Jim good stuff! The nanitial should come back if it hasn't rotted (i.e. you've done some thorough fungicide treatment). The other Trachys look good, the 'semi-dwarf' fortunei (aka fortunei x wag) looks good, and should be a good looking palm!
You're variegated Yucca recurv is awesome. I tried one and it died to the roots the first winter... It put up a tiny rosette maybe 3" across last year. It is not a zone 5 plant! The Agaves look really good. It shows just how important the moisture protection is to them. I'm still testing and retesting Agaves to see if I can't find some that are truly hardy in my cold/wet z. 5... Nothing has survived yet!

FYI I've lost every giant sequoia I've ever tried. I had 1 survive a mild winter, but it perisehd the following year... It's also not a zone 5 plant, apparently!

Thanks for that!

Looks good Jim. I especially like your yucca agave garden. Nice work. Keep us updated on that T. nainital.

John

Looks like you are ready for spring 😉 Everythings is so healthy. 😀

Paul,I really like the fortxwags it will be very exciting to watch them develope,I have another one next to the one in the pic exactly like it, only this one had spear pull( in Nov) but looks great,the one pictured has been in the ground longer than the one with spear pull.
The Naini Tal is rock solid and I would not be surprised to see it come bach with 5-6 leaves this year as long as there is no furthur stress to it.Some of my other trachys have started growing so I'm hopefull I will see some movement on the palms with spear pull, (Trithrinax,fortxwag,Naini Tal.C.cerifera)in the next month.
As far as Agaves go I think havardiana is the most cold/moistue tolerant(-20F)
As far as the Sequoia goes,I have 2 ,the one pictured will come back and another one I have is still green as I was able to cover it more this winter,Joe Welker the persom I bought it from said that they will burn when young as they don't have enough sap to deal with the cold,another one I planted for some friends was covered with styrofoam all winter and is perfect,so its not so much the cold as the combo of cold/wind.
For a good source for cold hardy cactus(some to zone 3)try the - coldhardy cactus home page-he has some barrels and agaves that are high desert natives.

Okan-hopefully in 4-6 weeks I will posting pics of the Naini Tal with a new spear,fingers crossed

Thanks DZ,I guess your referring mostly to the cactus :salute:

As far as Agaves go I think havardiana is the most cold/moistue tolerant(-20F)
As far as the Sequoia goes,I have 2 ,the one pictured will come back and another one I have is still green as I was able to cover it more this winter,Joe Welker the persom I bought it from said that they will burn when young as they don't have enough sap to deal with the cold,another one I planted for some friends was covered with styrofoam all winter and is perfect,so its not so much the cold as the combo of cold/wind.

Jim,
I've had no luck with havardiana... All those that I've tried, even from high altitude, have failed miserably! I'll keep trying though!
As for Sequoia, I feel that I'm done with the species... Too much work for not enough benefit! Interesting info about the sap... I had no idea!

Cheers,
Paul

I've had no luck with havardiana... All those that I've tried, even from high altitude, have failed miserably! I'll keep trying though!

Cheers,
Paul

I have tried havardiana also many times, coverd and no cover and have had very little luck. I have found nothing hardy about it so far. 😡

Hey Jim, I can just see you tearing those covers off to have a look 😆

Everything does look good.
Great preparation produced those results.

Sequoia, hope that branch brings it back.
I brought a deodor cedar from Vancouver and planted it in the Okanagan.
It had a good look around at the first winter and promptly croaked. Sequoias like lots of company, i.e. rainforest.

I think your Naini tal will suprise you how it comes back this summer.
You make a good point about cold soil temps and sunny enclosures...too much of a temp variation.
Glad you caught it before it roasted.

Love those agaves!

Does it typically get into 70's 80's for you this time of year?

Cheers.
Barb

Everyone,thanks for your replies-
Paul,sorry to hear your Sequoia tests did'nt work out,I think they need a lot of shelter from the wind.
Agave havardiana I am guessing is in a similar situation to the Sequoia in that it needs protection from wet feet and cold,the problem I have found is that all these "cold hardy"plants need to be kept dry and cool starting in early Oct which means consistant temps to build in cold hardiness,the rub is that first year plants are not established enough to be put through drought conditions right away,which leaves us babying them for 3 years before they get established,so the weather plays a huge roll early on.The problem I faced last fall was that Oct was mild and Nov started out downright balmy(I was sleeping with the windows open the first week and a half and then we got .75" rain and upper teens,this is what did all the damage to my palms,once they were under their protection and kept dry,not a single one was lost,their cold hardiness increased and they all handled single digit temps with no damage(most of the leaf damage was caused by high temps in the protection combined with cold soil)so,I know what to do next fall winter,I actually believe now that what happens in the fall sets the tune for the whole winter/spring,anyway the fun starts now and it will be fun to see what come back,whatever does'nt wil be replaced with a bigger plant as that is another problem as cold hardiness is stronger in bigger plants than the palms with strap leaves that I started with but thats another topic.

Barb,the month of March is the most changable here in zombie zone 5b as temps can vary from -11F TO 87F ,last year we did not hit 70F untill mid April which is late,this year we have been 70+ 4-5 times already and 50+ range 28 days
The coast redwood is not hardy below 20F generally but Giant Sequoias are to well below zero as proved here this year(with a little wind protection)I think(and hope) your right about the Naini Tal,I am looking for 5-6 leaves this year!but first it has to come back! Now if we can get some rain for the cactus,they have baked for weeks before protection came down.
It is so nice to work in the yard again as spring is really taking hold here!! 😀