Nasturtiums on a trellis

Wow! lots of flowers there Hywel.

Wow! I think as this as a winter vine here. It grow wild in the parks and in the canyons during winter when we receive rain (which has been scarce the last several years).

We've had a cold wet summer here and they are not as good as when we get dry weather.

You would think with the rain they would grow very well.

Not so. I've always found they grow better in dryer weather.
However our 'dry' weather is always very humid and maybe they enjoy that :)

Here they do better during the rainy season. It's probably because we still can have very hot weather during winter.

I suppose your winters must be like our summers - sometimes warm and rainy, sometimes sunny but humid :)

I cleared them off the trellis yesterday. They were starting to look a bit dilapidated now. There were lots of seeds and I hope they'll grow back next year.

Actually, when it rains it's can be cool or warm. However, the Santa Ana Wind season overlaps winter. This bring us extremely dry air (humidity levels down to the single digits) and warm to very hot winter temps. It's not unusual to have the temps get into the 90's (32C or hotter) when we have Santa Ana conditions.

Summer temps here are between 20 and 30 C. The air is never dry - even when the sun shines it's humid.
I don't think I'd like 32 degrees, but if the air was dry maybe it wouldn't be so bad.

I haven't seen those lately in yards. Most of the times I have are in Berkeley. The cooler moisture air seems to suit them better.
Its another that makes a great no fuss plant for parts of the yard that would other wise just be dirt. Like 4 O Clocks.
Plus,the Nasturtiums are edible.

Howell,Do you grow the subtropical fruits much like Mango and Papaya or even Banana and coffee? Are you into those at all?

Hywel,

When the Santa Ana winds come the air is zapped of pretty much all moisture. It's hard on all the plants and people. It dries the plants out very fast...I have to water twice a day and your skin becomes dry like a lizard! LOL! (actually, I think the lizard's skin has more moisture).

Spring and Summer is typically more humid. It depends on how warm the Pacific Ocean get off San Diego's coast and bay. The last two years it's been really warm 77 - 80 degrees F. (25 - 27ºC.).

Stan I have grown a Coffee bush in the past but tropical plants have to be given so much protection here during the winter, that it's very difficult to grow them. The cold wet weather would rot them, and sometimes when it gets frosty, it would surely kill them.

Delonix, That dryness sounds difficult to cope with. Here it's the humidity that gets one down. It gets like a steam bath sometimes in the summer lol

I don't like steam-bath type of weather at all! During our Monsoonal seasonal from late June through Sept it can get very humid. We've had heat indices very high. The highest was in July of 2006, one day the heat index was 132ºF (55.5ºC) I bet you've never had a heat index that high. It was the worst! I remember a couple of other times with heat indices around 123ºF (50.6ºC). Luckily, such heat indices are not common (or I wouldn't be living here).

Good morning there, and good evening here lol :)

I would die in that heat. The highest we get is about 32 or 34 C and that's too much for me, with the humidity as well. I'm glad we don't get those temps every year.
The highest it's been this summer is about 30C and that was only on one day. Most of the time it was in the mid 20s

We can get low temps in the winter sometimes but not very often ... we didn't have any frost at all last winter. I prefer it like that, but in 2011 (I think) it got as low as -15C on one night.
We just get mild rain most of the time and that suits me :) I just couldn't live in extreme temperatures.

Yes, you're lucky it doesn't get that hot there.

-15ºC is extremely cold! It would kill everything I have in my garden. Of course, we don't experience such temps here. It may get down to 5ºC (41ºF) a couple mornings in mid-winter. The average morning lows are 50 - 58ºF (10 - 15ºC) in winter.

The last 5 years the temps have been unusually high for inland San Diego during summer and winter. Also, the morning low temps have been very warm. The last couple weeks here the temps have been below normal. I'm so glad because I can't tolerate those 106ºF (41ºC) with humidity. We had 3 or 4 days at this temp this summer so far. YUCK!

It's typically unbearable this time of year. It's only been 80 - 86ºF (27 - 30ºC) and some days cooler...when it can easily be consistently around 95ºF (35ºC or hotter). Our morning low temps can be 75 - 77ºF (24 - 27ºC) this time of year...and it's been so comfortable and cool averaging 65ºF (18ºC). It's perfect sleeping weather without the a/c.

Extreme temps are rare here, so -15C doesn't usually happen.
We are in the direct line of fire from anticyclones coming off the Atlantic lol so we usually have mild rainy weather. The hills attract lots of mist and clouds.
Today has been about 25 C and feeling very humid and muggy. That's about normal for early Sep.

It's horrible not being able to sleep.

-15c in the Azores Hywel?? Are you talking worst high elevation?
Because I saw what is growing in the Azores botanical gardens and its a mix of soucal tender- like Agave guiencola with large Australian tree ferns and bay area green in winter. Those could never have seen much below 28 or 29F I guess thats -3C.
Today we will only touch 70f..but its been sunny all day and the famous indian summer kicks in by Wednesday. About time.

Wales is a long way from the Azores lol :)

I don't think we'll get an Indian summer here this year. We haven't had a proper summer at all.

I wish we had the rainy weather. I miss the rain! :>((
I bet it's so beautiful and green there.

We are in a historic, extreme drought. It's been so horrible! Millions of trees have died in California and throughout parts of the Western States. I personally have lost more plants in this current drought than the past 7 year drought.

It's typically very hot this time of year. I really like that it's been cooler than normal. It puts less stress on the plants and trees.

I hope it rains soon for you Delonix, and for the plants.
We are having a very warm September here. It's usually warm but this year it's hot !

I've taken these down now Sheila. They were beginning to loot rather tatty. The seeds have fallen ready for next year.

Hywel,

We haven't had any rain since April. Probably won't have any rain until maybe November sometime.

It's warming back up from below normal temps. Back to the upper 80's low 90's (30 -35ºC). We haven't had any 110ºF (43ºC) weather this month, yet. This time of year (Sept/Oct.) it can get extremely hot.

It sounds very uncomfortable weather Delonix.
We've had hot weather here, but now it's cooling down. It was about 20C today. That suits me :)

Hywel:

There can be very uncomfortable weather this time of year.

20ºC is the average high temp here in January. lol!

:D lol ...