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mnpalms

During the latest cold stretch we didn't get a day that did not at least get up to or above the freezing point here. Last couple nights remained above freezing in the mid to upper 30s and highs are back to at least normal (50'ish). No more nights dipping below freezing are forecast. The snow is gone...

mnpalms

They made some fatal mistakes. The first winter they (supposedly) overheated them. I made a similar mistake with a large windmill in the past too while learning but I'm not sure I buy their story of "overheating". On mine the roots were kept too warm which caused the tree to dry out during...

mnpalms

Wxman and Jim- I'm curious to hear how this latest cold snap affected you guys. Wed, Thurs, Fri, Sat, and today (Sun) we are/were in the low to mid 30s highs with a few nights in the low to mid 20s. One of the nights I even had a low reading of 19f! Upper 30s/low 40s tomorrow, upper 40s and 50s onto...

mnpalms

Well, well... It looks like the updated forecast today now shows we might see upper teens for a couple of those nights. Still showing highs above freezing each day though and a warmup beginning next weekend. Average daily high here is 50f by next weekend. This sucks, I guess we got spoiled last year...

mnpalms

Well I think I'll wait another week to uncover my trachies also. Today was to be the day but it looks like we will get some of this cold here also. It does not look as bad as 9f lows though! Wow, that is a nasty forecast for this time of year. I bet that would set some records. Ours looks like this:...

mnpalms

Yeah Jim, that was only one of three foot+ storms we got over this winter season. Actually the second two we got were 17 and 21 inches! We had countless snow events of under a foot also. Near record snow total here this year! It was almost all gone in mid Feb. after that week and a half of 40s and 5...

mnpalms

Good point about the moisture with a freeze following it Jim. That's why I'm thinking I will make the determination on Sunday based on the updated forecasts. If it doesn't look too bad I think I'll remove the walls but keep the roof on to keep any rain or snow off the crowns. Then they can still get...

mnpalms

Yup, Accuweather can be a joke when it comes to anything more than 5 days out. Still I use it in conjunction with all the local forecasts in trying to determine what to expect. As it stands now we are looking at 2 days next week, Wed and Thurs, with highs in the upper 30s and lows in the upper 20s. ...

mnpalms

Thanks for the head's up Jim. Does it sound like it would be a damaging cold from what you heard? The worst our local guys are saying is a 37hi/27lo on next Wednesday. Accuweather now shows (always changes) upper 30s for a couple days next week then back to the mid 40s for a day then back to the 50s...

mnpalms

Great job wxman! Looks like you had similar snow cover as we do/did here in MN. I'm going to uncover my trachies this Sunday (3/20) which is about a week later than I wanted. As of yesterday morning we still had about as much snow cover as in your pictures. With 50's most of this week and overnight ...

mnpalms

hi mnpalms... but FORGOT to take pictures! You'll just have to get out there again, remove 2 1/2+ feet of replaced snow so we can see :lol: I think that 30.9 min temp inside is perfect for a Trachy, low enough to get it used to a winter but not enough to make it look like crap until July. Good job....

mnpalms

Your trachy looks great Barb! This thread reminded me, I did do my mid-winter checkup inside my palm hut last weekend too but FORGOT to take pictures! We still have 2 1/2+ feet of snow on the ground here... My temp records indicate the hut temp (inside) has remained between 30.9(f) and 43f ever sinc...

mnpalms

Everything is looking good Jim! So how did that snowstorm work out for you down there? HERE?? We have (in my yard) 35" (yes 35 inches) of snow with areas drifted up to 5 feet! We got 20" on Friday night/Saturday on top of the 11 inches we got a few days previous. That is on top of the few ...

mnpalms

Serj- I'm in northeast Burnsville, MN. Just south of the Minnesota river, just south of Minneapolis/St. Paul. We also have a cabin up north on a lake but we don't want to get into that zone discussion (zone 3!)...

mnpalms

Thanks Bill, yup live and learn... Serj- Over a 20 year period I believe the absolute low here where my house is was about -25f (on one occasion) though we have not been here in this house quite 20 years yet. That was one instance on one day back in the mid 1990s when parts of the state were as low ...

mnpalms

Yeah, winter came early here in a big way. Not so much the cold, but the early dumping of heavy wet snow. The palms saw the snow, they were not yet covered. it weighted them down pretty bad but they sprang back nicely. The yucca looked like a huge snowball! I did have to shovel it all out in order t...

mnpalms

Thanks man. Yes I have a remote thermometer in there and it seems that the (always on) CFL fixture keeps it about 10f above outside temp assuming no sun/dark/overcast. I have yet to see what this year's extra lighting (heat) can do once the thermocube turns it on. Goal is to have access to another 4...

mnpalms

As mentioned in Jim's thread I started a new one to post a few pics of my protection method. A large trachy, medium trachy, and a 5' yucca thompsoniana in this triangular planter by my pool. Also there is a red yucca in there for fill. A few summer pics for reference first <img src=http://i729.photo...

mnpalms

Looking good Jim! Your insulation method is somewhat similar to mine (for trachies and large trunked yucca). My only Washy remains potted and has recently come indoors for the winter. I don't dare put a washy in the ground here as they grow faster and would become a real hassle to protect here in MN...

mnpalms

SNOW? Yep, we got it here! Been meaning to post my experience but I spent the entire day yesterday covering my outdoor palms, shoveling, and cleaning up the yard. We got a FOOT of heavy WET snow. We lost some trees (not palms) and many branches down. Largest tree totally down was a 40' Russian Olive...

mnpalms

Thanks guys. I found some more pictures of the trachy planter which were when the sun was shining on it. I think they look much better. I posted them in that other forum (the above link goes there). I apologize for my laziness in not posting all the pics here too! It's just been one of those summers...

mnpalms

Yes it has been a hot, humid summer here too. It's 93f in the shade in my yard right now with dewpoint in the 70s. It's been a great summer overall (can't complain about heat when you live here in MN). We have had lots of rain which has been timed perfectly. Have not watered the lawn once all summer...

mnpalms

My overdue summer update. Most of these pictures were taken in July, some earlier, some as recently as a week or two ago. To save having to re-post the pictures out of Photobucket again, here's a link to the "other forum" where the pictures are already posted. Thanks for looking! http://fo...

mnpalms

Lookin great Jim! It seems we have had a reversal of fortune here in MN... I'm lucky if I have seen 3 hours of sun in the past week! It's not that it has been cold or anything, nothing under 60f, but no damn sun! Tons of rain, we have seen about a whole summer's worth of rain in the last 30 days. No...

mnpalms

Looks great Jim! Thanks for posting the itinerans pics. It's hard to tell in the pics, which of them seem like they have grown the fastest? The shade or sun? I'm going to get mine in the ground tomorrow and I'm still debating exactly where I'll place them. Like you I was planning on one being in a s...

mnpalms

Beautiful trachy Barb! Is that the one that lived in a pot for like 30 years? Nice robust, thick trunk.

mnpalms

Jim- I almost forgot, I'd love to see pics of your itinerans next time you get the chance to post pics. I'm thinking about putting mine in the ground tomorrow, or at least the one which will be in the most shaded area anyway. Can't wait to see what they do...

mnpalms

Simply awesome Jim, you the man! I'll be interested to see how these trachies develop over time. How will they look next year? Short but fat/stubby trunks? Your findings are very important to the palm community no doubt. A few more years of experimentation, you should be able to re-write the "P...

mnpalms

Jim- As I said in my previous post, I'm posting what I got as m. itinerans. They measure almost 2 feet tall overall as promised by seller. I potted them so they can get established in the shade for several days before they go into the ground. As I do with all the bananas I re-pot, cut pups, plant in...

mnpalms

Everything looks great! Beautiful new trachy, nice find. There's nothing like the instant landscape effect a nice big trachy brings... Great job!

mnpalms

Thanks for the info Jim. I'll post pics here of what I get when they come. I've read some conflicting info as well. My plan is to put one on either side of a planter in the front yard. One side gets about 60% shade. The other side, about 60% sun. A good experiment I suppose... My in-ground basjoos g...

mnpalms

Simply awesome Bill! What a way to promote your business, prove how it's really done in a big way! I have a feeling you are going to do quite well... Speaking of business, you might want to look into an SBA loan (if you have not already). As I'm in the midst of acquiring another business myself, it ...

mnpalms

Jim- I read in another post of yours that you are growing itinerans this year. How are they doing and when did you plant them? Also how big were they when you planted? I wonder if they live up to all the hype though... I was curious enough about the species myself that I've ordered a pair. They come...

mnpalms

Same here with the temps! 71f was the low last night. I had to break down and turn on the air conditioning this morning... 90 today (already well into the 80s this morning) and dewpoints in the UPPER 60s! Looks like at least a week+ of this weather... Barb- Frost!?!? Bummer. I hope you guys snap out...

mnpalms

Mnpalms, does your red yucca (Hesperaloe parviflora) over winter? Mine does, and looked good even when most everything else did not. It is also flowering this year! :D --Erik Red yucca (not actually a real yucca, aka "false yucca") is a zone 5 plant. It will winter here too without protec...

mnpalms

Looking great Jim! It seems we have finally turned the corner with summer weather now. 90s in the forecast this weekend even! What a strange spring we have had here in the midwest. Still overall I think things are in good shape and a month early in general. My bananas are finally starting to look go...

mnpalms

"I would seriously question using heating cables in any area that is not very localized as they are really designed for heating/warming the surface area they are in contact with. I think they would be fine for keeping a trunk warm that is very closely wrapped but not as the main heat source in ...

mnpalms

Yeah this damn weather ended up double-dipping and lasting twice as long as originally forecast. We have exceeded 60f only once in the past 7 days! Mid 30s was the lowest we hit two nights in a row. It's been 40s at night and rain every day otherwise. Finally the forecast shows normal weather return...

mnpalms

Thanks for the comments guys. I did have one CFL bulb in the trachy enclosure which was tied to the Thermocube (on at 35f off at 45f) along with Xmas lights. I tried to be a wiseguy and protect it more than others by heating the ground which was my big mistake. My friend in the same area protected h...

mnpalms

Jim and others interested- I thought I'd post this in the thread on the subject. I'll try to condense this as it could easily become a book... I did remove the damaged trachy as can be seen in my recent pictures (it is not there). I did learn several things in the process. I contemplated cutting it ...

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Covered my trachies and trunked yucca, a few pics

Mnpalms (overdue) mid Summer update