Gonna get a taste of some of the northern weather thats been freezing the U.S. Just came inside after putting my spring-summer seedlings in my shed. However I know I will lose my peppers and eggplants that are mature and bearing. Sprayed with messenger a while ago and watered heavily hoping to give them a chance. Only expect to go to low forties or possibly high thirties. Not good for us. I always have back-ups for times like this but hate to lose my mature -producing plants.
Left the light on in the shed hoping to save as much heat as possible for my seedlings. Don't have a heater because of fire possibility. Rather lose my plants instead of my shed and all its contents. My fellow gardeners north of me (Ft. Laud.) are in for a real freeze. Like to know how yere doin ?
Button Up Floridians !!!!
Good morning Tplant - I'm really north of you in north central FL (8b) have seedlings just starting and no room left in house to bring them - so added a couple more lights to greenhouse and hoping for the best. I'm like you - haven't got a heater for the greenhouse yet as I'm paraniod about fires - we live on 10 acres heavily wooded. It's alittle after 6 am and temp is dropping - just checked outside and it's 25 but greenhouse is holding steady at 34.
This message was edited Jan 24, 2005 6:12 AM
My neighbor said it was 21 in Tallahassee this morning. I was too cold to go check the greenhouse, but I left the space heater on all night. Should be at least 40 in there, but I'll check it at lunch time.
And this, my friends, is what drove me out of Ohio and into Florida in the first place. First snowflake I see, I'm headed for the Caribbean to live.
DZ, we still have 400 miles SE of you to consider. I think this just gives us new planting space where we least want it. Those Texans had some surprises too and said christmas lights left strung thru bushes and turned on helped. I have wrapped and will re-wrap tonight.
It was 36 at 5AM this morning here. The forecasters were calling for 23. At least they missed on the "good" side of way wrong LOL. Everything is mummy wrapped and I'm leaving it that way 'til tomorrow mid morning just in case.
It was 29* when I left home this morning at 7:30...Bbbrrrrr! On a good note though it was particularly dry, no ice, just the slightest bit of frost lacing across the hood of the car. I'll sure be happy when it warms up again!
Me too, looks like another crisp night here. Then we warm up for a couple.
I know, sugarweed, but I've also lived in Ft. Lauderdale. Cold front goes through = my feet get cold and I start thinking about living on the equator. I hear Belize is nice...
Plants damaged, upon further inspection at lunch time:
Pipevine - should be fine, the outer leaves got bit.
Passionflowers - I had two vines intertwining up my chimney. Exposed, they are very damaged. I'll probably have to cut them back to nothing in the spring. Wah. They were in the neighborhood of 12 feet high!
Angel Trumpets -- Again, I have two plants sort of intertwined. One got zapped badly. The other one... not so bad. Whiteflies nearly killed these guys this fall, and they're still recovering.
Firespike - No big whoop. Those get nailed every year and always come back.
Blue Porterweed - That also got nailed during the last freeze, which was barely a hard freeze. Must be sort of tender.
Most everything else is okay, or appears to be. I'm assuming all of this will come right back in spring. . What did y'all lose?
Been outside most of the day inspecting my plants. The temperature dropped to 41 degrees
so it didn't freeze but my peppers don't look good. They're all curled and wilted. Seems my Suddath Brandywine loved the crisp weather and I shall remember to grow them for my main winter crop. The seedlings did just fine in the shed and I'll give them another shot of Miracle -Gro today and may as well do the rest also. Radio says same again for tonite but with a wind chill in the thirties. Man Oh Man ! How far south do I have to go to get away from the cold ? Equator ???
Yes, T... equator. I think you and I should start The Cold Toes Gardener's Community(TM) in Central America somewhere...
Any objections?
Suits Me Fine...
Come on now, it's just for a night or two and I've been in the central Florida tropics, Indian River, where the misquitoes could carry you away in Jan. lol
Let me go check again. Yep all the tender impatients are well, limp, to say the least. Some will come back and some wont.
Sidney
Yes your right ! It happens only five or six times a year and in a way it is a bit refreshing. But my only concern is for my heat loving plants.. On that note, I swear my Suddath Brandywine loves the cold for it seems to have grown, overnite, taller and wider ?
(It's trying to catch up with me. ha-ha)
Teehee
Well, I'm in the Northeast part of Florida, and we wrapped 8 brugs (thanks to Springsong and Kell) on Sunday. Kept them wrapped for last nite's attack of freeze, and this morning, they seem a bit frazzled, but they are alive! I believe we may have wrapped them too tightly.
My Maya from Kell is still in its pot, and it came in the house with mommy!
We actually did not cover two of our brugs, cause it was getting too cold for us to be outside on Sunday, so I took cuttings, just to be on the safe side......and, to my surprise they were OK; I think because they are located on the SE side of our home.
Robellini was OK, but that is enclosed in a screened lanai. I have yet to check some other things, but my brugs are my babies, and they got my attention first thing this morning.
I'm sure glad this freeze came now rather than later when we will be out of town......
This message was edited Jan 25, 2005 2:52 PM
Oh great. NOW I find out the brugs need to be covered...