tarev: It sounds like you are having a day like we've been having. We've had winds all day of 20 - 30 mph here with gusts higher, up to 40 mph in some areas. I had to take down some hanging plants on my deck because they were being swung around so much and banging into the side of the house. A couple of larger plants keep getting blown over and I got tired of picking them up so I finally decided to just leave them until the winds die down! It's so dry here and the winds aren't going to help if more brush fires flare up.
Regarding the "Pony Tail Palm":
Ponytail Palm (Beaucarnea recurvata) (which is not actually a Palm)... I knew they were used as landscape plants in South Florida but never realized they would do well in the ground this far north in the state until I saw one at a house down the road from where I used to live. It's a huge plant growing in the front yard. Winter 2009/2010 and 2010/2011 were very cold here with many frosts and freezes. We had quite a few nights that got into the mid 20's and days that didn't get out of the 40's ... and that tree survived just fine but I'm pretty sure it was because the plant was well established. I have two and thought about planting one in the yard but haven't gotten to it yet ... maybe in the next few weeks I will plant it and see how it fares next winter.
