The *delaying it for another week thread* 17th - 24th UPDATE

[shanks]

i bought a 6ft polytunnel, my ensette has gone in there in it;s zinc planter and wrapped in fleece, my agave is in there as is my yucca rostrata, my washingtonia has a tomato greenhouse over it witht the door opened in warmer weather to keep air flow around it, any bad nights i will put a hot water bottle around stem and fingers crossed, will post picture tomorrow

pictures of the protection for this year

wahie protection

what do you think, any suggestions

[GREVILLE]

You seem pretty well prepared, Shanks

Don't forget that if you introduce any warmth inside the covers in frosty weather there will be more condensation to deal with.

[shanks]

You seem pretty well prepared, Shanks

Don't forget that if you introduce any warmth inside the covers in frosty weather there will be more condensation to deal with.

ok thanks, something i've not thought about

[flounder]

Ok, the last of the dodgy stuff will be coming in today and now the cannas have been frosted, will give them a good mulching as well.
God knows how I'm going to hide a 7ft strelitzia nicolai in the conservatory from the wife

[stephenprudence]

Tell her that the Strelitzia plant (known as the air freshener plant) has air freshening qualities and will clean her house and home, leaving her to sit down and relax... you never know.. its worth a try

[flounder]

I was going to put a string of lights around it and tell her that in warmer climbs its what they use as xmas trees

[simon]

I saw the forcast for snow a about 11pm last night so I went out and put the plastic bell closhes over Agave montana, Aloe aristata and Yucca filifera. I still need to tie up the leaves and fleece the Dasylirion serratifolium but that will have to wait until I am feeling brave.

We had our first subzero air temperature at the weekend so I wrapped the Musa sikimensis and three clumps of basjoo then. I also mulched the Hedychiums with shredded bark. The Cannas and Dahlias were trashed by radiation frost couple of weeks ago so are already tucked up in the conservatory along with my Philodendron selloum and a few other tender items.

[flounder]

Well, the big ensete is now out of the ground, leaves cut off and is resting up side down against the wall. I'd forgotten how much water comes out of it and how bad it smells if leaves have collected in the petioles
I was surprised just how dry, I'll re word that, I was surprised the soil around it wasn't very wet. Crumbly not claggy, not that I get claggy on chalk, but you get the idea.
All I've got to do now is wrestle it the right way up and bear hug it into the study

[Dave Brown]

I saw the forcast for snow a about 11pm last night so I went out and put the plastic bell cloche over Aloe aristata.

They don't bat an eyelid at snow here, Simon. Never protected them, and the snow protected them from -10C in 2010

[simon]

I saw the forcast for snow a about 11pm last night so I went out and put the plastic bell cloche over Aloe aristata.

They don't bat an eyelid at snow here, Simon. Never protected them, and the snow protected them from -10C in 2010

Last year I left it uncovered for the first time as it had got too big for the cloche. Unfortunately about 50% of it went to mush so it now fits under the cloche again. Last year was mild compared to the previous couple so I deduced that it does better when kept a bit dry. Maybe my drainage is not good enough. When it becomes too big for the cloche again it will take its chances again.

[DiCasS]

I've been a bit lazy this year and not done much at all really. Tonight is the lowest forecase we've had, -3 degrees. Stuffed some fleece in the treeferns in case we have a sudden turn and it ends up being a lot colder. All tenders have been brought in now, done a bit of mulching but still quite a bit to do. Not touched the Basjoos or Cannas yet

Again I've forgotten to order some pop-up frost fleece covers which have been mentioned on here for a couple of years and now I can't see any for sale.

All in all, I'm not at all organised this year !!!

Di

[cordyman]

think there was snow in Kent today, one of my customers said!

[Nigel Fear]

I had hoped to last out until the Christmas holiday's here, but this morning I woke up to quite heavy snow, so I hastily moved some of my smaller pots into the shed, and draped a tarp over my largest Cycas and a Scheffie.

I'll have a hunt around in the morning for some fleece to stuff into the treeferns, just incase it turns cold.

Otherwise, I'll re-assess the situation at the weekend for further protection.

[Simba]

i bought a 6ft polytunnel, my ensette has gone in there in it;s zinc planter and wrapped in fleece, my agave is in there as is my yucca rostrata, my washingtonia has a tomato greenhouse over it witht the door opened in warmer weather to keep air flow around it, any bad nights i will put a hot water bottle around stem and fingers crossed, will post picture tomorrow

pictures of the protection for this year

wahie protection

what do you think, any suggestions

Thats exactly what I have been meaning to buy for months...but still haven't gotten around to...

So all pots were taken into the jungle hut this morning with the exception of cycads, cos they can tough it outside....

[Mick C]

pictures of the protection for this year

what do you think, any suggestions

Watch out for snow Shanks. I did a similar thing a couple of years ago but it collapsed under the weight of a heavy snowfall.

The shape of your one looks like it will shed any snow better, but it's worth keeping an eye on if the stuff starts to settle.