Another Freezing Thread

Altho it didnt get as cold...all my green plants, this morning, are starting to turn a bit gray...especially all the bananas. its going to be the amount of time below freezing thats going to get me I guess..not the actual temp. Its still 28 at 830. It was that at 6

Don't sweat the bananas! Mine died back a few weeks ago. They always come back. They'll be all green again by March. No worries with the nanners. Cut 'em back after last frost so the squirrels will have fresh banana stalks to eat in the spring.

Anybody want my bananas? I'm sick of 'em and they shade my salvia. They're HUGE!

Are you bringing them down to a roundup Diane? I am really trying to get some fruit going here. It will be forever for the apples, plums and citrus but the bananas will be oh so loved and oh so much quicker!

Molly
:^))))

How do your dogs react to all the sheets? My dog Hank freaks out, on his evening walks, when he sees all the sheets flapping in the wind. Our street looks as if ghosts have invaded when the forecast is for frost. This morning he refused to go out through the lanai door, into the backyard, since sheets were covering the potted plants. He was growling at them, through the french doors. He is a real coward for a big brave boxer mix.

ACK! There was frost on my vehicles this morning! Didn't look like it had settled on any plants/grass though... will have to see tonight when I get home!

Hey KillerChi - I'm over in Titusville! You are the closest person I've met on the boards!

bsharf, i have one of those dangerous boxer/mixes too! watch out! LOL

Actually wearing a sweater today. I just read that the reason we are having such a problem with iguanas here is that we haven't had a good freeze for 15 years. I'm hoping the colder weather will send them a little farther south.

Molly - are you too far north for Papaya? They grow so fast! So do pigeon peas. I have seedlings of both that I can bring to the RU. We're planning on getting to at least yours. Would like to go to Corky's too. It's a problem coming up that far because we have to bring the pup. He's pretty good about staying in his crate in the car and the weather should be cooler then.

Ginger I thought Sandy had his own DG membership.
I didn't get any freeze here either. All my plants are just tired and need some TLC.
It's hard to garden and build my pension.
Sidney

Ginger,

I don't know if I'm too far north or not for Papaya. I know my DB grows them in Orlando, just one zone down. I have 4 in my greenhouse now, too young for the ground. But come spring, they will go in the ground, and grow by golly!!!!

If you come up here for mine, which will be in May, I guess I better get a thread going, then you could put your dog in the dog yard. A large fenced area behind my house.

Pigeon Peas and more papaya. Sounds good to me!

Molly
:^)))

Just took some time to catch up on recent entries. Such fun...reading about everyone facing the challenge of "winter" in Florida. My sympathy to all who have lost some favorites. My white Angel Trumpet got frozen...but not before I took a picture. "Mistress" WHEN did you take that beautiful picture?? Sidney...100 Coleus cuttings?? What kind do you have? I have some green with white started (Don't know the name, but I like them.) Thanks for the invitations to visit...esp. Molly and Jeremy. I would LOVE to. I'm looking forward to putting some faces with the names. By the way, those of you thinking of getting an African Grey...remember it is a LONG-TIME commitment and..."eating like a bird" takes on new meaning when you begin buying bird food. LOL
Keep warm folks!
Joyce

Molly: Your orchid is BEAUTIFUL!
Joyced

Thank you Joyce for the kudos on the orchid. There is a new cluster blooming on it now. It's large enough, I will have flowers into March. It's sitting on my TV table and not much fragrance, so I pollinated it the other day. A little scent can be detected now.

I got my Grey in 1989. No doubt he will outlive me based on statistics. I have told my son he will be Smokes caretaker after I am gone, that is, if he wants his inheritance. :^))))

Molly

Hi, It hit 33 here in Lakeland and I too had a yard that looked like it was under attack, I keep old sheets grab em at yard sales yadda yadda and so u can't get thru garage after a cold snap as I uncover and throw and "get "er done whenever I get around to it. I stuck an Orchid in my Crepe Myrtle tree in the pot and the durn thing is now growing on the tree or in the tree so it got a special wrap job rofl. But all survived. I planted my Nuns Caps in the ground and so they got a sheet and an old t-shirt over them. Old t-shirts work good ya just put the dang shirt on the plant. K gonna go now byzers I am tired nap time here hahah. Corky

Molly, I bring the 'nanners to a roundup, but I'm sort of hoping for one closer than 4 hours from my house. Florala looks promising, as that's only about 3 hours, but it's in the opposite direction of you. The Central Florida Roundup is a tad on the other side of "a bit too far for me." I need a North Central FL roundup.

Maybe I should host one just to get rid of my bananas! LOL

Diane,

Watch the roundup forum for Cinco de Mayo, at my house. That should be close enough.

I can't make the Florala. Other things are happening then and I can't get away.

Molly
:^)))

It's 30 outside my backdoor right now, 37 in the greenhouse. We had freeze warnings last night but I don't think it turned out so bad. It's 38 at the Gainseville Airport.

I'm not worrying about anything else outside now. What is......is, from the last frost. I'm watching the greenhouse for temps.

Molly
:^)))

Hey Molly!

Yes, it didn't get as cold here last night as it was supposed to. Hopefully, that's the start of a trend. I'm ready for the real spring.

Michele.

I am so ready for the Spring and warm weather!!! I wanna play in the dirt! I have my planting plans in place, but gotta wait awhile I guess
Linda

Well, by 7 it was down to 25. But warming up now and the sun is brightly shining.

Molly
:^)))

I laughed at the picture of sheets covering plants in the front yard. That's me too. Well, we didn't get the promised freeze; but by then I had draped sheets over the top of my orchid pergolas, weighing them down with bricks. It was quite cosy in there, especially when I brought in one of those portable (on an extension cord) garage/workshop lights as the bulb gave off some warmth. I keep a huge plastic container in my garage full of old sheets, towels just for these occasions. I will even use the big brown paper bags from the supermarket to pull up and over my hangings baskets and staple the top together, or put them all on the ground and cover with sheets/towels.

I know I read that everyone on the planet share the same ancestors -- well, I know for sure that we gardeners have got to be related somehow; we'll do anything for our plants !

Oh yes, ready for Spring! I realize I could go out there and do some cleaning up, but I'm feeling too chilly for that yet.

I know, I'll warm up after moving around a bit, but, I'll wait.

Gracie

Did we have another freeze warning last night? It's 25 outside the back door, 34 in the greenhouse.

No one that furnace keeps coming on and I am up way too early this morning.

Molly
:^)))

I am resurrecting this thread for the freeze warnings that are out for the rest of the week.

I came down with a bad head and chest cold and will only be dropping the plastic on the greenhouse. My seedlings are on the shelf in my work out room (3rd bedroom) so no worry there. Everything outside will have to get by on their own.

I think maybe I might find some sheets to throw over my citrus trees (really small). They suffered some frost damage in the last cold spell we had. Not enough to kill them, but the temp predictions this week are down in the low 20's. That's Gainesville and out here it's usually colder yet.

Get ready yall!!!!

Molly

Hey Molly!

I hope you aren't feeling too badly. If you need anything, let me know. I'm home today and Friday, too.

Michele

molly..can you turn the sprinker on the citrus. Sure hope you start feeling better. Nice and sunny today..go out and bask..looks not so great after that for a few days.

Thanks Michele, I will keep the offer in mind. The sun is brightly shining right now and tempting me to go outside. I'll bet in a couple hours the greenhouse will be warm and toasty enough to accommodate a nap time for me.

I sowed some seeds again in my winter garden about a week ago. Do not have germination but also did not water it. Good thing too, they could just wait for this next cold spell to pass before growing.

You haven't done anything about that atrium yet have you? I didn't forget it, but wanted to come over and climb up and see the beams up there to offer some suggestion. Just need to refresh my memory. :^)))))

Pam, my citrus are much too young to treat with sprinklers. They would do much better to stay out of the dew fall. When they grow up, I'll use the sprinkler method for protection.

Actually, the grafted trees ( 1 foot tall or so) are faring pretty well. It's the Key Limes that suffered the last frosts.

Molly

ooo lol. We used to love it to freeze in ocala when i was small. we loved the icycles in those citrus trees. Dont think the small ones would be ammused.

How we doing this morning?

Gainesville is at 34, I'm at 29 and the GH is at 42. That's quite a difference, especially since there is no heat in there. I am quite impressed with that. Good thing too, because I forgot to bring my orchids back in the house. They were out the past few days enjoying the warmer weather and a little natural light.

They have a freeze warning out for Friday night to Sat morning with predicted low of 22.

Brrrr, that means colder out here.

Molly

Molly: I'm sure glad we bought a small green house last fall. Everything in it seems to be doing good.
However, I have a problem that you may be able to help me with. I planted some blue delphinium seeds a couple of weeks ago in 4" by 4" pots. They are now about 10" - 12" tall and skinny. I guess I should have pinched them when they were shorter. Is it too late to pinch them now?? I have NEVER had luck with seeds. Still, I never stop trying. I planted spinach seeds outside which came up but the cold has kept them from growing. They are only about an inch up now. Spinach is SO expensive, I have been hoping to grow some myself. HELP!
Joyce

Joyce,

Yep, it's great to have a greenhouse to keep your things in. As for the Delphs, last year was my first time with ONE. Since they are biennial, and it was a plant, they bloomed, then died. Maybe seeded, but won't know for sure until spring. You're growing them in the GH? Maybe you could just give it a couple little pinches to see what happens, or post the question over in the perennial forums.

I just moved out of the tropics a little over a year ago and I am learning right along with yall.

As for the spinach, that I can venture with you. I planted some late in the fall, have been harvesting them for salad all winter, even through all the frosts, just one plant. I just put in some more seeds for my winter garden and they haven't germinated yet. I didn't want to water them until this cold snap is over.

Leave your spinach to grow. It seems to be really hardy to the cold so it should continue growing on its own. Oh yes, even the leaf lettuce seems to not mind the cold too much. Like the simpsons and buttercrunch.

Molly

Thanks for responding so quickly, Molly. I will look for the perennial site....and I will NOT give up on the spinach. I LOVE to eat it and can't afford to buy it at $3.00 for a tiny package. Next time, I will plant some in the fall as you did.
Joyce

Oh but Joyce, since it is a cold weather crop, I planted another batch last week for spring harvest.

I think you might like to subscribe to this news letter. http://alachua.ifas.ufl.edu/hort/tips/hometip.htm

Click on the February and you will be surprised with what you can plant right now. You can also subscribe to have this emailed to you every month. I find it very helpful for out area.

Molly
:^))))

Joyce,

I wanted to share this with you. It's my spinach plant. I harvested some leafs yesterday. It's blooming and I expect it will set seeds when it's done. So I will have more spinach to grow.

Molly
:^))))

Well - waiting for my son to come over -- he'll get a ladder and climb on top of the pergolas to lay the sheets and quilts over to protect the orchids. I'll throw a few things over the most tender plants in my containers. But I'm not expecting it to freeze. Oh, yes, and I covered up part of the goldfish pond a while ago -- just a little protection.

how do you cover your gold fish pond. I just have a small one. i do have a heater in there...cant do much, and I leave their basking light on all night. I put umbrellas open at either end and throw platic over thoses..keeps the plastic well out of the water. I still feel like the heat escapes tho, and thats the problem, so I cut three big banana leaves and laid them in there to cover alot of the surface and hopefully keep the heat in. I have turtles in there too. Not that that situation can stay. Curious if you have an easier way

Ugghhhh,,, supposed to get down to 32 degrees tonight even way down here in Titusville FL... bummer! I've got to leave for St. Petersburg early tomorrow morning and am concerned about my plants :-( I have three pygmy date palms that I planted here last summer... will I have to worry about them?? They are almost too big to cover but I suppose I could throw a sheet over them. Also, I have an old ponytail palm (but transplanted into my yard just under a year ago).

It's 32 outside and 40 in the greenhouse. I brought my orchids in last night and left my 2 baby Key Limes covered with the sheet. My Baby Musa Zebrina has been under a 55 gallon white plastic drum for weeks now. Hoping that would serve as a mini greenhouse.

Maybe I'll take a peek at it today. I have to get over this head cold and get out and do something. I am sick of being house bound.

Get ready for tonight though. Linda I would go ahead and throw some sheets over those palms, just to be on the safe side. No plastic though. We saw some small trees get fried from plastic bags being put over them. What are these people thinking?

Molly

Gonna freeze in Polk county tonite. BRRR!!!!!!!!!!! All you Lakelanders get out the sheets {again} etc. and get er covered up. I have so much tropical stuff to cover and takes about two hours to get er done. Oh well that's the price we pay for being garden nuts huh? Hugs, Corky