[Cindy, CA]

Great info. everyone and I love the debates. We live inland CA and the summers are HOT with 90's and 100's the norm so I'm sure the first winter will be an adjustment but our blood will thicken and we will be just fine.

THANK YOU!!!!

[wavehunter007]

Originally Posted by sgfludd

I believe I did put it in perspective since I'm speaking to a person moving from SoCal to CT. Coming from that climate the 60s will seem cold - just as I said. And single digits 2 or 3 times a year is a lot coming from basically a desert climate - and I experienced them walking my kid to the bus - which was well after sunrise. Here in Greenwich school started late 3 days due to freezing temps. But still I digress - it was in perspective.
S

I say this with all honesty and sincerity, knowing how weather is hyped in the media and even in daily conversation… but I believe that you believe that ….but I really doubt that having lived here for 20 years.

Forget the fact that Bridgeport is north of Greenwich …. You said you moved here in the last year or so……here are the numbers for the last THREE winters…


LOWEST TEMPRETURE FOR THE YEAR AT NWS BRIDGEPORT.


2008 - Jan 3, 2008 …9 F.

2007 - Jan 26, 2007…..5 F.
- Feb 5th, 2007…...9 F

2006 - no temps below 10 F.



You must have been really, really lucky to walk in sunrise temps that didn’t go up one degree… further south…. the 3 times they occurred….. over the last 3 years. Possible…but not very likely. You can check the facts here http://www.weather.gov/climate/getclimate.php?wfo=okx
for yourself for the past few winters. I won’t aurge the point that it’s impossible for it to be that cold this far south and not have blazing sunshine (only strong, strong, High pressure can create a few hours of temps like that around here). High Pressure = SUN.

I have a thermomter next to this computer I’m typing to you on – I check it often at 6:00 am in the morning before going to the train station…..in 20 years I have see it say less than 10 F…. maybe 10 times.

[skytrekker]

This means that Bridgeport is a zone 7 climatically according to the USDA.

[Stratford, Ct. Resident]

Originally Posted by wavehunter007

Forget the fact that Bridgeport is north of Greenwich …

East of Greenwich.
Sorry, it's a pet peeve of mine.
I've still never been able to figure out why 95 and 15 use north-south, when in reality, they run east-west.
One of our little nutmeg oddities, i guess?

[LaMadden]

Originally Posted by Stratford, Ct. Resident

East of Greenwich.
Sorry, it's a pet peeve of mine.
I've still never been able to figure out why 95 and 15 use north-south, when in reality, they run east-west.
One of our little nutmeg oddities, i guess?

Because 95 runs from Florida to the Northeast, not just through CT.

[Stratford, Ct. Resident]

Originally Posted by Cruikshl

Because 95 runs from Florida to the Northeast, not just through CT.

You don't say?
I don't understand how that relates to my questions?

[wavehunter007]

Originally Posted by skytrekker

This means that Bridgeport is a zone 7 climatically according to the USDA.

Absolutely Sky.

Far southern and coastal Connecticut is zone 7 (average extreme low’s 0 to 10 F). I put in the only zone map I had below. Zone 7 stretches from eastern Washington/Oregon… south to the California/Nevada line…. east through northern Arizona and southern New Mexico…… then east through the upper south… and up through the Middle Atlantic states from Virginia to southern Connecticut along the Atlantic seaboard. It can be bit funny when you tell people who have moved to southern New Mexico, north Texas, or the northern suburbs of Atlanta - they are in the same gardening zone they where in when they lived in New Jersey or southern Connecticut. The look on the faces gives me a laugh every time. I am so bad.



As far as zone maps go though… my personnel opioion is they are a pretty good guide, but they lack depth and can even bee a bit misleading in some zones.

Take our warmest zone 10 in the USA for example: southern half of Florida, a tiny tip of extreme south Texas, a narrow strip along the extreme southerner California/Arizona line, and a very narrow strip of the California coast from San Diego to around Santa Barbara is in zone 10. A person who looks at this from just a gardening perspective - might assume that anything that grows in Zone 10 south Florida can be grown in zone 10 coastal southern California or Brownsville, Texas. Of course this is not the case: Coconut Palms for instance, for the most part, will not survive in southern California or south Texas – it’s too cold. While the zone 10 areas of CA and TX may expect low temps of 30 – to 40 F many times in winter…….., it is quite rare for places like Miami or Key West to experience temps of less the 40 F on average.

The same ca be said for the zone 6 which runs through the northern part of Connecticut. Eastern Oregon, Michigan, and northern Connecticut are all in zone 6. However someone who has lived in all three places knows that many more nights will have sub-zero temps in Michigan than in coastal states like Connecticut or Oregon. The maps make too little of the frequency of the expected minimum temps, ....the duration of the minimum temps (a few hours, or 2 days)…..and the effects of wind and sun. Again I think they are still a good rough guide though.

From what I have seen – about 15 F is the magic number, it seems green leaves sticking out into air temps below 15 F get winter burn at times. My bamboo and some of the bamboo I have seen growing on Long Island and along the south Jersey/Delaware coast….do fine when temps fall into the lower teens once in a while in winter. It’s great to look out the window in January and February and see a solid wall of lush green leaves. I scanned in a picture I took a few days ago of my grove…. I have some 25 footers now about 3-inches in diameter. Still have a lot of yard work to do.

Good Luck gardening. When you get a chance post a pic of the Windmill palm – I like to see how it’s doing. Mine have several new fronds coming out, but is still small.

[wavehunter007]

Originally Posted by Stratford, Ct. Resident

East of Greenwich.
Sorry, it's a pet peeve of mine.
I've still never been able to figure out why 95 and 15 use north-south, when in reality, they run east-west.
One of our little nutmeg oddities, i guess?

You are mostly right – I-95 in Connecticut runs much more West – East……than North – South. However, Bridgeport is just a bit more north than Greenwich. If you google map latitude the two places…you’ll see Greenwich is a few miles southwest of Bridgeport. I wish I had a high res map to show you. But you are still 95 % correct, 95 runs mostly east – west in Connecticut.

It is much worse in my section of the coast from New Haven out to Saybrook and the Lymes. From the New Haven Harbor Bridge to the Saybrook Bridge (Connecticut River) one travels 33 miles north (or so they think). It reality, one goes only 2. 2 miles north , and 30.8 miles east. New Haven is at latitude 41.23. 15 and Old Saybrook is at 41. 25. 10.

Although people along the East Coast are familiar with the shape of the Atlantic Coast because they travel up and down 95 to go to the beaches, Florida, Disney, DC, NYC…etc……. people in the interior of the USA and on the West Coast are often confused. A few days ago a new guy here at work was doing a map on hurricane risk, and said he was schocked that Connecticut and Long Island, NY have been hit by a major hurricane more times than Georgia or Virginia. I responded, “well naturally, they stick out into the Atlantic Ocean more than those locations - they’re further east”. He gave me a look like I told him they were holding a skiing event in Key West (lol).

[skytrekker]

Well Wavehunter

my two windmill palms are growing quickly, putting out new fan leaves- even here in Vernon now its technically a zone 7- since the temperture has not dropped below 0 the last 2 winters. My garden certainly looks 'temperate'.

I feel as a gardener who takes risks, the lowest absolute temperture is not as important as the duration of cold.
My Giant Sequoia is growing splendidly- has survived three winters now.

Trachycarpus wagnerianus (Stiff leafed windmill palm or 'Wagner's Palm' ) in garden yesterday

[LaMadden]

Originally Posted by Stratford, Ct. Resident

You don't say?
I don't understand how that relates to my questions?

The interstate runs north to south or south to north in its whole, sorry it goes from east to west in CT that still doesn't change the big picture of it. By the way odd number intertates go north south even number go east west.