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Jun 10, 2014 10:13 PM CST
Thread OP
Kentucky ๐Ÿ˜” (Zone 6a)
Cactus and Succulents Region: Kentucky Moon Gardener Plant and/or Seed Trader Tropicals Plant Identifier
Garden Ideas: Level 2
It was a record winter here, one i was ill prepared for it turned out...

The furnace failed repeatedly, all auxiliary heat had to be moved indoors...

Any other winter all would be well but we had regular sub zero dips...my min/max thermo said -14 was the coldest it got...in my greenhouse!

Luckily there were survivors, as they slowly emerge it would appear that I faired reasonably well, all things considered!

The sad fact is most if all this coukd have been avoided...but due to multiple health issues, and the fact that I wasn't expecting cold like that coupled with total hvac failure at the same time, I don't know why I wasn't...if it can happen, it will happen!

But the silver lining is...
I think everything I lost is replaceable!!!

That may sound silly, but a few of you know what I'm talkin bout!
There's some mighty close calls in there, but as far as I can tell the few truly irreplaceable gems I had did in fact make it!
As a matter of fact, I count my losses at 80-90%, it's a lot of dead plants, yet I think I may have only lost 10-15 of 70species of tropicals, not bad considering...

It did spur a sort of compartmentalized depression, one im rather familiar with!
When you go check the stash of bulbs, and find them frosty as the ice box...you know it's not good!

At that point I just stepped back, had I flown into overdrive...I'm sure I could have saved many of the unlucky victims...I just couldn't do it...not in the middle of my standard mid winter blues, and everything else...I just couldn't handle dealing with it...
Ashes to ashes, right?

I've dealt with worse loss, it took 6 or 8 years to back on the horse that time, I'm already diggin my spurs in this year...

I don't have an ear in the ground yet...hell I barely got a leaf up yet...oh well I'm sure I'll be over whelmed with massive leaves in no time...but boy am I behind now...

I'm not sure what I'll have to offer at this point, but I'll be counting on kindness to get crackin again...
All these years of gardening "alone" it's mighty nice to know I can count on my growmies to get my collection going again...I lost alota plants, not the rarest stuff, but not the most common either!

I WILL BE SEEKING TRADES!

You might as well get ready! If you see a lil red note in your tree mail, just figure it's from me :)

I'm far less interested in hand outs, but I'll not look a gift horse in the mouth! I'm happy to pay postage if trades don't interest you!!

I gotta make room for fresh pics for this year!
The phones slam full of last year find memories...and about a million pics of the sweetest 3 yr old you've ever seen!

Missed yall!

Hope everyone and their plants wintered better than me and mine did!
Please tree mail me for trades, I'm ALWAYS actively looking for more new plants, and love to trade!
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Jun 10, 2014 10:18 PM CST
Name: Cheryl
North of Houston TX (Zone 9a)
Region: Texas Greenhouse Plant Identifier Plant Lover: Loves 'em all! Plumerias Ponds
Foliage Fan Enjoys or suffers hot summers Tropicals Garden Ideas: Master Level Garden Sages Million Pollinator Garden Challenge
So sorry, Sway. That is quite a loss and one that would appropriately throw anyone into a depression! It was a harsh winter for some, even harsher for others. I hope you can get started on replacements very soon.
Life is short, Break the rules, Forgive quickly, Kiss slowly, Love Truly, Laugh
uncontrollably, And never regret anything that made you Smile.
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Jun 11, 2014 7:48 AM CST
Name: Tiffany purpleinopp
Opp, AL @--`--,----- ๐ŸŒน (Zone 8b)
Region: United States of America Houseplants Overwinters Tender Plants Indoors Garden Sages Plant Identifier Garden Ideas: Level 2
Organic Gardener Composter Miniature Gardening Million Pollinator Garden Challenge Tender Perennials Butterflies
Glad to see you again, but sorry to hear your tale of such woe! Puts my worries of yesterday about some plants getting knocked sideways and some small hail in relatively lucky perspective. Let me know if I can help! Hope you are feeling better, mentally and physically!
The golden rule: Do to others only that which you would have done to you.
๐Ÿ‘€๐Ÿ˜๐Ÿ˜‚ - SMILE! -โ˜บ๐Ÿ˜Žโ˜ปโ˜ฎ๐Ÿ‘ŒโœŒโˆžโ˜ฏ
The only way to succeed is to try!
๐Ÿฃ๐Ÿฆ๐Ÿ”๐Ÿฏ๐Ÿพ๐ŸŒบ๐ŸŒป๐ŸŒธ๐ŸŒผ๐ŸŒน
The best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago. The 2nd best time is now. (-Unknown)
๐Ÿ‘’๐ŸŽ„๐Ÿ‘ฃ๐Ÿก๐Ÿƒ๐Ÿ‚๐ŸŒพ๐ŸŒฟ๐Ÿโฆโง๐Ÿ๐Ÿ‚๐ŸŒฝโ€โ˜€ โ˜•๐Ÿ‘“๐Ÿ
Try to be more valuable than a bad example.
Avatar for Dutchlady1
Jun 11, 2014 8:05 AM CST

Plumerias Photo Contest Winner: 2015 Charter ATP Member I was one of the first 300 contributors to the plant database! Garden Ideas: Master Level Forum moderator
Region: Florida Cat Lover Garden Sages Cactus and Succulents Tropicals Hosted a Not-A-Raffle-Raffle
What a sad story! Let me know if there is anything you need from me.
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Jun 11, 2014 8:41 AM CST
Name: Ken Ramsey
Vero Beach, FL (Zone 10a)
Bromeliad Vegetable Grower Region: United States of America Tropicals Plumerias Orchids
Region: Mississippi Master Gardener: Mississippi Hummingbirder Cat Lover Composter Seller of Garden Stuff
Almost all of us in the south experienced the same unusually harsh winter, and the plumeria-lovers I chat with in south Texas had the same problem. They lost plumeria that had been in the ground for decades. Like you, Swayback, I lost a lot of tropical plants, more than 100 of them. My greenhouses were full and I just didn't have room for them. I lost dozens of jade, aloe vera, rubber trees, and schlefflera. I also lost a huge Peace Lily (had two dozen flowers the previous spring) and two, 5-6' tall Madagascar Dragon Trees. I have a "pecking order" as to what plants are brought in to over-winter in the greenhouses/enclosed porch, and all those plants that were lost were not high in that pecking order.

My passion is orchids but I also grow a lot of bromeliads, staghorn ferns, tillandsia, and fiddle leaf ficus. I do still have some fairly large jade and a handful of rubber trees, schlefflera, and aloe vera that I managed to bring in. I have perhaps 700 or so tropical plants, so losing those 100+ did not put much of a dent in what I have.
drdawg (Dr. Kenneth Ramsey)

The reason it's so hard to lose weight when you get up in age is because your body and your fat have become good friends.
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Jun 11, 2014 9:25 AM CST
Name: Elaine
Sarasota, Fl
The one constant in life is change
Amaryllis Tropicals Multi-Region Gardener Orchids Master Gardener: Florida Irises
Herbs Region: Florida Vegetable Grower Daylilies Birds Cat Lover
Whoa, talk about drastic losses, glad you at least kept the family warm, Sway. But . . . let me gently chastise you for not getting on to the rest of us sooner! We could have had you up and recovering a month ago. Rolling my eyes. Green Grin! That's what gardening friends are for - Plant insurance and depression recovery.

Another suggestion, against a future failure of greenhouse heating - my old buddy in Utah says he now keeps an old bathtub he got from the Re-Store in his greenhouse. Puts in hot water on the coldest nights and it helps humidify, as well as provides a very large heat sink. They didn't have a drastic winter there this year, but he tells me his greenhouse never got below 40deg. (he's the guy I've told you about that used to use the plastic storage tubs as his greenhouse heat, with waterbed heaters in the water only used on the coldest nights)

So, put the word out to your friends and neighbors locally - if anyone's doing a bathroom renovation you'll come and haul away their old tub for free . .. Angel
Elaine

"Success is stumbling from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm." โ€“Winston Churchill
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Jun 11, 2014 12:00 PM CST
Name: Dave
Dayton, TN (Zone 7a)
Blessed beyond all merit.
Houseplants Lilies Birds Native Plants and Wildflowers Dog Lover Container Gardener
Butterflies Hummingbirder Tropicals Cottage Gardener Foliage Fan Aroids
Glad you are back Sway. Sorry for your losses. With your expertise you will be back before you think you will.
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Jun 11, 2014 1:36 PM CST
Thread OP
Kentucky ๐Ÿ˜” (Zone 6a)
Cactus and Succulents Region: Kentucky Moon Gardener Plant and/or Seed Trader Tropicals Plant Identifier
Garden Ideas: Level 2
Thanks folks!
I rooted in the garden til 6am then flopped over til 230 pm...whoops...


Inspiration!

I wasn't ready to try to recoup until a few weeks ago...I've spent that time attempting to save the survivors!

I've still got SOOOO much to do here, spending hours online, arranging trades and yammering about plants just didn't make sense...

Not a lot makes sense right now tho...I'm sure gardening will help clear my head
Please tree mail me for trades, I'm ALWAYS actively looking for more new plants, and love to trade!
Avatar for birdmanmar
Jul 26, 2014 7:36 AM CST

Out west, we just went from fall into a long extended spring and just this week our first triple digit days back to back (5 days in fact) The mildest winter I can recall in the last twenty! No, I am not bragging just a led up to the previous winters destruction . . . day after day of miserable, wet, and very cold weather neither man nor beast liked very well. Like you I wasn't prepared for any thing more than the usual and it quickly became anything but! I lost plants (lots of them) some I'd had for 5 & 6 years and even some 8 & 9 years. And YES i had that sinking to the bottom pit of your stomach feeling. Well, I would hear from others "what doesn't kill you will make you stronger" did that make it any better NO! Made me just want to put my foot up his a@#.

Enough of that, the never ending story. Last year when you seemed to be overwhelmed with EE's I noticed you were selling Colocasia Fontenesii.
Colocasia Elena, Colocasia fallax and silver dollar, Lime zinger and some others. If you have any to trade great if not that's OK to. I'll tell you what's doing well this year for me and if you would like any let me know. Colocasia Big Dipper (The big fuzzy 8'), Colocasia Black Magic mine form tubers!, some Colocasia from Walmart I haven't id yet (last year 60"+ blades(smooth/med green) on 4-5' petioles that are mostly light yellow Large, 1 or 2 very small illistris, Colocasia Diamondhead, the common Colocasia everyone seems to have (a little execration) growing in their yard, I don't know what named verity it is this week. Colocasia Blue Hawaii. and finally my Hilo bay are having a great year, they are the largest they have ever grown! I also have Banana pups (they produce bananas as apposed to just being ornamental) I have some pollys that are just breaking their snooze (ist really hot weather) end of July! So, if I can help you let me know Sway alright? Bird Man over and out and has left the building!
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