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Author Topic: Need Advice ASAP :(  (Read 19191 times)
Nievesgirl

Posts: 975


« on: January 12, 2013, 02:42:58 AM »

I am looking at weather in my area and it says around 4am 30 degrees and tomorrow around the same time 25 degrees. My plants are in pots in my yard. I see 3 that look bad from general winter weather. The rest seem fine what should I do to protect them ? Right now is kind of too late but if I can do something for them before tomorrow.
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~Kerry~
Denise

Posts: 330


Bay Area, CA


« Reply #1 on: January 12, 2013, 12:03:46 PM »

Is it possible to bring them in the house, at least for the really cold nights coming up?
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Nievesgirl

Posts: 975


« Reply #2 on: January 12, 2013, 01:11:09 PM »

I woke up this morning and all of them look bad  Undecided I hope they bounce back. I am going to get PVC and build a fram and drape it with a sheet... I hope that saves them. Next week will be back to the mid 40's I am still shocked that it will be 25 degrees at 4am tomorrow morning.
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~Kerry~
farmer d
Farmer D

Posts: 5573


Hollywood, CA


« Reply #3 on: January 12, 2013, 02:11:28 PM »

Hi Kerry:

Tonight's lows are a very serious situation for your hibiscus.  Mid 20s in my mind is a disaster and will probably kill many of your plants if left unprotected.

I'm not sure how many you have currently but maybe a good last minute move would be to cluster them together as tightly as possible, put something like you mentioned in your last post here and what I would do to ensure they are ok is bring out some extension cords and plug in some electric heaters.  Head on over to Bad Bath & Beyond or something comparable and get the type of heaters that blow the air.  I know this could be a budget killer but anything to keep them above freezing.

With temps this low I don't know if a simple covering will work.  Last night here in Hollywood it got down to the upper 30s and my toddler Tahitian Lavender Rainbow is now looking all droopy (along with a few potted seedlings) so I am going to take my electric heater and keep her warm the next few nights.  Fortunately I still have the Christmas lights up so I can plug into my extension cords already out.

Not trying to stress you out but all it takes is one night to kill them and tonight won't even be a close call, way below freezing out in the IE - very serious cold!

Farmer D
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Gina

Posts: 11


« Reply #4 on: January 12, 2013, 03:53:36 PM »

Hi,

I, too was worried about my hibs.I live in Vista, Ca and its been cold for us too. Some of my pots are too big to move. I had tarps that I had bought for camping, etc. I just threw tarps over the ones I could not move. I will leave them on for the next few days, just to retain whatever warmth we have. Not sure if you are a Costco member but they had heavy duty tarps that were big, 2 for $20. I used those doubled up to protect some of my plants. Good luck:)
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farmer d
Farmer D

Posts: 5573


Hollywood, CA


« Reply #5 on: January 12, 2013, 04:14:32 PM »

Hi Gina & Kerry,

Yeah tonight and probably Sunday night maybe Monday are going to be really tough for the hibs if outdoors in your area.  Being in the mid 20s is really going to be a challenge for them and worst thing is it might be under freezing for several nights in a row so that is a big problem.

Here is a pic of my T Lavender Rainbow getting some help now probably thru Monday.  Fortunately it is dry and not windy so I can have my indoor heater outside for her.

Best of luck to you all - I hope it doesn't get as cold as they say.  I know here they keep changing the lows every few hours so I don't know what to expect (33F - 38F)?!

Farmer D


* Tahitian Lavender Rainbow cold & droopy 1-12.jpg (386.28 KB, 1728x1057 - viewed 849 times.)
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Charlie
Administrator
*****
Posts: 3646



« Reply #6 on: January 12, 2013, 04:35:15 PM »

An emergency measure is to run drip irrigation all night long into each pot until the air temp is above freezing the next day. This keeps the roots well above freezing since the water is much warmer than the air.

You can also run sprinklers all night over the plants. It makes a mess and in the morning the hibiscus will be covered with ice. DO NOT turn off the sprinklers until the ice naturally melts after the sun comes up. Yes, this makes a big mess and uses a lot of water but it protects the plants by keeping them at 32F instead of mid-20's. Last time I did this it saved almost all the hibiscus in our Fallbrook garden on a 27F night.

One night of freezing is bad but far worse is multiple nights below freezing - almost a certain killer of tropicals.

Draping the heaviest frost cloth over all the plants is another way to go. It gives about 5 degrees of protection. For one night you can double it up and it might be even more effective.

These are all emergency measures. Hibiscus really need to be moved indoors in winter, in the house or greenhouse or even a garage. They are not suitable for growing outdoors in areas with significant freezing. Even the cover of an outdoor porch is better than left fully exposed to the freezing night.

Good luck, all.

Charlie
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Denise

Posts: 330


Bay Area, CA


« Reply #7 on: January 12, 2013, 11:10:11 PM »

Kerry- Let us know how it goes! Darren- I had to show my husband the pic of a heater outdoors blasting a hibiscus....so he can see I'm not the only loco one Smiley
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farmer d
Farmer D

Posts: 5573


Hollywood, CA


« Reply #8 on: January 14, 2013, 08:46:51 PM »

Hi Denise - one other thing in our defense of being loco is that having many hibiscus is also a financial investment when it comes to money spent not just on the plants but all the ferts and other things needed to make them flourish.  So I look at this as a way to protect or in this case save my investment.  Then there is the matter of time spent...each one that dies is a lot of time spent caring for them that is thrown away.

Yep much more than that too but from a rational standpoint makes sense to me!

MY T Lavender Rainbow might have more going on than just being zapped by the cold...going more downhill even with two days of heat.

Farmer D


* Tahitian Lavender Rainbow Plant 1-14.jpg (379.29 KB, 1920x1080 - viewed 902 times.)
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Denise

Posts: 330


Bay Area, CA


« Reply #9 on: January 14, 2013, 09:00:22 PM »

Farmer D- Totally agree! And my husband is fully supportive of my hobby. He sees how much time and MONEY I put into it. He is the one who picked out the great radiator and built my greenhouse for me. Thank God for supportive spouses! Smiley How is  your droopy one holding up today?
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Denise

Posts: 330


Bay Area, CA


« Reply #10 on: January 14, 2013, 09:02:17 PM »

Oops...scanned your post too fast. Just re-read it and see you said your Tahitian is not looking well Sad That is a bummer! Are the Tahitians generally more difficult? I know I killed my Tahitian Princess within months of getting it!
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farmer d
Farmer D

Posts: 5573


Hollywood, CA


« Reply #11 on: January 14, 2013, 09:06:22 PM »

I'll just say that when the hybridizer doesn't put just as much emphasis on having a great bush as a great bloom you can get some more challenging plants to grow.  Charlie is head and shoulders above the rest...

Based on my experience I bet this is wilt disease which occurring this time of year is a really tough one to beat.  First let's see what she does when it warms up.  We should be in the mid to high 70s F w/ night lows in high 40s F at worst in a few days and should last for a while so that is great news there!

This one was hard to get and not cheap so extra motivation here...

Farmer D
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davidwood
David In Nha Trang Vietnam

Posts: 1054



« Reply #12 on: January 15, 2013, 03:19:06 PM »

Its often mentioned that I have it pretty tough here with the high temperatures but I am not so sure its as tough as what you are having to go through now. Also I dont have the sudden change in night and day temperatures you have to live with [its warm 24/7] which our Hibs dont seem to like, so best of luck to you all and lets hope they all survive.
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David.
Merkity

Posts: 94


« Reply #13 on: January 23, 2013, 08:34:25 PM »

We have been getting the freezing temps in northern calif as well - I have two plants that have spent their last 5 years wintering in pittsburg with zero help.  but this year, they are still active as the temps have dropped very quickly.   I basically move them all into a corner of my house and cover them with towels and bags to help retain the heat - so far so good - none of the seed pods have dropped off yet.  the flowers are noticeably smaller by 2-3 inches but the silly things are still blooming. the two generics i have do go into a hibernation phase in the winter. last winter i had a flower bud on the plant for about 4 months - was a very odd flower once it finally bloomed.
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Nievesgirl

Posts: 975


« Reply #14 on: March 22, 2013, 08:16:55 PM »

Hi Kerry:

Tonight's lows are a very serious situation for your hibiscus.  Mid 20s in my mind is a disaster and will probably kill many of your plants if left unprotected.

I'm not sure how many you have currently but maybe a good last minute move would be to cluster them together as tightly as possible, put something like you mentioned in your last post here and what I would do to ensure they are ok is bring out some extension cords and plug in some electric heaters.  Head on over to Bad Bath & Beyond or something comparable and get the type of heaters that blow the air.  I know this could be a budget killer but anything to keep them above freezing.

With temps this low I don't know if a simple covering will work.  Last night here in Hollywood it got down to the upper 30s and my toddler Tahitian Lavender Rainbow is now looking all droopy (along with a few potted seedlings) so I am going to take my electric heater and keep her warm the next few nights.  Fortunately I still have the Christmas lights up so I can plug into my extension cords already out.

Not trying to stress you out but all it takes is one night to kill them and tonight won't even be a close call, way below freezing out in the IE - very serious cold!

Farmer D



Hi ,Darren it does not take one night in the lows to kill them. I have had my plants in low temps last year with no problem. The wind here is a KILLER !  The temps at night were in the low 30's for a week, not just one night. Then it went to 20's for a few nights Cry  Thank goodness most of them are bouncing back. My solution was that I cover then with winter blankets as long as I can. It only lasted 2 days with the covers the next few days the wind picked up again so I had to take the blankets off they were getting blown away lol  I then just put them in a line on the north brick wall. The winds were not hitting that side of my property.  I also had some under my patio which acted as a winter blanket all of my seedling and some cv's didn't even get wind damage ( the wind was blowing so hard through my patio )

Everyone thanks for the advice but I couldn't do much but to buy winter covers for them. I have way to many hibiscus :/ also Charlie great tip but no sprinklers in my yard yet haha I only had a few die out of hundreds which is good IMO better a few than all. I just see it as survival of the fittest. The ones that died seem to grow slower and not be vigorous. I honestly also think some died because they dried out to much since the Santa Ana winds were going bonkers !

I am going to build the green house soon. So look for another thread about the process. ( I am going to update on the thread I made in a few mins)
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~Kerry~
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