big freeze fall out

My thermometer says that it went down to -6F on that cold night, so not as far down as other parts of the city. It was more than low enough to make me unhappy, and many of the plants are showing the effects already. The high today is supposed to be 40 and the low 12, which is an improvement I suppose. The final tally on plant performance won't be in for another two months, but there there are some early signs.

My seven-year-old Trachycarpus fortunei has always weathered the winter without much fuss, but I've never seen it look so bad as this year. Rumor has it that even though it looks dead (and it looks REALLY dead), it might come back. I'm not confident. I probably should have done some bud protection before the big freeze, and I should probably do some antifungal drenching, but I really didn't/don't have the time.

This ceanothus "Gloire de Versailles" (next to Yucca rostrata) has typically gone through winter unfazed, but just could not handle this cold. It might come back from the base. Or not. The Ceanothus caeruleus almost always looks bad by this time of the year, and this year it looks extra bad. I can't tell if it is really truly dead, or faking it again. Time will tell.

Although the Cistus x aguilarii looks fine, this Cistus 'Ann Baker' looks pretty awful. It might survive but be pretty severely damaged. It will probably be removed.

I thought that the hardy cyclamen would suffer, but it hasn't shown a bit of concern about the cold. Something I'm noticing about this cyclamen is that since it is a winter grower, it needs a Mediterranean climate to do well. That means making sure it gets enough moisture in the winter.

 

Euphorbia characias is not supposed to be very hardy, but it looks like it survived. I can't say that it is looking very good, given that it has lost most of the lower leaves,  but if we don't have another cold spell like this, it should do fine.

The rosemary have done fine overall, the most unfazed being 'Salem' (top) and 'Frimley Blue'. 'Gorizia' (third photo) and noid (which I call 'Home Depot' - fourth photo) have done fine, with just a bit of damaged leaves. 'Blue Spires' looks mostly brown (second photo), although it is probably bronzing rather than being dead (I hope, since it has the nicest flowers of any of the rosemaries I grow). 'Irene' is still covered with snow, so I can't tell, but being a prostrate form, which are all less hardy for some reason, it is probably dead.

Osmanthus heterophyllus is supposed to be hardy only to 0F at the far end, but here on the north side of the house, it seems to have done fine other than a few dead twigs.

Time will tell. I may be surprised at what survives (and what doesn't) come spring.