Post-Freeze Census

I thought some of you might find value in my post-freeze report.  I wrote
it yesterday afternoon (Monday), after a 24.2 degree night.  I haven't
checked outside yet today.  It was 27.0 degrees last night (low came at
5:45 am). 

I am in Oakland, west of the foothills (by 1/2 a block) but inland enough
to make the offical Oakland temps meaningless to me.

Date: Mon, 21 Dec 1998 16:28:06 -0800
From: cnorman@best.com (Cyndi Norman)
Newsgroups: ba.gardens
Subject: Post-Freeze Census

This is how my plants fared as of Monday afternoon.  Our overnight low was
24.2 degrees at 7:15 am.

Note that I won't really know the extent of the damage until spring or so. 
Some things that I say are "fine" may be dead at the roots and some things
I say are near goners may recover with no problems.  Plants with dead
leaves may or may not have dead branches.  Etc.

Plants were not given any special treatment unless otherwise noted.  Plants
were outdoors in the ground unless otherwise noted.  

Trees:

Fruitless mulberry (Morus Alba), orange, 2 lemon, 2 apple, all appear fine.
Avocado (bacon, about 3' high, planted last month).  Mulched and covered
with sheet overnight.  Appears okay.
Potted grapefruit in unheated shed (really a mini greenhouse) appears fine.
Fig seems okay.

Orchids:

I took most inside (reed stem epi and dendrobium).  Plants in shed (reed
stem epis) appear fine.  Left one reed stem epi in mulberry tree (it's
growing in a branch).  Much to my amazement, it looks okay, though the
texture is slightly "off."

Roses:

One climbing and one mini.  Both were mulched and appear okay.  Still have
leaves.

Vegetables:

Tomatoes dead.  Eggplant dead.  Runner beans dead.  Peas probably dead. 
All were heavily mulched.
Asparagus seems fine.  
Artichoke seems fine.
Salsify seems fine.
Bok choi and green chard look okay.

Fruit (also see trees above):

Strawberries seem fine.  Were mulched a couple months ago.
Blueberry seems fine.  Mulched a couple months ago.
Red Current looks okay.  It is mulched and is pretty much dormant.
Misc bramble berries appear fine.
Grape vine at neighbor's fence.  Dormant now so won't know till spring.

Geraniums (pelegoniums really):

Mixed.  There is a bed of standard ones in the front (east side) where they
got morning sun.  A lot of leaf damage.  Hard to say what the full damage
will be.
Along the south side of the house is a bed of scented geraniums and
unscented ones that look like they're scented.  Some of the plants have no
visable damage and some are wilted.  The rest are inbetween.  All were
mulched.
Peppermint geranium.  Mulched.  Half looks fine, half is wilted.
Oak leaf geranium.  Mulched.  No appearent damage.

Herbs/Misc Edibles:

Rue (south side, mulched) appears fine.
Feverfew (south side, mulched) appears fine.
Rosemary (east side/front, morning sun) appears fine.
Goodwin Creek Lavender (east side/front, morning sun) appears mostly fine
but a bit of wilting.
Lavender cotton (east side/front, morning sun) appears fine.
Parsley appears fine.
Lemongrass looks fine (to my surprise).
Spearmint killed to ground.
Nasturtiums look pretty dead.
Golden Bamboo in large containers appear okay.
Pineapple sage (south side, mulched) looks just fine (wow).

Succulents/Cactus:

Lots of jade along the front of the house where they got morning sun.  All
appear to be okay, flowers and all.
Potted jade and other suculents in shed appear fine.
Potted suculents on front porch were covered with sheet and suffered no to
some damage (all damage was from times the sheet wasn't on).
Mother-in-law's tonuge in pot on porch without cover seems killed through.
Small potted flat pad cactus in pot on porch without cover seems fine.
Potted cactus (about 8' high, oregon pipe type) seems okay (front yard with
morning sun).
Aloe in front was covered with leaves as a mulch and appear fine.

Flowering Shrubs/Vines:

Impatients (Poor Man's Rhodendrum, perenial) killed through.  With luck the
roots will survive.
Choisya Ternala, Mexican Orange Blossom looks okay (didn't look closely).
Bird of Paradise looks okay from a distance but I need to check it out.
Fushias seem more or less okay, but can't really tell yet.
Various rhodendrums and azaleas seem fine.
Hibiscus (rosa type) heavily mulched and covered with a sheet overnight. 
Looks really bad.  A couple of branches in the back (touching the house)
are fine but the rest of the 3' high shrub has dark frost-killed leaves.  I
think it will survive, but most of it will be lost.
Bougenvilla heavily mulched.  Looks bad.  Heavily wilted and darkened leaves.
Passionflower (Passiflora jamesonii) heavily mulched.  Partly covered with
a sheet.  Most growing tips are wilted.  Other parts under sheet appear
okay.  Other parts not under sheet also wilted.
Indian Hawthorne appears fine.
Two bushes with white single flowers (Philadelphus maybe?) appear fine.
Camillias look fine.

Bulbs:

Too early to tell.  No obvious damage to daffidils, wild onion, saffron
crocus, sparaxis, callas, irises, or freesias.  None were budding yet (some
callas at the neighbors are blooming; I'll have to check them out).

Misc:

Ivy hedge looks fine.
Oxalis (various "weed" types in lawn and beds).  Some is fine but a lot of
it is dead through and through.  I knew there was an upside to this freeze!
Oxalis triangularis in pots on front porch looks pretty dead despite being
covered with a sheet overnight.
Grass looks okay but hard to tell yet (Bermuda and St. Augustine and misc).
Acuba was mulched.  Looks okay but can't tell yet.
Misc potted plants in shed and on front porch under sheet seem mostly okay.

How did the rest of you fare?

Cyndi

_______________________________________________________________________________
Oakland, California            Zone 9 USDA; Zone 16 Sunset Western Garden Guide
Chemically sensitive/disabled - Organic Gardening only by choice and neccessity
_______________________________________________________________________________
"There's nothing wrong with me.  Maybe there's                     Cyndi Norman
something wrong with the universe." (ST:TNG)           cyndi@consultclarity.com
                                                 http://www.consultclarity.com/
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