Rain and winter cover

Thanks Barb,the only thing I regret a little is that I had to group so close together to protect with this whole row thing,I figured I would lose some plants over winter but if I don't, crowding because of overwintering success is not a bad problem to have,the only disadvantage is that all the palms etc are so beautifull as specimens by themselves that I wish they were not so close toghether.Some of my plants there is less information about,we all have heard many stories about trachys and sabals but some of the plants I think will be interesting to watch over the winter are,cordyline,D.indivisa(spike plant)blue needle palm,asparagus fern,pulmosa fern and on the succulent side A.americana(leaf cage)tequila agave,echinopsis tubiflora.nipple cactus,engelmanni v.lindheimeri,ferocactus hamatocactus and fero-wizenzii.Most of the rest of the cactus are zone 3-5 if kept dry but a lot remains to be seen,will be interesting to see whats standing May 1 🙄

Agree with you about the unfortunate need to plant them close together.
All a result of living in the wrong zones for what we strive to grow. 🙁

You have some very interesting specimens; I've only seen asparagus ferns as houseplants.

What'll you do when your agave is this size? (besides jump for joy?) 😆

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The Turk's Head cactus should give you little trouble:
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Barb

What'll you do when your agave is this size? (besides jump for joy?)
I will run from it 😆
Seriously,this is one I will be surprised to see next spring but I am hopefull,this is one that will have a leaf cage over it,if it does make it.I will need to move it because it is right next to my washys 😯 and it will be hard to cover them so close together but that would be a prob I would love to have 😛 😛 😛 😛
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That agave has already got such vivid blue leaves...gorgeous.
The Washys will be winter protection for it. 😆
It might be happier with the other succulents.

Barb

Happier with other succulents,funny you should mention that because it was planted in the cactus bed but I already have 3 other agaves,aloifolia,rostrata, cholla,imbricata,H.parvaflora and a gloriosa in there so I removed it a few weeks after I planted it,this poor agave has been negelected and mistreated in favor of other plants and after being tormented these past few years,rewarded me with 12 bluetifull new leaves, all are from this year and I think that pic is a month and a half old!
I will probably take a"final"roundup this weekend as 1st freeze is likely and castors and sugarcane should get roasted

I will try and post some pics tomorrow as I have wrapped the washys with burlap,house insulation,plastic and the styrofoam rose covers,I had to cut the c-7 x-mas lights down from approx 13 to 3 as the temp went up to 111F inside!I think I just about have this worked out,the nice thing is that if I need more heat I can screw in a few more bulbs,pretty simple.
I also finished the"greenhouse" and I think it will work out good,we are supposed to have 20-40mph winds friday-sat so it will get its first test,better now than when its below 0F.I will try to get a pic of the g/h tomorrow if it ever stops raining,the lastest challenge with that is making a door!I think I will order a zipper off e-bay tonite that is made for attaching to plastic.I may have lost a plants already as we got almost an inch of rain last week and temps unexpectantly went down to 18F,I should really have been keeping them dry at this point but 18F was a surprise 😕

So here are some pics of the g/house and a few of the the washy overwintering procedure -I dug up the agave because I want to move it(the reason I am moving the agave is that I want to plant my butia eriospatha there as the washys and B.eriospatha will use the same protect method) to the desert area as it looks like my blue tequila agave will not make it,as I said there are some I am doubtfull about their hardiness ratings and this is one of them(said to be hardy to 0F) but you never know,sometimes a plant will lose its main growth bud or leaves and sprout out from it base and be even hardier next year,until they are mush they have a chance.Some plants have already surprised me,for better or worse,for example,the asparagus and pulmosa fern have both survived 18F which is a pleasant surprise 😮 a little sad though about nainital losing its cevter leaf next to spear(from .72"rain and 18F 2days later,I know better! and should have covered them but 18F was a surprise!) so far the spear is o.k. but this will be an uphill battle going into winter!I have not been inside the g/house yet-LOL,still waiting for the door/zipper to arrive,anyway here are some pics,I hope.
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<a href=" " target="_blank"><img src=" " border="0" alt="Greenhouse"></a>
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Man, you've done a lot of work Jim.
18F -7C must've been a shock.
Let's hope that nainital is OK, did you apply fungicide (and give it a roof)?

Re the 3 Washys, great protection. The only thing that occurred to me was to put the Christmas lites on the wire cage rather than on the burlap, which could get hot from contact w bulb.

I used twist ties to make sure bulbs were oriented away from any fabric.
And like other PN folks, the next morning it was 30C 86F inside!
Too many bulbs on!

Gotta ask a stoopid question: Why did you cut the fronds off? Tying all the fronds up would've necessitated a taller enclosure...but palms would have preferred that. 😕

the GH turned out great! Snow will slide right off before it gets heavy.
Will you overlay it with an opaque cover so plants don't overheat on sunny days?

Now weather will get mild again (Murphy's Law) 😆
Barb

So in answer to you first question,yes I did fungicide the nainital and everything else,also everything is covered untill it warms up and I can cover some with there mini g/houses and leaf cages,they need to dry out a little before I close them in the leaf cages.
Why did I cut the leaves off?hmmm,well it was not the plan originally to use the styrofoam covers,I was going to just wrap with a few layers of burlap and I did not think there would be any room at the top for all the leaves as well as moisture concerns with more water for the extra leaves and more leaves maybe needing more air,putting the styrofoam on just was a kinda last effort to close the top as it was freezing that day and I was getting impatient to just get it covered and finished and get back inside, also some of the leaves where a little ragged looking from cold and I guess it seemed like the right choice at the time,although if I had it to do over I would have left a few more on as the styrofoam covers leave pleanty more room and offer some light,I also remember thinking that I should leave some room for at least 2 more leaves to grow,is that enough answers? 😉 that was basically all the thought that went into it,(maybe not)I think also that the person I originally copied this idea from did it this way and it worked,so,I guess better safe than sorry,it would be interesting to try it with more leaves and see if this provides more stored food for the plant over winter or is a bigger drag on the plant,I think part of my plan is to keep them as dry as possible as I think they will be more cold hardy in case I miss turning on the lights and they get cold,I am concerned about moisture being trapped in this area as it is a small space but I guess as long as the heat is on it will get out,anyway,lets see what else did you ask?oh yea,the lights are pointed away from the burlap and there is house insulation on the other side,I guess your saying point the lights in to the plant from the cage?The bulbs individually get to 150F not really hot enough(fingers crossed) to start a fire 😕 I have reduced the #lit to 3 and this seems to work great,if it isn't warm enough during arctic out breaks I can always screw back in another bulb or 2,pretty simple.I will post some pics of the mini g/houses and leaf cages as I finish them,thenks for the feedback 😆

Jim, I was just curious about cutting the fronds off.
I've never overwintered palms outdoors...too chicken to try.

Yours will be well protected for anything winter throws at them.
Good luck with all your hard work.
Barb

Was that enough answers or what! 😯 ?Washys grow so fast,I think these will be jamming by May,they were really moving even in the cool weather,if they can pull through I could see them putting out 7-9 leaves next year,esp if its a hotter summer than this year which was remarkably cool

Yes it was Jim
Your passion for plants is evident! 😆

My 3 new Washy filifera are still pushing new fronds, despite both lower temps and daylight hours.
I'm also hoping for many fronds next year.
If they can handle the hot dry winds, they'll be situated where they receive blistering sun all day long.

Barb

Barb if there is any palm that can handle hot dry winds its a washy,they grow amazingly well in Phoenix and Palm Desert!such a versatile palm!you gotta love them.,even though my first try(mistake-lol)took them to 111F they are still looking good :D,they may need to put out a few leaves that get beat up at first(as they adapt( but they are solid after that 8)

Jim, that 111F is a taste of next summer. 😆
they do sound almost bulletproof.

The right type of palm for Canadians, too!

Barb

They just don't tolerate cool/cold and wet.Barb,I can't help but notice how many people look at these posts but don't post, very strange.have anymore pics of your palms?what are you growing?whats planted and what are you planting next year?also what is your climate like??????hey, you asked about a cover to keep it from overheating-the back of it pulls all the way down and this keeps the temps in check,it really only needs the back wall down when the temp goes over 45F and this will keep it in the 70s inside,in spring when we start hiting 60s,I will have a fan cooling the inside,I probably won't heat it untill lows hit low teens to about 10F-my goal is to keep it above 0F as an absolute minimum,everything in there should be able to handle single digits and many can handle less.I also like to warm it up sometimes if we have a period of 2-3 days or more below freezing and clouds so they don't spend long periods below freezing,(with the sun out it would need to be -10 to not warm up over freezing inside) I will probably end up babying them a little the first year or two untill they establish some cold hardiness.