Great pics! Love that giant lemon and the staghorn fern also looks really great!

Thanks for sharing! Good luck, Im sure all your plants will make it through the winter with no problems!
-Alex

That lemon is huge everything is looking good.

Thanks guys.

Hi Alex, its my goal to winterize my palms enough. I try keep in mind that sooner or later we could get a cold winter that hits around the zero mark. I have a little extra warmth for them just in case that happens.

Me too. Most of my palms get enough protection that if the temps were around 0F, they would stay warm enough to survive. I would probably give some of them (like my Sabal Domingensis and Livistonia) some extra warmth if a winter like that happened just in case.

Good luck!
-Alex

Hello Greg!!!

I have never in my life seen a lemon like that!!! LOL....those slices of the lemon look like saucers!!!
I am so amazed with that lemon tree...I think that is going to be on my "want list"...your wife looks so happy with that huge baby!!! How was the fish dinner? I bet you only used 1/8 of the lemon on dinner...then you made lemon bars...lemon pound cake...what else? LOL...

Everything looks ready for winter...Great job Greg...What are the boards in the inclosure? Is that some kind of insulation boards? If so. where do you put them?

Penny looks great!! Have you given her any treats lately?

Take care Greg...

Laura in VB

Hello Greg!!!

I have never in my life seen a lemon like that!!! LOL....those slices of the lemon look like saucers!!!
I am so amazed with that lemon tree...I think that is going to be on my "want list"...your wife looks so happy with that huge baby!!! How was the fish dinner? I bet you only used 1/8 of the lemon on dinner...then you made lemon bars...lemon pound cake...what else? LOL...

Everything looks ready for winter...Great job Greg...What are the boards in the inclosure? Is that some kind of insulation boards? If so. where do you put them?

Penny looks great!! Have you given her any treats lately?

Take care Greg...

Laura in VB

Yea I love that steroid lemon. Anyway, looking good Brooklyn.

Hi Laura,

Good guesses...lol. Those lemons are a sight from such a small tree. We only used about 1/8th of the lemon like you said. The fish came out great, a dash of white wine butter, & lemon really make it come to life. Lemon bars to come another Sunday:)My wife is a great sport as I recall your hubby likes your palms as well:) She likes the organic nature and fresh produce I harvest as part of my hobby. It helps with the budget. Could you imagine how much they would want for that lemon in Manhattan..lol.

The foam boards are insulation pieces that were left over from a nieghbor. They work real well blocking artic cold at the base of the greenhouse just in case we have any record cold. I also may place some around the palm bases at ground level for added protection instead of mulch. They will have to be covered as well here in zone 7a.

BTW, the plants you sent me are doing very well and I look forward to some oleander blooms maybe late next summer:)
You sent me a nice color I remember.

PS. They get the greenhouse special treatment.

Greg, where did you get your Butia yatay--it looks like a decent size. I have a few Butia capitatas but no yatays. At that size, it looks almost identical to the capitata (assuming we both received what we actually purchased!) Also, what's the growth rate on that thing. I know many people say that Butias are slow growing but my capitatas have been growing incredibly fast! I got two last winter from eBay (maybe 2 gallon size), and now they are in some of my largest containers. Thanks for posting the pics.

Greg,
Those have got to be the biggest lemons I have ever seen.It looks like your ready for winter,it's always better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it.I know it will eventually get cold here but today was in the mid 70's and the lows all week is only going down to the mid to low 50's.It was a gorgeous day,it felt like a spring day.That B.yatay looks like it likes whatever your doing to it.At the rate it's growing you will have probably the biggest B.yatay on the east coast by next summer.Keep it up :)
Randy

njoasis,
Good observation, I notice they have grown huge compared to the small one gallon size they were in the early Spring. They are equivelant to the $300 size you see on the chilly palm tree site. I found them knocked over and neglected in a Lowes and the manager gave me two of them discounted for $3 each. They were bought in Florida when I drove down last year and we drove them back up. Believe or not I felt God told me NOT to buy the bigger expensive palms that I wanted and to buy the small ones. I had no idea these would grow so fast. Butiaman (Randy) told which butias they were - Yatays. I was not sure but the tag was clear; that they were butias and grow the edible fruit. I like to grow plants that friut and palms - so you can imagine these being cold hardy were on the top of my list.

I winter them in the cool to warm greenhouse (pictured above)where they do add to their trunk width at the base during the winter in that environment. This may set them up for strong leaf growth when it gets warmer. I fertilize in the Spring and summer only. I notice they like clay pots; it may be the aeration.

Hey Randy,
We broke a record high here yesterday of 67* and today may reach 66*. I am not surprised you are in the 70s. That is whats great about living in the deep south - quick warm-ups. The tropical air is close by and gets pulled up even in the winters by strong pressure systems. Thanks for to encouragement.

I wish God would tell me to STOP buying plants (The arc--along with the garage, and basement, and yard are full.) I was bad again yesterday--bought two new ones (Zamia Floridana 'coontie' and a Licuala).

I removed two overgrown ornamental grasses from the eastern side of the house. Not a wide space as it borders the driveway. But it's a good micro-climate. Have various Yuccas there (rostrata, recurvifolia, and filimentosa) and Opuntia cacti. Next spring I might put my silver blue Med. and/or the Seranoa repens (Saw palmetto)--both are cold hardier palms and I think they'll also put up with the summer heat there.

The palm in the 4th picture is a Sabal minor? I like Sabals but don't have luck with that one (I do have Sabal louisiana, mexicana, palmetto, and mauritiifolius--only lousiana is in the ground.)

Outstanding Ponderosa. My mother-in-iaw has two plants growing in her backyard in S. Florida. Last April I made some lemonade from them. Had a cutting growing here for about a year that produced 1 fruit, then perished. May have to try again. Like all citrus, very fragrent flowers.

NJoasis,

Thanks for filling me in. It is great when you find just the right plant for the mirco climate that require little care. My neighbor successfully grows Rosemary in his and has free seasoning year round. God will talk to you if you mean it, start by reading your New Testament Bible and ask Jesus for direction. He delights in giving mercy when we call on Him.

Hi Trishmick,
You're so right the Ponderosa lemon has very fragrent flowers; also it blooms in the greenhouse on warmer sunny days Jan-March. It then smells tropical encouraging me to look forward to Springtime being around the corner.