Re: cold, hardiness, and lies :)
- Subject: Re: cold, hardiness, and lies :)
- From: R* S*
- Date: Thu, 25 Oct 2001 22:31:46 -0700
Barry Garcia wrote:
> davidfeix@yahoo.com writes:
>
> >large palms and trees such as Strelitzia nicholii,
> >Archontophoenix or Roystonea here in the Bay Area,
> >outside sunset zones 16/17 are a definte risk, and are
> >you willing to lose something that gets over 15 feet
> >tall? S. nicholii will come back from the roots, most
> >palms will not. It is mostly a judgement call, and
> >all the points mentioned by Tim and especially Ernie
> >play a role as well.
>
> I am willing, yes. I consider these accent plants, not the main backbone
> of the garden (which consists of hardier plants). I'd never think of using
> five Archontophoenix as the main trees on the property, because i am aware
> that we do get cold spells ever decade or so that can kill them. Yes, it
> would be dissapointing to see a bangalow palm with 15 feet of trunk killed
> off, but because i'd have planted other trees to add height, it wouldnt be
> a huge loss (for instance, i have a flowering plum in the front yard with
> the bangalow, and the plum is the backbone, the bangalow is the accent).
> >
A reasonably effective way to keep that special tree/shrub from freezing too
much on the very cold night, is to put lots of christmas lights on it, and,
even if you are not the sort that would normally have such lighted trees, the
small amount of heat given off by the lamps, assuming not too much wind, can
effectively raise the temperature a couple degrees.
