Phoenix Tropicals Gardening

[mullenium]

forecast was projected 36 on wunderground at a station off alma school and warner close to where i live..

reading the hourly readouts it dipped down into the 32's from 7am to 8am never going below 32 though.. how can the forecasts be so off?? (the same station projecting 36 hit 32?)

am i screwed?

The trees are all planted up next to the house and under the overhang of a mesquite tree.

im worried about the nam doc mai since its flowering.. i might have just screwed the chance of it producing this year right?

reading the hardiness most of my plants are pretty hardy sans the mango's

I have an acerola, jaboticaba, mangos, pineapple, white sapote, citrus, surinam cherry, and a few pitaya

I think 32 should be ok.. but questioning the flowering nam doc now.. i guess we'll see

[myamberdog]

Your post mulls gets my blood boiling, too! I find a 5-6 degree differential often in our forecast from what the local weather person says. So at a 38 degree forecast or less, I cover my stuff.

I have had no experience with a flowering mango this time of year, so can't comment on that, but your planting under the mesquite near the house was BRILLIANT! My first (and oldest) mango tree is just under the eaves of the front of the house (now passed by it and up above the roof line), also under 2 towering palm trees and next to a larger tree - but this crowded scenario has had the effect of near zero effect of cold of this mango over the last 8 years....

So yeah, sounds like for you anything like 38 or less, from now on, just cover - no decision needs to be made - you (like me) might just be in a low cold spot.

mangoPuppy

[phoenixtropicals]

None of those plants should be damaged at 32°F. Like you said, the flowers might though. I think if the flowers were killed they will shrivel up in short order. I agree that the cover or no cover decision is really a hassle.

My place is typically 3°F under Sky Harbor so I only cover if they are predicting 35°F or lower at Sky Harbor. Maybe the airport forecast is the most accurate one around here, so you might want to try gauging your place against that. You can compare your yard temperature just before sunrise to the Sky Harbor temperature online so you can get a -?°F from that. Do it for a while and you'll be able to see if its consistent.

[Amadioranch]

Forecasts are guesses, pure and simple. And you particular microclimate will be different than everyone elses. You have to monitor your own and be your own forecaster. Out here at my ranch in Laveen we are almost always 10-15 degrees colder than downtown phoenix. And usually 10 degrees colder than the official forecast for Laveen. Why? Well im in a low spot and im right up next to south mountain. The cold rolls down off that mountain and settles in our property. We have already seen 22 degrees this winter and maybe 20 nights below freezing. Heck im at 36 degrees as I write this.


My secret weapon is that I cover with frost cloth and leave it on. Then I
run lights inside the frost tents on a temp controller that turns them on when it drops below 40. No need to worry about forecasts too much as its taken care of automaticly. I do watch for extreme lows and add additional blankets and tarps when it gets really cold.

[phoenixtropicals]

Sounds like you have a good climate for stone fruits and apples.

[Amadioranch]

We likely get twice the chill hours that you guys see down in the valley. So yeah, stone fruit like it. Ive got 4 pistachio trees sitting here ready to go in the ground and stella and lapins cherries that will be coming in from Raintree soon. Pretty confident that these will do well.

The tropicals are a challenge but not impossible. Just takes care and planning. Most all my mangoes are planted in the middle of our new orchard. Im hoping that one day the surrounding trees will grow up enough to provide alot of frost protection. Just going to take 8 years or so. lol