Could be any time now.... average first freeze for DFW is November 22nd, with Oct 30th ('80/'93) being the earliest and Dec 21st ('98) the latest ones in recent memory.

Accuweather has us not hitting 32 until Dec 1st, but I start watching the nightly forecasts after Nov 15 if tenders are still outside because of frequent changes. Is looking like a mild December for DFW on the long-term forecast.

That is what I saw too turnage. Mine are coming inside Saturday after being staged and de-bugged on the driveway for a week. They are looking a little sad from the 40 something degrees we've had recently. I wish that my pencil cactus would get some red color, but no luck so far.

Hi pk, I have a pencil cactus given to me by a friend a couple of years ago. It is about 4 ft tall now but I did not know it might get some color. What does it need to do that?

The Weather Channel app shows my area (just west of Ft Worth) as getting down to 29 this weekend. I'm not ready for it!

My sweet Bougainvillea, still trying to bloom. I've never had one flower this late.

There are figs on my fig tree....

Mine, too !!! I have been eating them as they ripen, but the green ones won't have time to do so. My plants that cannot survive outside are all tucked safely away, so they are ready...........................I am NEVER ready for winter.

Hi Junegreen, when I first got my pencil cactus named 'fire sticks' as a tiny baby in a 4 inch pot, it had the most beautiful red stalks. I always read that it was cool temps that turned them red. A few years ago, I froze half of it on accident by leaving it out too long trying to get it to turn red again. Mine is as tall as me and I have to use a hand truck to bring it in now...so heavy!

My 4'fire stick was blown off a second floor porch and landed 11 ' down on rocky hill country soil and DIDN'T BREAK THE POT OR PLANT!!!!!!!! It's a miracle! It is just getting a nice red color. The freeze is teasing us. close, 34F and this is the time of year where the unexpected can happen where I am.

Is there some magic step that I'm missing Mara to get the red stems?

We haven't gotten into the 30s yet, for that I am thankful.

stress turns them red so don't water them and bring them back out after the freeze and put them in FULL sun. works every yrs for me. They are under a porch cover but facing south so the get sun pretty much from sun up to sundown.. It has been wet lately so that part of the stress equation has been difficult to provide. Mine are just starting to turn red.

Thanks Mara

I've watered it and mine lives under an oak tree during the warm season, that explains the difference.

Thanks from me too. Do you keep your

cactus in full sun in the summer?

It depends on the cactus. Lots of cactus live in the crook of rocks, in the mountains sides, and under acacias that throw a thin slight shade. many cactus do not like full un adulterated sun and can get sun burned. I find that some like to have their backs protected from pm sun. One has to be observant .

DFW briefly touched freezing temps for the first time early on the 22nd - which happens to be the average first freeze date for the area..... probably the first "average" weather event we've had this year :-)

We were out of town, but returned to browned tops on the cannas and tropical sages. Not many other signs of damage. Crape myrtles seem to be approaching peak color, but many others are still pretty green for this late in the fall. Looking like we may be raking leaves well into January.

I saw freezing temps around close by me but we staid above it. We are really hilly so these early freezes cab vary sharply in a close area. Across th road ( 1/2 mile away) was 30F but we were like 37 It is so weird. We are higher and we have a hill and a ravine on either side so the cold just sinks away into their yard. It slowly changes as the winter progresses. I think the summer heat build up is still moving upwards in the hill. That's my theory and I am sticking to it.

I agree. I live at the bottom of a hill and though the temps haven't officially gone down to 32 I've had quite a few tender plants more than just nipped, where just a block away UP the street the cannas and elephant ears haven't been touched. Heat rises so low areas are definitely cooler. Ever notice how cool it is when going through in a dip in the road while riding in a car at night with the windows open?

My Cannas, Zinnias, Oleander, Mexican Heather, and Mandevilla are done. Crisp and brown. Amazingly, my bougie up there is still holding on to it's blooms!

My entire property is low, so all of my tender plants are history after the freeze. The oddity is two phlox that are still green with blooms on them while some nearby are brown.....go figure.

The up and down of the stream valleys are pronounced. I have a thermometer m gage in my car for exterior temps. It is a real source of entertainment for me on a clear winter's night. Even going from the east side of the hill in the evening to the west side will give you a lot of difference. The east side sinks quicker in the evening but they start warming up earlier in the morning so they do not get as cold since our lows are around 7 am.