How Yucca Do Survived Ike - by Wade Roitsch

Though our area was spared much of the severe damage from Hurricane Ike and Yucca Do Nursery sustained only minimal damage, we know that other parts of our region were severely impacted by the storm. We here at Yucca Do Nursery want to wish a speedy recovery to all of those that were more heavily impacted by Hurricane Ike.

Well, Hurricane Ike came through, did its dance, and has moved on - and good riddance to it. I spent days preparing and worrying about the storm, taking all plants off of tables and benches, moving plastic pots to more secure areas, storing water for personal use and taking other necessary precautions. I stayed up until 10:30 P.M. on the 12th watching every internet weather forecast and wind speed map I could find before going to bed. I got up again at 1:30 A.M. and checked the internet again. At this point, the first rains from the storm were just coming ashore and based on the information provided, I felt fairly confident that the storm might not be too bad, at least by the time it got to us. You can never tell what a storm like this will do, but I went back to bed with a moderate feeling of confidence that everything would be alright. The affects of the storm finally reached our area around 3:00 to 4:00 A.M. I had an uneasy, semi-sleeping night that was a combination of sleep (with dreams of smashed greenhouses or empty greenhouses where all the plants were blown clean away) and wakefulness (listening to the wind and driving rain as the storm rattled its chains throughout the wee hours of the morning).

I was fully awake and got up and out of bed at 6:45 A.M., on the 13th when Anna, my darling dog felt it was time to eat (not because she was scared by the storm). I fed her and Tana (Anna's friend) and ran out to the truck through the wind and rain to listen to reports on the radio because the electricity in the house was out. The eye of the storm, I found out, was now north of us and had passed to our east putting us on the western edge of the storm. It was now light, so I could see in a quick survey that the nursery plants seemed in good condition. The buildings were fine, but the plastic was completely off of two of the production greenhouses, and the shade cloth was removed from another. While I sat in the truck in the garage, having a clear view of the personal collection greenhouse, I witnessed its plastic flapping about battering the structure beneath it - as if the plastic were reprimanding the structure for some terrible unspoken crime. I was thinking that if the wind would die down soon, and the plastic would hold a little longer, I could manage to piece it together temporarily so as to shed excessive rains off of the cactus in future, hopefully lesser rain events. As I was considering the practical possibilities of this I could see the plastic tearing bit by bit, and then finally falling momentarily, motionless to one side of the greenhouse, as if almost exhausted by its previous violent tantrum. I went back to the house and then observed the wind get stronger for a time with an increase in the rain. It rained consistently for most of the day until about 3:00 P.M. giving us an approximate total of 4-1/2 inches. We definitely needed the rain but I wish it could have been delivered in a less dramatic fashion.
I spent the rest of the day surveying the damage which did not take too long because fortunately there wasn’t much. After seeing that most things were in good shape, there was not much for me to do. The electricity was of course out, and I knew it was, but it is amazing how habitual and dependant a person can be on it. No lights, no internet, no radio. I can’t tell you how may times I would walk into a room flipping dead light switches or go to the computer wanting to see weather radar or perform some other computer related task. It is times like this that make you appreciate more basic technologies like books, things that entertain and inform but don’t need to be plugged in. Unfortunately, my life is now inexorably tied to the internet since staking my entire livelihood to it by deciding there would be no more printed catalogs. But sometimes it is nice to be freed from the shackles of modern technology or at least appreciate proven technologies that we should really never fully neglect. We were fortunate to get electricity back on at about 6:30 in the evening of the 13th.

The down time in electricity gave me the opportunity to go through some great plant books that I am normally too busy to visit. I perused "the Tropical Plants of Roberto Burle Marx" seeing plants that I would love to find and try in my own garden. I read from a book that I picked upon our South Africa trip in 2005, on some of the natural areas of that country, bringing back great botanical memories of that trip. And of course I went through some of my various succulents and cacti books, which is always a rewarding experience. All in all the time was not wasted, and I may have learned something that I would otherwise not have had taken the time witness.

The part of the storm that passed over us was not harrowing but it was unnerving. If I am ever in an area that is predicted to be on the eastern side of a big storm I will not ride it out. I certainly never plan to live in a county that is directly on the Gulf Coast. Hopefully when another big storm heads towards Texas, I will finally be in Giddings and far enough inland that the storm has had a lot of time to weaken before it gets to me. I have to admit I was wondering if there would be much to move to Giddings if this storm hit with the intensity that was predicted, but I can report that I am fine and the nursery has fared well. I must give Thanks to the Good Lord for holding His protective hand over me and the nursery.

Just a note: construction of the new greenhouses in Giddings began during the last week if August. Once the greenhouses are complete there will many other tasks to perform before the final move occurs and I do not have an estimated time when this will occur. The important thing to convey is that progress is being made.

Wade Roitsch,
Yucca Do Nursery Manager