Staten Island NY Palm Tree Update!

 I can't believe we had a blizzard two weeks ago - because on March 10th NYC hit 80F for the earliest time on record. In my parent's yard my weather station recorded 4 days in a row in the 70s (Just for some perspective, we only had 6 days in the 50s since Jan 1 and no days in the 60s prior to this week!)

    March 8     70/44

    March 9     74/41

    March 10    78/41

    March 11    72/48

    March 12    64/34

My fatsia japonica on Feb 16

Sabal Minor March 9 - unprotected on a 5F day but protected for the rest 

Windmill palms & Florida Anise on March 9. Anise was not protected - Trachycarpus were heavily affected

Gardenia Summer snow, Just put a bin over them and ran some C9 lights

Completely unprotected Windmill Palms

Musa sikkimensis could be alive! I mulched it 

Long Island Palm Tree Updates!

We finally had a mild week! It hit 80F in my garden on Long Island. In this post I'll show some of my garage plants & the plants overwintering in the garden. 

Weather Summary

March 8   67/44

March 9    73/45

March 10    80/45    

March 11    69/49

March 12    57/32

I took out the garage plants & they are looking surprisingly good. The garage temperature hovered around 40F for most of the winter so it was really quite cold and there's no sunlight in there. The subtropical made out great though 

   

Mule Palm, Livistona, queen palm, trachycarpus latisectus, cycads, primrose 

The citrus!

I covered my Washingtonia filifera with cloths a garbage bin and C-9 lights. It saw 20F but still looks green

Two Sabal minors, one is Sabal louisiana, the other is Sabal tamualipas... I don't remember which one is which! Whooops. 

First protected with just a plastic bin (and looks great). The second was protected with mulch and looks pretty rough. 

Sabal minors do not like being wet in my climate! They really need a dry winter spot.

My star jasmine is looking rougher than usual. I did cover it but not as fully as usual plus this was a pretty brutal winter. This cultivar is called Madison and should be more cold tolerant than the typical species

Fatsia Japonica had no protection and looks FLAWLESS so does the Fortune Holly Fern

Fatsia Spider Web

Cast Iron Plant

Hellebore breaking through snow

Livistonia chinensis saw 20F. It was below freezing for so much of the winter. Still has some green!

Not going to lie, the windmill palm was really well protected and so was the Chuck Hayes gardenia. I had a palm die in this spot last year and really didn't want to lose it again! The yuccas had a tent over them to protect from the snow load

This cast iron plant was covered, but the cast iron that was unprotected looks better!

My finicky needle palm. I covered with a garbage bin and C-9 lights because half the plant died last year.

Inside the house a lipstick palm I was gifted is unfortunately struggling a bit

My Tree Fern is flushing out for the second time this winter! First flush came in December

My dracaena fragrans smells amazing!

Palm Tree Check & other happenings in Mid February

The indoor garden is thriving: Bird of Paradise and Australian tree Fern

Here's an update on the outdoors stuff! Fatsia japonica 

Sabal minor, which was protected during the worst of the sub 10F cold but it was exposed to less than 5F when the protection flew off.

Windmill palms heavily protected and looking ok! 

Leni!

Gardenia summer snow. Just c-9 lights and a garbage bin here

Daphniphyllum macrocarpum is flawless

Plumeria Divine happy indoors

Pansies are about 2 weeks old

Philodendron cordatum in bloom

 

My favorite things that happened this winter

Who says winter in New York has to be a time of rest for the garden? Okay ... outside the garden is definitely in major hibernation mode. The yard is covered in an impermeable sheet of icy snow that is going to take a massive effort on Mother Nature's part to melt. But it will eventually (probably March).

Inside the house, there has been so much life and so really joyful plant milestones! 

My first year with a Vireya Rhododendron - These tropical blooms are so cheery. It's an easy plant that gives so much more than it takes

My Passiflora edulis bloomed inside the house & the fruit from the summer ripened. It tasted delicious!

My tree fern almost died ... but it's back! Tree ferns make me nervous. My Australian Tree Fern lost every leaf in November, but flushed back beautifully in December and January when I started to water more frequently (and top water).

The YELLOW Bird of Paradise finally bloomed. I bought this plant in 2018 and honestly didn't know for sure if it would be truly yellow or just a plain orange that's mislabeled. But to my surprise it was indeed yellow! (Peep the Queen's Tears Bromeliad)

In this first photo the yellow bird of paradise bloom is the last 2. The orange flowers look less orange under florescent lights.

The Flamethrower Palm is growing faster. My Flamethrower palm threw a gorgeous red leaf in January. It was the first time it ever did that inside the house. What was once an annual event has become semi-annual. How fun! 

I wonder what will happen next?