Often you can't see the damege right away. It may take a month, so hold your breath, still protect your plants. Where do you live please? Norma

Two of my Jades got zapped by the cold - 28°F the night that I left them out.

The Jade with the thicker trunk suffered leaf-damage only. However, my smaller Jade's branches are *still* collapsing and shriveling. I sure hope it doesn't go much further, or I won't have a single branch left on the trunk.

My sister lost two pots of large Aloe 'California.' They were covered in snow for two days, with temperatures at 20° for many, many hours. We're hoping that a few roots survived in the middle of the pots.

Mammillaria elongata was exposed to the same cold temps, but on a protected porch. No signs of damage yet....

Josh

We had two nights below freezing, reaching 28F briefly. No damage that I can see, nor do I expect any since almost all of these plants survived 25F a couple of years ago. There was quite a bit a natural selection my first year here on the SF peninsula, but after seven years, I've got winter care figured out. Pachypodiums and Dyckia marnier-lapostellei are inside the house, all of my small cacti and hybrid aloes are outside but under a porch roof. The cacti have not been watered since early October. A lot of Echeverias, Agaves, Semps, and a few large Cacti and Aloes are out in the rain and the cold, some in pots, some in the ground. Temperatures dipping to 30F are not a concern at all. Temperatures below that pose a risk depending on duration, but fortunately, that is rare.

Brad

My low temperature said 43F under the patio cover, but there was frost on the neighbor's grass. Everything looks just fine, aloes, euphorbias, etc. We are on a small hill and it stays a few degrees warmer than the surrounding flats. Though the huge, mature plumerias on the flats look happier than my juveniles.

Norma,I'm in Hayward(Sunset Z17) on the east side of SF bay. True,every freeze takes weeks to see "final results" some plants can just up and die when it warms.Most of the time you can get a very good idea of how severe the damage is in a day or two though.
My P.lamerei's took a good leaf singeing. Last year we had similar cold during a dry spell-and they did fine.This years cold wasnt long after we had good rains. Something always different...

In Texas we had a freeze too! Very early for us, we were about 20 degrees below normal. Island only got to 36 but wind chill of 26 and we had a little sleet, a little snow flurries, a litte hail. One of the big blue agaves has what looks like damage to the leaves but everything else OK.
Glad most of ya'll made it with little damage. Hope the rest of winter is mild!!
Tally HO!

My place didn't get tooo cold (30F and 27F), but it was the duration of the freeze, and the formation of ice on the plants that did the most damage. Some plants that I thought wouldn't even be fazed, were heavily damaged (Like aloe Maculata and Aloe Camerooni x Macula as well as Furcraea Foetida). Others like Aloe Alooides, Aloe Pluridens, Aloe Ciliaris, Aloe Broomi, Aloe Arborescens and Aloe Speciosa were nearly unfazed by the freeze. Aloe "California" was nearly wiped out. The leaves looked like boiled spinach and were oozing yellow goo.

A quick question for you long-time Aloe growers: Does the dark blotching on aloe leaves mean the leaves are gonners? Or will they continue to serve the plant? Aloe Maculata and others have dark blotching on the leaves, but they are still holding their shape.

It depends on how long the aloes were in the cold. Minor blotching disappears when the weather warms up (meaning I bring them into shelter if I see this). More severe blotching could lead to a whole part of the leaf dying, or even stem death.

I agree with Philo. My Aloe barberae really resents near freezing temps..amazing how those ugly blotches disappear when warmth returns.No other Aloe I have shows much difference to 30f(2007)my coldest temps of the 21 st century so far. Well,Aloe saponaria does deepen in color. That could be a good thing visually.

Here are some pictures of the damage on the aloes. It is so mind boggleing to me that these aloes suffered the most damage even when I have blue potato bushes are still flowering and sustained minimal damage despite being out in the open.

The melted leaves (or portions of leaves) are definate and will likely dry up once we get some warm weather.
Mafreda "Spot" This one must be much more sensitive to frost than its counterpart "Mocha Macho" which wasn't affected at all.
{{gwi:740305}}
Aloe Hardyii- only the leaf tips seem damaged. The rest of the plant seems ok.
{{gwi:740308}}

It's these dark blotches that I'm concerned about.

Aloe Marlothii
{{gwi:740309}}
Aloe Cameronii x Maculata
{{gwi:740311}}
Aloe Maculata - the flower spike melted so I cut it off
{{gwi:740313}}

Surprisingly, Aloe Speciosa shows no damage whatsoever.
{{gwi:740315}}

I see some damage,no death. Yeah,Marlothi doesnt like it near freezing,but mine has put up with 30 and quite a few 32-33's over the years..just gets taller come summer.
That speciosa is a fine looking plant. Thats on the look out for list now.

So it seems that even two days after the freeze, the aloes have started with their dissapearing act. The blotching on the aloes is already going away!

It was mid-20s in Los Altos for those 2 nights. All my potted cacti were already inside for the Winter. I put some things in my plastic greenhouse, like bougainvilla and some small aloes.
The 5 gallon aloes I have been buying in October & November I hauled into the garage.
Hey Stan, I believe the OSH in Milpitas has A. Speciosa just like the one in the picture. Or they did 2 weeks ago. I been to quite a few OSH'es lately checking out the 5 gallon aloes. Even been to the store in Hayward. Got a nice one there. Big and just starting to flower!
My Visa bill for November is loaded with Aloes!

I have to check it out. Most Aloe's with that moonlglow type leave are clumpers. That one seems to be growing a trunk.

Stan, I bought that aloe Speciosa at OSH for $25. I didn't want to throw the name of the store out there haha.

My 8 dichotoma , 3 pillansii, 8 ramosissima 10 plicatilis received no damage of two days of 26F

I did leave out for the first cold night an Adenium obesum. It was under the back porch overhang,and I cant remember the last time i watered it.No damage.
More encouragement to add more dry tropicals over water thirsty jungle tropicals.

I noticed my largest E.ammak has some burn on the top inch or so. In 07 I threw a blanket over it as it was still reachable,in 08 the plant was more able to take cold of Jan and did fine uncovered. This year was cold too soon after a balmy late Nov. E.abyssinnca is living up to its reputation as hardiest tree Euphorbia..or at least hardiest of the common types with no damage at all. And they do seem to have considerable more cold tolerance as they get larger. Since it did get zapped years ago at the 4' potted plant it used to be. It's about 12' now in ground.