Jungle Renewal (April, 2002)
This past winter was particularly cruel to the plants in the jungle. I had everything covered during what I thought was the last cold snap of the season. Left the covering on for nearly a week to make sure it was over. Removed the coverings and the following night we got an unexpected freeze, which wiped out all but the most hardy of the plants.
Amazingly, a couple of the ficus tress, that were NOT covered but in locations out of the wind, survived, while two that I had tried to protect previously, perished. I lost the original "big" ficus, the very first plant in the jungle.
Norfolk Island Pines seem to do well in pots at temperatures down to about 20 degrees f. And as mentioned, ficus benjamina can survive in areas under cover and out of the breeze, although they don't like it much.
I don't know what yucca elephantipes can handle temperature-wise, but I've learned not to worry about them in large containers. These plants are very hardy in our area, which seldom drops below 20 degrees and then just overnight.
Mexican fan palms (Washingtonia Robusta) don't seem to be a problem in larger containers.
Majesty palms don't make it at all.
Home Pic of the Month -- April, 2002 John's Jungle
