with below average sun as well. A sudden drop off after a fairly warm and sunny February.  A low of 4.1C this morning is my lowest since last Spring. No damaging storms and everything in the garden looks happy enough but it must have slowed everything down early.  

It sounds like your March is what our Nov Dec was. February was just crazy hot here. March has been hotter than normal with higher than average temps forecast until at least July. Mega dry too. Our house water tank is down to around 20000L which is the lowest I’ve seen it. We don’t have a mains supply. My bananas from last years fruit are ripening just now, and I have another flower putting out fruit very quickly. We had a minimum around 7C the other day but the days have been as high as 33C lately. Today was 28C with 70% RH. Very sticky but no rain. Just morning fog. 

[tropicbreeze]

 

We've reached the winding down end of the wet season. April averages around 120 mm, May is about 20 mm. From then on it's nothing until (hopefully) September. But who's to say what El Nino will do.

During March the big tropical low passed over us and didn't develop into a cyclone until reaching the Gulf of Carpentaria. Groote Eylandt which wasn't a direct hit got 250 mm one day and then 430 mm the next day. People in the direct path were evacuated and have only been getting back home the past couple of days. Roads are starting to open up all around the Territory but there are lots of restrictions.

At my place March produced 139.7% of average rainfall. And the wet season at the end of the month was running at 111.3%. So I've been able to do a lot of canoeing at home. Also planted a number of trees, the ones wallabies won't eat. They should get their roots down as the water recedes, after that it'll be irrigation. Average minimum and maximum temps for the month were 25.7 and 33.3.

The sun still has quite a bit of a kick, although UV levels are only getting to 14 now. And the sun is back again to the north. Dry season isn't my favourite time of year,but you can get out and about a lot more. Unfortunately no canoeing at home.

[Tyrone]

Thursday was 29C and yesterday was 32C. Today is going to be 26C. But we should have a bit of rain by now and that is desperately lacking. The irrigation is keeping things going. 

[tropicbreeze]

As the sun draws away from the southern hemisphere it finally happened here, the dramatic overnight change, from wet to dry season. In the evening came inside dripping with sweat soaked clothes after a little garden work. Following morning went out and barely raised a sweat. The dry air surge moved in overnight. Everything is drying out fast but the intense clear sun is making the weeds grow and run to seed like crazy. Funnily enough a lot of roads out bush are still flooded/impassable or have weight restrictions on them. Only just planted three last palms, which would have best been done a few months back to give them a chance to establish before the dry. But as the saying goes, the best time to plant them would really have been twenty years ago.

There  may be a couple of last minute flutters of the wet season over the next few weeks but generally it's going to be about six months of the hot dry same ol' same ol'.

[Tyrone]

A warm spell is moving in. The end of the week will be 29C, 30C and 31C. Warm for April. No rain though. 

[Tyrone]

Friday was 30C, Saturday 32C and Sunday 32C, with low dewpoints and cool to cold nights. Very desert like temps. More like Alice Springs in April. On Monday we managed a few mm of rain which was a relief and there is a couple of mm here and there forecast, so I think the dry pattern is starting to turn. Highs are now in the high teens with a couple of 24C coming up on Friday, Sat before we get some rain again and temps settle into the high teens, low twenties. 
 

Long range forecast is for drier than average and warmer than average winter. It’s a long way off but November December are expected to be wetter than average with a decile 10 for Nov and 8 for December. Not good for harvesting grains for the farmers. 

[cbmnz]

That time of the year when the dreaded prospect of freeze damage has to be considered again. Forecast for last  night was initially 2C before it was revised up. It's been a bit on the cool side since March really, not sure what that means for winter. It's quite freaky that now have a number of tropical looking trunking and crownshafted palms growing in the yard only a few short years after buying a few tiny and inexpensive palms in 3-5L pots.

[cbmnz]

Prolonged run of  cold nights coming, about 3-4 weeks early.  Might just get away with no damage as the sun still has some heat with it being still 5-6 weeks before the solstice.

 

[Tyrone]

4 hours ago, cbmnz said:

Prolonged run of  cold nights coming, about 3-4 weeks early.  Might just get away with no damage as the sun still has some heat with it being still 5-6 weeks before the solstice.

 

Oh man. That’s too early for those sort of mins and one after the other too. NZ must be sitting under a huge high pressure zone for those sort of temps. 

[Tyrone]

We are running warmer than average over here. Only 3 weeks from the start of winter and they’re forecasting a minimum as high as 17C. Yesterday we got around 30mm of rain and in the last fortnight we’ve had probably close to 50mm. The tank is on the way back up, thankfully. The garden is soaked at the moment. 

[greysrigging]

The first & days of May at Darwin Airport... running well above the May means for both min and max temps. rain has fallen right away... Only 1.0mm at my place in the last 4 weeks. and temps between 32c-35c have dried out my garden, so the irrigation is back on .

Bit warmer out in the Berry Springs Badlands where Tropicbreeze lives....

[greysrigging]

3 hours ago, greysrigging said:

The first 7 days of May at Darwin Airport... running well above the May means for both min and max temps. rain has fallen right away... Only 1.0mm at my place in the last 4 weeks. and temps between 32c-35c have dried out my garden, so the irrigation is back on .

Bit warmer out in the Berry Springs Badlands where Tropicbreeze lives....

Late afternoon spike to 34c max in Darwin

[Tyrone]

18 hours ago, greysrigging said:

The first & days of May at Darwin Airport... running well above the May means for both min and max temps. rain has fallen right away... Only 1.0mm at my place in the last 4 weeks. and temps between 32c-35c have dried out my garden, so the irrigation is back on .

Bit warmer out in the Berry Springs Badlands where Tropicbreeze lives....

That looks like a Perth summer. 

[Tyrone]

We had the warmest May minimum I can recall here with an 18.1C and by 7am it was 20C. It could be a record. Really weird this close to winter as that would be a normal warm min for summer. Going for a 25C day max then rain possible thunderstorms. No cold spell on the horizon either. Normally by mid May we can get the odd low single digit min but not this year. It could be an interesting winter. 

[cbmnz]

7 hours ago, Tyrone said:

We had the warmest May minimum I can recall here with an 18.1C and by 7am it was 20C. It could be a record. Really weird this close to winter as that would be a normal warm min for summer. Going for a 25C day max then rain possible thunderstorms. No cold spell on the horizon either. Normally by mid May we can get the odd low single digit min but not this year. It could be an interesting winter. 

Trade you some of that excess warmth. Last night was meant to be -3 here which is way below normal for May . The metservice and all models were in agreement with a pool of very cold 850hpa air passing over and a perfect wind angle spilt by the length of the South island. But they all got it wrong.  The wind stayed up and didn't get below 0 until 7am then only -0.6.  Supposedly the worst over as the 850 temps are warming but calmer tonight so far.