Great Photos!!! That canary is great, along with those trachys. Very impressive, I'm looking forward to seeing your pictures of protection on that bad boy.

Welcome to the board.

Bill

Having a somewhat dry climate helps

I thought so too, Jim, but ultimately it comes down to what the minimum is (and for how long it's cold).
We're drier than a popcorn burp, but -23C for up to a week with howling NW winds (usually mid-Dec) is no fun for plants.

H and I were just talking about the same thing you posted ..."maybe don't have to leave protection on too long", if at all.
Just think how easy it would be to grow the plants we love if it rarely got below freezing, and then only a bit.

How fortunate those zones are!
Barb