Holy Hell Santa Annas

[spaugh]

Was a real scorcher here yesterday.  111F, 22% humidity and blowing hard winds.  The weather put a real smackdown on my avocado and other fruit trees.  I have been watering daily and they havent dropped any fruit!  Seems watering extra heavy in these conditions is crucial. To top it off our air conditioner went out right at the peak of the heat yesterday.  Now we are just roasting hoping summer will end soon.

Photo is a newly planted jacaranda tree with a avocado tree down below getting blasted by a desert wind.

[spaugh]

With no AC, I decided to just go outside and immerse myself in it.  Drank a few beers and waters.  Watered plants by hand for a while.  That was the worst hot weather I have ever experienced.  Nothing you can do but watch as all your plants get toasted.

Now today its raining?  What the heck?

[JoeP450]

Sounds brutal, just an idea but would it make sense to have drought tolerant shade trees on one side of fruit trees to protect your trees during heatwave/drought?

-joep450

[simon_grow]

The weather has been crazy! I hope you don't loose any plants. Better get that AC fixed ASAP, you never know when we will get our next heat wave.

Simon

[spaugh]

Sounds brutal, just an idea but would it make sense to have drought tolerant shade trees on one side of fruit trees to protect your trees during heatwave/drought?

-joep450

The layout of my garden and being on top of a mountain its almost impossible to try and create a good microclimate.  And the best types of trees like eucalyptus are bad for wildfires.  This is wildfire area, was worried about fire breaking out yesterday.  Conditions were there for a major outbreak.

[spaugh]

The weather has been crazy! I hope you don't loose any plants. Better get that AC fixed ASAP, you never know when we will get our next heat wave.

Simon

Got a local AC guy who lives close by to come out and top off the coolant and replace a starter capacitor and AC is blowing cold air again for now.  The unit looks like its had a rough life.  Had a little mini tornado kick up a pretty good cyclone that dumped my mulch pile all over the property today.

[VUgearhead]

Haha, I still remember 1976, when my father was transferred to San Bernardino....... from Anchorage, Alaska!

We arrived just in time for the Santa Ana's in late summer. Thermometer dial was reading in the mid 110's. Seemed like Dante's 7th circle of hell for one accustomed to a more northerly climate.

[boxturtle]

yups crazy ass weather luckily my trees were spared couple of my neighbors tree broke a couple big branches

[AnnonaMangoLord45]

In Orange county, we hit 105, with 80 percent humidity. All of my temperates fruits burned halfway, and it felt like the fury of a thousand suns beating down on me. Thank GOD I learned my lesson with lychees to shadecloth young ones. I'm sweating like a pig everyday like the guys in Florida

[Mugenia]

My wife and folks told me that it is crazily hot, dry, and windy back home. It is not any better in Doha. We're hitting 100 plus degrees with humidity everyday.

[OCchris1]

I feel your pain! Friday afternoon my car said 104F (no wind, with a bit of humidity thrown in). I proceeded to go swimming with the kids. Saturday was 100F, humid, sprinklers going, and no wind--->Hell basically. I had ordered some rhizomes of eBay and had to pot them in the garage Saturday afternoon...Looked liked I jumped in the pool after 20 mins. Nuts. Today it poured rain in the evening and now it feels like Singapore in my backyard. Chris

[JF]

No winds in OC just excesive heat....;thunderstorms and rain on Thursday night and today for 20 minutes.

[BajaJohn]

  And the best types of trees like eucalyptus are bad for wildfires.  This is wildfire area, was worried about fire breaking out yesterday.  Conditions were there for a major outbreak.

There are a few CA nurseries with drought tolerant windbreaker trees but I came across these in this article on dryland farming.
Tamarisk (Tamarix) Tamarix ramosissima is invasive in CA. Other varieties are OK. Inhibit understory growth by dropping salt extracted by deep roots. Tamarix aphylla hasn't naturalized in the US and is used as a wind/fire breaK. It is fire resistant.
Bermuda Juniper Almost wiped out in native Bermuda by imported scale insects but resistant varieties have been bred.
Casuarina (ironwood). Good timber, fixes nitrogen but potentially invasive.

[spaugh]

  And the best types of trees like eucalyptus are bad for wildfires.  This is wildfire area, was worried about fire breaking out yesterday.  Conditions were there for a major outbreak.

There are a few CA nurseries with drought tolerant windbreaker trees but I came across these in this article on dryland farming.
Tamarisk (Tamarix) Tamarix ramosissima is invasive in CA. Other varieties are OK. Inhibit understory growth by dropping salt extracted by deep roots. Tamarix aphylla hasn't naturalized in the US and is used as a wind/fire breaK. It is fire resistant.
Bermuda Juniper Almost wiped out in native Bermuda by imported scale insects but resistant varieties have been bred.
Casuarina (ironwood). Good timber, fixes nitrogen but potentially invasive.

Some of the neighbors have the tamarix growing in their yards.  It is basically a weed.  It does grow without any water or care.  I am pretty sure it will burn in a fire though.  Even cactus and succulents melt in a fire.  I keep a large fire break with no vegetation around my garden so they hopefully will not be consumed in a fire. Probably wishful thinking.