Brrr. I know the feeling. Another couple of days and we will have high temperatures of more than +1 C. At least we are not getting any snow of any consequence.

Allen

I just stepped out (11:30 PM) and there's wet slushy snow/rain mix falling !!! I imagine higher elevations are experiencing a white out.

Cheers, Barrie.

Yup, it's 6:30 a.m. and it snowed an inch.
It's +1C.
Supposed to get colder on Sunday. Poop.

Cleaned out garden beds yesterday, the only thing growing is weeds.

Barrie, if you've got rain/snow ... with your ocean influence, we'll stay cold.
I miss seeing the Kwanzan (sp?) cherry trees in bloom this time of year in Vancouver.
Allen, our moisture is heading your way (apparently it'll be very mild in Alberta).

Have a good weekend everybody. Barb

No snow here at my place just rain. 🙂 The forcast says it's supposed to be +13C here on Sunday.

Regards,
Jay

The wet snow / rain mix must have been a short lived event. I got up at 3 am for a glass of water, and rain was all I could see. Every day we're around the 10c -12c mark and today will be no exception. We're supposed to dodge the worst of the rain as the west coast of Vancouver Island is forecast for as much as 4" of rain with this system. A big winter storm is pushing through the east today. Man ... they can have it.

Cheers, Barrie.

Jay, you didn't get ANY snow! Man oh man, wouldn't think you were only 35 miles south. I'm switchin' to your weather station.. 😀
The weather banner above says Kelowna's 8C at 5pm...I doubt we made 5 or 6 today.
Just those few miles, what a difference. My husband works in Kelowna so I hear all about the rain you guys get in summer while we're parched, tongues hangin' out, nary a drop.

Guess that's why our place has cactus growing. But not wonderful gorgeous BIG cactus, just that small crappy stuff that only the dog's paws can find! 👿

Barrie, your on the southeast side of Island...but those folks in Tofino will likely appreciate tons of rain after what they went through this summer. In every community it's the same thing: storage (not conservation...that's just BS). The buggers don't know how to build big reservoirs, that's all.

Have I got news for you guys...GUESS WHAT I DID TODAY? ----> Cold Hardy Palms forum. 😉 😉 😉 😉

Barb, There was some snow way up in the hills but raining down below. We have the native cacti growing all around here also. 🙂 You can grow some nice size cacti where you are. Here's a post of my cacti that i grow at my place from last summer.

http://www.palmsnorth.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=557

Regards,
Jay

Nice indeed, Jay.
Good idea, especially with the gravel, looks really good.
Do you dig them up in Fall to bring indoors? Or lay three tons of insulation over them?

(note to self) plant cactus outside this year.

Thanks Barb. 😀 I didn't do anything to protect them this winter. Thay are all looking good except for the third one from the top is dead.

Regards,
Jay

You didn't do ANYTHING to protect them? Wow, you must have one helluva microclimate.

Zone denial aside, you must be at least two zones ahead of me (we're exposed on a southern slope). Away from our buildings and woodlands garden, there's nothing but "open" for 600 feet to the next house. Not much protection.

Barb

You would be surprised how cold hardy some cacti are. 😀 Have you seen the infamous yucca elatas growing in Oriville, Washington? I have two of these growing at my place but it will be about 40 years before they get as big as the ones in Oriville. 😯

Here's a link to them.

http://www.palmsnorth.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=301

Regards,
Jay

...and I thought I had to shave my legs 😆 😆
Those are the hairiest beasties I've ever seen!

I've had my yuccas for, oh, I bet 6 or 7 years...I think they've topped out!

And my cactus...well, doubt it would make it. It can't even stand up in the bloomin' pot...

Barb

Barb, I have been growing cacti here unprotected for 4 years. My opuntias do just fine (basilarias, polycantha and fragilis). They are all zone 2 to zone 4 and would do just fine in Vernon. I am planning to expand the cacti to include a couple of smaller chollas, O. Imbricata and an imbricata hybrid this year.

Allen

Talk about top heavy, I grew an Opuntia linguiformis from a one pad cutting to about 6' tall in 3 years. I was shocked at how fast it grew. It was top heavy and fell over which broke it at couple of points. I had to remove it. O. vulgaris is also a fast grower for me too it's slumped over at the moment. I'll have to size it up later this spring.

Cheers, Barrie.