Winter!

[wimmie]

It's wintertime in Holland with snow and a few degrees below zero C.. Nothing to worry about, just enjoying the view of the garden with some Trachy. fortunei, a Chamaerops humilis vulcano, laurels with winterprotection for the stems and a few date palms! By the end of the week, it will all be over again!

[Harry’s Palms]

Oh my , that seems challenging. It looks like you have a system though. Harry

[gyuseppe]

1 hour ago, wimmie said:

It's wintertime in Holland with snow and a few degrees below zero C.. Nothing to worry about, just enjoying the view of the garden with some Trachy. fortunei, a Chamaerops humilis vulcano, laurels with winterprotection for the stems and a few date palms! By the end of the week, it will all be over again!

I can't imagine a scene with so much snow in my garden, I would lose all the plants😥

[Mazat]

4 hours ago, wimmie said:

It's wintertime in Holland with snow and a few degrees below zero C.. Nothing to worry about, just enjoying the view of the garden with some Trachy. fortunei, a Chamaerops humilis vulcano, laurels with winterprotection for the stems and a few date palms! By the end of the week, it will all be over again!

Wimmie, which region are you in exactly? How cold are the winters there on average over many years?
In any case, you have a wonderful collection of exotic plants that you care for 🤗

[Mazat]

2 hours ago, gyuseppe said:

I can't imagine a scene with so much snow in my garden, I would lose all the plants😥

Yes, there is even more snow than here at Lake Constance, although I would prefer no snow at all in the community garden rather than the few centimeters we had and some still have. Perhaps I should have visualized that even more or better 😊

[wimmie]

3 hours ago, gyuseppe said:

I can't imagine a scene with so much snow in my garden, I would lose all the plants😥

Doesn't it all depend on what you are growing?! Due to climatwarming I now am able to grow Trachycarpus and Chamaerops humilis varieties in the open ground and I consider to give it a try with Phoenix canariensis and Butia capitata which I am growing in containers up to now and almost without any protection!

[gyuseppe]

10 minutes ago, wimmie said:

Doesn't it all depend on what you are growing?! Due to climatwarming I now am able to grow Trachycarpus and Chamaerops humilis varieties in the open ground and I consider to give it a try with Phoenix canariensis and Butia capitata which I am growing in containers up to now and almost without any protection!

I only grow species that survive at -3 degrees Celsius, and there are many to grow.

[happypalms]

@Than you thought you had a frost problem guess again! 

[Than]

58 minutes ago, happypalms said:

@Than you thought you had a frost problem guess again! 

One only has a frost problem when one grows frost sensitive plants. 🙋‍♂️

[wimmie]

4 hours ago, Than said:

One only has a frost problem when one grows frost sensitive plants. 🙋‍♂️

It doesn't get more true!

[Phoenikakias]

5 hours ago, Than said:

One only has a frost problem when one grows frost sensitive plants. 🙋‍♂️

Apparently you do not like too much thrill in your life!

[Than]

8 minutes ago, Phoenikakias said:

Apparently you do not like too much thrill in your life!

You didn't see me rushing around the garden after work, when it was already dark the other day, trying to cover my plants! And then waking up at 6am to see how things are going and again running out at 0 C to try and save what I could. That's enough thrill

[Phoenikakias]

55 minutes ago, Than said:

You didn't see me rushing around the garden after work, when it was already dark the other day, trying to cover my plants! And then waking up at 6am to see how things are going and again running out at 0 C to try and save what I could. That's enough thrill

At least you have a heated house interior to take cover afterwards. I, instead, was covering plants during 22 at 0 C exposed to 'cow-killing' northern wind  during night and house was not heated, meaning I had nowhere to take temporary cover and regain strength. I took an oath never to repeat it, regardless the severity of the cold spell.  Enough is enough...

[gyuseppe]

If a species is destined to die by frost, it's better if it dies. There are plenty of species we can cultivate. Why should we go against nature? Our climate is like this, and whether we like it or not, we have to accept it.

[Marco67]

Same here Wimmie. It hasn't been very cold, mostly around freezing but lots and lots of snow. People are not used to snow so the country comes to a halt when it seriously snows. 

Fortunately there was a lot of cloud cover.  Also the wind was mostly from the north, so it came from the North Sea.  Temperatures should go up from now on at least I hope.

The lowest here at the coast was -4.5°C (24°F) on the 26th of December. 

 

[Than]

53 minutes ago, Phoenikakias said:

Enough is enough...

Sure we all believe you on this 😄

[Phoenikakias]

33 minutes ago, gyuseppe said:

If a species is destined to die by frost, it's better if it dies. There are plenty of species we can cultivate. Why should we go against nature? Our climate is like this, and whether we like it or not, we have to accept it.

As Roy Batty said in the movie: 'I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhäuser Gate. All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain...'

It is only the knowledge I gain Giuseppe to my own delight, seeing the life cycle of beautiful plants, that are not endemic where I live.

 

[gyuseppe]

1 hour ago, Phoenikakias said:

As Roy Batty said in the movie: 'I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhäuser Gate. All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain...'

It is only the knowledge I gain Giuseppe to my own delight, seeing the life cycle of beautiful plants, that are not endemic where I live.

 

Konstantinos I have tried many species, and I have come to the conclusion that if they say that a species is not good for us, it is better to leave it alone. Many young people in Italy contact me, wanting to try plants that I have already experimented with, I tell them to leave it alone, but these young people are stubborn and don't listen to me, and then later they tell me you were right.

[Phoenikakias]

40 minutes ago, gyuseppe said:

Konstantinos I have tried many species, and I have come to the conclusion that if they say that a species is not good for us, it is better to leave it alone. Many young people in Italy contact me, wanting to try plants that I have already experimented with, I tell them to leave it alone, but these young people are stubborn and don't listen to me, and then later they tell me you were right.

Ah, it is a deja vu, every time a newbie seeks advice😄

[wimmie]

17 hours ago, Marco67 said:

Same here Wimmie. It hasn't been very cold, mostly around freezing but lots and lots of snow. People are not used to snow so the country comes to a halt when it seriously snows. 

Fortunately there was a lot of cloud cover.  Also the wind was mostly from the north, so it came from the North Sea.  Temperatures should go up from now on at least I hope.

The lowest here at the coast was -4.5°C (24°F) on the 26th of December. 

 

Looking good, Marco! What type of Phoenix in the foreground?

[Marco67]

47 minutes ago, wimmie said:

Looking good, Marco! What type of Phoenix in the foreground?

All three are Phoenix Theophrasti. 

[wimmie]

Looking at the weather forecast, heavy snowfall and minus 9 or 10C., I just brought my young datepalms inside, Marco! It is getting crowded in the greenhouse!😎

[Marco67]

1 hour ago, wimmie said:

Looking at the weather forecast, heavy snowfall and minus 9 or 10C., I just brought my young datepalms inside, Marco! It is getting crowded in the greenhouse!😎

My Phoenix theophrastii's are also inside; I'm not taking a chance.  

It's thawing now, but they predicted quite some frost the day after tomorrow. Fortunately I haven't planted any very cold-sensitive plants in my garden. My Trachycarpus and Chamaerops palms most likely won't be damaged by this cold.

[Than]

On 1/6/2026 at 10:23 PM, gyuseppe said:

Konstantinos I have tried many species, and I have come to the conclusion that if they say that a species is not good for us, it is better to leave it alone. Many young people in Italy contact me, wanting to try plants that I have already experimented with, I tell them to leave it alone, but these young people are stubborn and don't listen to me, and then later they tell me you were right.

Giuseppe what would you say to someone living in the limit 9b/10a with frost, who wants to try a Kerriodoxa elegans? Asking for a friend.. 🫣

He can cover it on cold nights when frost is expected btw.

[Kim]

Snow on palms looks beautiful! If one is growing the proper species... 🙂

[wimmie]

On 1/5/2026 at 5:02 PM, Mazat said:

Wimmie, which region are you in exactly? How cold are the winters there on average over many years?
In any case, you have a wonderful collection of exotic plants that you care for 🤗

The climatzone overhere is 8b. It has become significantly less cold than it was twenty or thirty years ago! The coldest nights this month were minus 7 degrees C.. In the nineties I lost several Trachies in the open ground, nowerdays they grow three meters trunk in 10 years time! So now I am considering to plant a Butia and a Washy.