post your snow pictures!

ian_wa

15 years ago

We just got a couple inches here... but now it's started up again. Here are some pictures from earlier this week.

backyard (as yet undeveloped)

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Banksia marginata

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nursery with quickie hoop house

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Agaves (since brought in)

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plants safely in hoop house

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SR 101 approaching Mt. Walker summit. This area received heavier snow.

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Comments (29)

Embothrium
15 years ago
Top photo: Abies procera or similar on the left.
Mary Palmer
15 years ago
Those are great Ian!Love all those Opuntias? covered with the snow! How cold is it there?
Here are a few from my neck of the woods!
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My citrus have started the party out doors. Nagami kumquat in very bad shape but I believe it will live.. It is marked with the flying baseball cap. the crown marks my sweet lee tangerine tree. It was on its death bed then and is doing very well since planting there. The large tree below is my seed grown meiwa kumquat tree. In the process of moving it in and out I dropped it once and forgot to put in the spacer and burned the trunk with the light bulb. It has lost 1/3 of its leaves and shows no sign s of growth the smaller tree is a seed grown nagami kumquat. It is doing very well. 3 happy sweet lee tangerine trees from seed in bottomless gallon food tins. I had placed 3 sweetlee trees and a nagami kumquat tree in the community garden. Squirrels dug 3 sweetlee trees and the nagami up, one was replantable but died. the seed grown nagami was in critical damaged and was moved on to the roof as seen in the flying baseball cap. All four trees were very un happy not because the were grown from seed Here is a link that might be useful: http://s1094.photobucket.com/user/wreristhechimney/slideshow/Seed%20grown%20Meiwa%20kumquat%20tree
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Not bad here today. Temp is 28 with no wind and partly cloudy. No sun, but very bright sky. I guessed that we had 10-12 inches of snow but after I went outside in it decided 10 was a closer number. The official total came in at 9, but it sure looked like more than that here. The county made two passes with the snow plow yesterday morning and our neighbors said the road to town was pretty good except for our very steep hills which were still a little tricky. He was making sure he could get out because they were leaving for a cruise yesterday. LOL We have only been out long enough to feed the birds and clear the front porch. I had cooked so much food in preparation for the possibility of losing power that I haven't even had to cook much all week, so I have had a little mini vacation from the kitchen. We have been looking at the Lee Valley catalog on-line and wishing spring would hurry. I have my tomato seed on my desk, but still haven't decided which ones to plant this year. I got some really good ones from Jay and I know I have to plant them. I have 3 types of Goliath which I am going to try for the first time. I think my main crop will be Sioux this year, but I also realized yesterday that I didn't have any Arkansas Traveler seed and I always try to have a couple of those. Luckily they are usually on the local seed racks. I have lots of heirlooms to choose from after my two trips to Baker Creek, the seed swap, and my windfall from Jay. I will most likely plant a number of determinates in containers so I have room for more big plants in my garden area. I can keep containers outside in an area outside my fenced garden. So many choices and so lille space..... I think I may delay planting my seeds a bit. I had planned to start some in mid February, but now I am thinking that will probably be two early since that is only a couple of weeks away. I did a small amount of winter sowing, but I can't even see the jugs right now. I know they are still there tho because I can see an elevated pile of snow. LOL If I start anything mid February, it will probably be peppers. I usually start them at the same time as tomatoes, but just don't put them in the garden until a little later. Instead, I may start them and when they germinate, I will put them under lights and start my tomatoes because the shelf above the light seems to provide the perfect temp for the tomatoes to germinate. I guess I am a cheap gardener because I don't own a heat mat, but have really not found it necessary. I have plastic domes to cover the trays to hold in moisture until germination occurs. After I put them under lights, I throw an aluminum camp blanket over the top of the shelves to reflect the light and trap a little extra heat from the lights, until they are a few inches tall because I grow them in a cool room. The peppers seem to grow a little more slowly than the tomatoes so I can handle them inside for a little longer. I try to get everything outside during the day as early in the year as I can, but it is a big job to carry things in and out once they are in larger pots. I have plastic pots that are a perfect fit to have 8 in a seed flat, so once they get big enough to be in that size pot, it takes a lot of trips to get them out into the sunshine. I need a greenhouse.
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PHEW It has warmed up here to 14 above so that is a good thing. Sun will be going down soon and I imagine the temp with it. Already had three rounds of feeding and water to porch kitties. Probably have to do it twice more before bed. At least I do not have to put on snow shoes. EEEKKKK LL I miss our big critters but I do not miss the winter care of them. Having to haul water to them from the house bucket by bucket. Do you know a cow can drink 25 gallons a day? the mules did not drink near that much but there were two of them. Will say one place we had had the hot spring and it was great to have the hot water for them.
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cascadians
15 years ago
Nice pix. Ian, what happened to all the Eucs on your former property? Did somebody buy it who loves Eucs?
Embothrium
15 years ago
In this weather many of them are probably bent over double.
ian_wa
Original Author
15 years ago
Bboy, correct: A. procera. The trunk has been heavily damaged by animals and appears to be in a state of decline. We'll probably chop it though I might give it another year to be sure it really doesn't have a chance. The ones on the right are A. grandis and an actually rather nice looking, healthy doug fir.

Mary, great pics! You got more snow than I. Much of mine melted on Wednesday but then we got another 6" this morning... for about 9" total but not all at the same time. It was 19F here Monday night/Tuesday morning. That doesn't sound so bad but it's cold enough for me and all the plants I didn't have a chance to protect. Some friends and I just piled a bunch more of them into the garage this afternoon... it may get even colder and I figure 4 days frozen is better than 8. The cacti ought to be fine, I think. If not then... tough. I did bring all the other cacti and succulents in, and the Banksias.

Cascadians... it's my parents' house so most of the eucs continue to live on. Yes, they're weighted down with snow... a few more fall over or die every year. I'll start a new euc forest here sometime, but I'm going to be more selective about which species I include.
cascadians
15 years ago
Thanks Ian. Glad they're with folks who won't cut 'em all down. If any of mine croak I'll have to come up to see you to get more. I want a Euc neglecta. Like those big full purplish canopies, and the text says it tolerates water. Wonder if Cistus has as hardy ones as you? This weather really emphasizes proven cold hardiness.

So far mine seem to be growing even in these below-freezing temps. The crenulata is still flowering. I really love these trees, praying they make it through this winter. They're getting taller than the larger natives we planted a year earlier!

In a couple weeks it will be time to prune the 25 willows. They will be just barely past 3 years in the ground. Fortunately willows take well to pruning. The smithiana rootstock of the blue arctics have gone bonkers with BIG sucker trunks, just huge for their young age, and we've needed the shade but now need to make room for the other trees growing underneath them, not to mention trying to save the blue arctics being strangled. But the 1st year so many trees died of too much scorching sun that the shade has been an unexpected Godsend.

If my young Eucs survive this winter I'll really wish I had met Frank before planting anything and had planted a LOT more Eucs. It's hard to find gorgeous broadleaf evergreens. The yard looks so bare in winter even though there's lots of baby conifers. Patience, patience ... it will be so discouraging if anything dies. It is so much work to establish trees and takes far too long for them to grow big!
Embothrium
15 years ago
So far it hasn't been particularly cold at all. A killer winter is when people are reporting Farenheit temperatures with one digit intead of two.

It only takes a few hours below a plant's minimum temperature to spoil it. Where lingering cold becomes significant is when it freezes the root zones of marginal plants that might otherwise survive exposure of the tops only to the same temperatures. That is why palms etc. living through low temperatures in California die when exposed to the same temperatures here: down there the same cold may occur over only one or two nights, rather than one or two weeks. And it may be 70F again a few days after a bitter night.

There is also the matter of hot and dry summers ripening growth and enabling plants to attain their full level of hardiness. Cool and damp conditions may have the opposite effect, on hot climate plants.
ian_wa
Original Author
15 years ago
Cascadians.... I don't know where Cistus is getting their eucs these days, without the artist formerly known as Ex-Cincinatti Frank. But it's probable that a lot of euc seed in the Northwest is coming from the same suppliers, most notably Milligan seeds, who offers superior hardy selections. You're welcome anytime although you should check in first to see if I have anything you want.

Yes, it looks like we will get through this freeze without any really cataclysmic, widespread record cold. Still, the duration of this freeze is greater than anything we've had in a long time (1990?). I got to 13F this morning which will be a good test for plants I shouldn't have left outside... and is closer to our all-time record low than many other places reached. It's annoying though because I'm not quite sure why it has to get anomalously cold wherever I decide to move and set up shop. Poulsbo's morning low today was 22F.

I'm currently looking out my window at some unusually fast moving high clouds. Radar echoes are already showing up early over the western Strait of Juan de Fuca. So who's ready for a REAL storm?
Embothrium
15 years ago
The light reflecting off of your agaves, cacti and other hot climate plants with broad evergreen leaf and stem surfaces is generating warm updrafts which attract cold stale air out of the interior. That's why you keep getting sharp weather wherever you set up a nursery.
botann
15 years ago
It's been cold here too.
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The bamboo is down for good. I look at it as natural thinning. When burned a truckful of bamboo sounds like a big gunfight.
cascadians
15 years ago
I have my bamboo bungee-corded to the house. Home Depot got really tough strong bungee cords with closed fasteners, have held up well. Put enormous hooks into studs, lots of silicone, so far so good. The birds hang out in the bamboo and we watch them on the skylight playing bamboo soccer.

It's snowing hard now. Lots of accumulation. Snowing too much too fast to even put seed out, gets covered up in a few minutes.

If the forecasters are correct and this is just the beginning of the blizzard, it will be amazing. Unusual snow for here. 32 degrees, no wind.
Mary Palmer
15 years ago
Why do do think it's called BAM BOO! Sorry, couldn't resist!
I remember the first year I went out and knocked the snow from my fastuosa screening bamboo! It was so pretty and green in the snow. Well,that was 1990. It went down to zero that night and I lost my screen all the way to the ground. It did grow back but it took two years! All of the other boos I left covered with snow were just fine....Since then I always listen for the long range forecast. This year I know that my Himalayacalamus f. 'Damarapa' and Borinda fungosa Himalayacalamus asper will be toast. I can only hope that the snow protects the rhizomes!
I am not looking forward to tonight. We are already preparing for the power outage that is inevitable and it has only warmed up to 22 degrees so far! Burrrrrr.
toad_ca
15 years ago
It was 2 degrees here just outside of Bellingham this morning! Our neighbors brought their 3 goats indoors because the poor things were shivering.
Embothrium
15 years ago
Fraser Outflow effect. TV news weather reports have been showing much lower temperatures for Bellingham than other major western Washington locations for at least a few days now.

Usually seems colder in northwest Washington during the summer as well. There are reasons why the native paper birch groves visible from the freeway start north of Everett.
ian_wa
Original Author
15 years ago
>>Yes, it looks like we will get through this freeze without any really cataclysmic, widespread record cold.

Yes I wrote that... but last night's/this morning's temperatures were close to all time record lows in many locations from Snohomish County northward. The influence of Arctic air south of there has been somewhat less. For Seattle itself to get a landmark freeze, this was a VERY near miss.

Some of the scarier lows this morning include
Bremerton 12F
Eevrett 10F
Friday Harbor 8F
Oak Harbor 8F
Arlington -6F
Maple Falls -7F (ice box anyway)
Naniamo, BC -2F

Here's a fun site for tracking current temperatures at various locations. You can also click on each station to get a two day history.
http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/mesowest/mwmap.php?wfo=sew&map=seattle&list=1&sort=name
http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/mesowest/mwmap.php?wfo=sew&map=seattle&list=1&sort=name
Links to those pages and more:
http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/sew/observations.php

The weather's pretty benign tonight where I am anyways... I've just had a little off and on light snow and no real wind.
cascadians
15 years ago
Freezing rain all night. Looks like ribboning tinsel twirling down in steady streams. More than 1/4" ice coating everything. If the power goes out in this it's going to be very bad. About 12" of snow covered with ice out there. Can't open doors.
novita
15 years ago
It's still snowing here - we have over a foot on S. Vancouver Isl. It's really getting heavy on the trees now (wet!) So far we have miraculously avoided power outtage, keeping my fingers crossed.
Picture of huge Eucalyptus growing through the deck.
dottyinduncan
15 years ago
It's been snowing here for 24 hours. Over a foot of snow on the ground, but it's light and fluffy. Quite a difference from our usual wet, heavy snow.

Here is a link that might be useful:
buyorsell888
15 years ago
These are clickable to make bigger. Portland is hard hit with this snow. There is more snow than this today.
Embothrium
15 years ago
I don't know, I think those rocks know something - and they're not telling.

Looks like it's a nice eucalyptus but it's far from huge, as far as it goes.
buyorsell888
15 years ago
They normally look like this:
galcho
15 years ago
{{gwi:1094951}}Now

{{gwi:1094953}}July

Wondering how much of my plants survive under 16'' of snow.
Oh.
Embothrium
15 years ago
Snow is beneficial to plants that don't break under the weight of it.
cascadians
15 years ago
Bboy, how is the snow beneficial?
Embothrium
15 years ago
For more about that...

Here is a link that might be useful: Extension Service Garden Hints
jraz_wa
15 years ago
From Redmond, WA -

I love how this deer fern, which is clinging to the side of a tree, is "hugging" the snow here...
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I took this one in the calm before the pre-Christmas "wind storm" because I knew the snow wouldn't last on the trees much longer...
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galcho
15 years ago
Here is our slideshow with pictures taken on our street and backyard:

Here is a link that might be useful: Winter Storm 2008
galcho
15 years ago
Try this link instead:

Here is a link that might be useful: Winter Storm 2008
tallclover
15 years ago
I love the shot of this great big leaf maple and garden from the same vantage point; one taken in May and one this December.

Gorgeous comparision and contrast

Here is a link that might be useful: SNOW & FLOWERS: 2 shots, same view but 7 months apart