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plantmasterm

Plants down

plantmasterm
11 years ago

Not having a good night tonight four of my large plants went down in the storm, and I'm outside like a crazy person in the storm & lightening trying to save my plants..is anyone else this bad at trying to save their loving plants..they are my children..my cactus fought back and scratched me up pretty good, even got it in the face..Ouch!!!!

Comments (7)

  • tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
    11 years ago

    Mmhmmm - at least 3 times in the last 15-20 years we had bad storms on Memorial Day weekend that found me scrambling to get the recently potted (that weekend) mixed plantings and houseplants recently moved outdoors (also that weekend) under cover. In a couple of cases, the bruising and breakage of stems was so hard on the plants it affected their appearance for the entire summer ....... I really do understand what a heart breaker that can be after all your efforts to get things looking nice. ;-( I hope everything's as ok as it CAN be after Ms Fickle (Mother Nature) is done pitching her fit.

    All the best ......

    Al

  • Lamora
    11 years ago

    They are our "babies" and yes, I think we all can understand, shoot, I'm outside if the wind picks up a bit too much for me, bringing them inside. Haven't had a storm yet that big for me to worry about them, but it is coming, and I will be outside getting them in! Luckly for me, I don't have that many yet, they are all on the porch. (hoping to change that tho)

    I hope for the best for your plant. And don't blame your cactus~~ she/he was just scared of the storm. ;)

    Marjie

  • elkay_gw
    11 years ago

    Storm prediction got me dragging most of my plants inside. Had to take my 3 brugmansias into the cellar which is only 5 ft high, so two of them got bent over a little and afterwards, taking them out I broke a major branch on one. :( I taped it back together - lets see if that works. Storm was not TOO bad - wind and heavy rain, no hail or anything.

    I left my 8 ft ficus outside on the deck - seems ok.

  • plantomaniac08
    11 years ago

    We had a really bad storm earlier this year, 60+ mph winds. We live in an apartment and we have a patio, so for the most part my plants are shielded, but that night I had to run outside and save my babies. I was outside for a couple minutes grabbing and moving, came back inside completely wet. Good thing I moved them, the winds were so strong it looked like a tornado ripped through our parking lot, mulch, branches, leaves, you name it, everywhere. Had a downed tree up the street and my parents lost I think it was five trees.

    Planto

  • Tiffany, purpleinopp Z8b Opp, AL
    11 years ago

    Oh wow, hope everything recovers! Sometimes mother nature prunes plants when that happens, hope her decisions weren't too drastic for you on this one!

    Once I had one of those cabanas (like a tent with just a top) with beautiful wrought iron sides shaped like and painted the colors of a grape vine. A real blower of a thunderstorm came up and I looked outside and the cabana was in the air. When it came down, like an idiot with a deathwish, I went out there in the downpour and lightning and managed to untie the canvas roof enough that it couldn't catch wind anymore. The table under there full of plants I didn't want to get wet was turned over, the pots and plants were in a muddy, mushy heap. I was bummed for weeks over the losses!

    Many times throughout the years I've had potted plants blown around. It's extremely frustrating! This is why I try to make a really heavy soil, sometimes a large rock at the bottom of a pot, and use pots that people sometimes tell me are too big. If a storm is coming, I try to make sure none of the pots are really dry and lightweight. It worked this summer for the wind gusts created by TS Deby and hurricane Isaac - 40-50 mph - nothing blew over although I did move a lot of the pots away from the edge of the porch just in case. so they could only tip over and not fall all the way off of the porch.

  • tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
    11 years ago

    I have a lot of pots scattered through the gardens & on decks that are up in the air, and one thing I noticed is when pots blow over, it's always the expensive high-fired ceramic ones that break - rarely the cheapies ...... or does it just SEEM that way? I know I have a couple of favored bonsai potters who produce extremely high quality pots, so it's not at all unusual for some of the larger pots to be pushing the $200 mark or even more. When it blows, it's always the larger trees in the larger pots that catch more wind and dent the pocketbook deepest when they fall. Combine the damage of broken branches or dried out roots on a very valuable tree with the destruction of a valuable pot, and you have the makings of a real heartache and an extended period of self-loathing for being too lazy or inattentive to tie things down or set the plant on the ground instead of trusting to luck when it became evident a storm was in the making. Yeah - been there/ done that/ have plants planted in the broken pot shards to prove it.

    Al

  • plantmasterm
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Al, just reading that made my heart hurt..it's been awhile since I've been able to get the more expensive pots but believe me I understand..from your photo you got hit pretty bad as well..I use my broken pots as well.. Hope you didn't lose to many.

    Marion

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