Hot weather warning for southwest!

[u bada]

Not sure if any of you out in the southwest have looked at the weather coming this weekend... but it's going to be extremely hot! Here in LA it'll be 105 which is almost unheard of in LA proper, in the valley yes, but not south of the mountains... and the center of the heat will be centered in Arizona... I've just read 120+ is possible... the hottest day being next monday...

don't know what I'm going to do with the outside plants... except hope for the best and water a lot... but the cool growers, oy shoot makes me second guess thinking I should try them... and the AC hasn't been fixed because it's not worth it if we only use it for maybe a couple weeks a year... then again they're saying this will be the hottest summer ever for the west coast...

Oy...

[silken]

I say if you spend the $$ to get the air conn fixed, things will cool right down. Its called Murphy's law. I sure hope it doesn't get so hot for you guys.

[Pattywack]

120+! That is way too hot for me, I hate being hot and sticky. The temps here haven't been bad yet this year but last summer our air conditioning wet out upstairs. It was out for over a month before we could get it replaced. It's usually humid here as well.

My orchids didn't miss a beat in the heat but I sure did. Hope you can stay cool!

[estación seca]

If your nights cool down, 105F won't hurt your plants at all, if they are well-shaded, or have good air flow across the leaves. Move them into the shade for the hot spell, or cover them with shade cloth. If you have plants that are stuck in the sun, put a fan on them.

It is also a good idea to be sure plants are well-hydrated going into a spell like this.

This is a dry high-pressure system, so if you aren't too close to the ocean, your relative humidity might be low enough that a portable evaporative cooler provides adequate cooling for your home. This is what I've been using to cool my sunroom for the past few weeks. It will cool well until our monsoon arrives, but the temperatures will go down a little then. These coolers may be purchased at a big-box hardware store. I pour 3 or 4, 5-gallon / 19 liter buckets into my cooler, 3 or 4 times per day. It has a connector for a standard garden hose and a float valve, so it will keep itself full, but I like getting the exercise of moving buckets of water.

You can find the current relative humidity and dew point at weather.gov; when the dew point is under 55 F / 12.8C, evaporative coolers provide humid, cool air. Above this they provide humidification with minimal cooling.

People in metro Phoenix almost all have central air conditioning and/or evaporative cooling. There are plenty of public buildings available during the day. Most houses built in the last 40 years are fairly well insulated. Those unfortunates whose air conditioners conk out during hot spells generally move into a hotel until their system is repaired. Our hotel rates are a lot lower this time of year, because we don't have a lot of visitors.

My house never gets much above 90F / 32C even with the air conditioning off, while it might be 115F / 46C outside. Pets must be kept inside; they are not adapted to such high temperatures, even in the shade.

People living here understand heat and the need for drinking adequate water. Healthy humans resting in the shade easily tolerate temperatures over 110 F / 43C with low humidity if we drink enough water. It's not necessarily comfortable, but it's not lethal. I routinely work all day outside in my garden when it's extremely hot. The work has to be done and I only have weekends to do it. I drink a lot of water and cover myself against the sun.

For the last few years I've wondered whether the US weather service is grossly exaggerating predictions in a sensationalist manner. Our weather can get extreme, but it has not been as extreme as was regularly predicted. Two weeks ago we were warned of near-certain extreme heat and only got good and hot.

[u bada]

Thanks for the good words, guys!

Estacion I was hoping you'd chime in desert dweller... appreciate your insight...

now the forecast is saying 101 in LA proper... Yeah I'm hoping there's a bit of bogus on the weather people's part... 105 is really really unusual even in summer here, and I imagine 120 is out in the deserts even...

Andy has mentioned several times that certain greenhouses, particularly one of the outdoor (uninsulated) ones gets up to 100+ certain summers, and many of plants make it through with extra watering...

A swamp cooler might be a good idea, it would be so dry that it would be fine to use inside when it's that dry... the humidity wouldn't be bad for us or the pets either, as well as of the plants...

that's the thing about growing outdoors here... it's great for so many plants but on other hand you have to make sure they can handle not only the 90's-100 degree weather but also the 40's or 30 degrees in winter, plus the periodic low humidity!

[Leafmite]

I think you have Lepanthes (or other little pleuros)? You can buy these little gel packs that you put in the freezer for icing injuries and when it gets really hot, take the gel packs from the freezer and put them under the aquarium/jar/mini-greenhouse to help keep the plants cooler. I have used them to keep hamsters/gerbils comfortable.

Keeping the plants humid helps them quite a bit, too. My cooler-growing Lepanthes seemed able to tolerate a day of 90'F and a week of 80'F with high humidity.

Good luck!

[u bada]

that's a great idea, leafmite, where do you get those? that's so cute you use them for the hamsters/ gerbils!

I think the biggest bummer is I have some things spiking right now and I know this kinda heat, while may not kill the plants, will cause them to blast...

[estación seca]

Reusable ice packs are at sporting goods stores in the camping section.

[Leafmite]

The ones that work best for plants and animals are the ones that are sold where first-aid stuff is sold. The ones that are used in coolers freeze completely solid and are a little too cold for the plants and critters.

We don't have the hamsters and gerbils any more and the guinea pigs haven't experienced too hot of weather...yet.

[rbarata]

I will complaint the complete absence of summer/hot weather.
Now we should have temps around upper 90's/low 100's (35 to 42 C) and we get only something in the 60's range and rain. HR should be between about 15 to 20% and it's around 40 (day) and 80 (night).
This is good for orchids but, as a plant lover, I'm thinking about those I have outside.

Weather is not the same anymore!