Bringing in the tender things as they are in pots. Anything else in my garden must be able to take the cold.

One exception is our lonely tomato plant that we just has to try that will be wrapped in frost blanket and hope for the best. But we will pick the one tomato that is getting ripe.

Every year it seems like we have at least one freeze. At times getting down to 10F

Well the Christmas lights are still out in the yard. If I had a plant I was worried about that I couldn't move, I may throw the lights on it.

we've gotten through the last two years w/o a serious cold spell here. i was kinda hoping for a reprieve again, tho i have fruit trees & blueberries that need chill hours, so part of me embraces the cold.

i'm trying to figure out how to handle my tomato plants, too. i have five large productive plants going now. i might try to protect some of them with blankets as-is, and cut others way back, so at least i'd have them ready to start growth again. i'd also like to protect my eggplant. looks like i need to find some cheap blankets at salvation army!

i figure my seminole squash is a goner.

anyone know how cold figs can take?

I know I know, I am a boring guy and have posted this perhaps the last two winters..... coffeemom reminded me of this when she said xmas lites.

These were my hydro matos

Hi
I put a water heating system in the shadehouse two years ago. Maybe this will give it a real test??. Have no problem keeping the water warm but it did allow the air
to fall into the 50's and the low was only 37.. I'm sure it will be frostproof but have some plants rated in the 60's lol. May bring them into the house. gary

I got enough frost covers to cover all the tender plants. They don't snag, are easy to re-use, and were a lot cheaper than new plants(G).

Lisa

I just took cuttings of my coleus and will I will be taking more cuttings of other plants tomorrow. (I ran out of pots)
I will also be getting a few frost blankets, taking some potted plants in and who knows what else.

Ariel

tony_k -- this is a naive question... do the christmas lights really work?

Yikes! Will this upcoming weather kill my Plumies? I have four and they are all in the ground.

Should I do something to protect them?

I have one tomato plant that grew itself from a seed in my container. Will a sheet tossed on it be enough to protect it?

The weatherman has been so wrong this year, it would not surprise me if we did not get the really cold weather. However, all my plants not in pots are pretty small yet and will be easy to cover.

Hi Michael,

while the lights dont generate enough heat to keep things warm, they seems to be enough to keep the air moving and not settling on the plants. They seem to be able to create an UP-draft and let the cold air not get too close to the plant.

From what I can tell here in my yard, the plants that DID have the lites seems to do real well. ONly the extreme tips of the plants were nipped, not the entire plant or branch.

As someone above mentioned, the lites are still out and havent been put away so maybe try doing a few plants with and some without. Thats what I did.

Seeing as I could NOT care less about a mato, the lites wont be wasted on them this yr. I will use the lites elsewhere like maybe on the plumerias, orchid or litchee tree.

Ariel, I too started collecting coleus cuttings last week just in case something were to happen. I call the large pot with many coleus samples in it 'Noah's Pot'.

I will be rehearsing the frost plan tomorrow.

Best of luck to everyone

tony

The small Christmas lights have been very good for me but what works even better are the old fashion larger Christmas
lights. A neighbor of mine left me allot of them when he moved away.
Felix

We'll see how it pans out... the spot-forecast low for my area on Wednesday night is currently 32. However, it is always a few degrees warmer here due to the surrounding lakes and ponds. I've gardened in this same spot for 4 years now, and never lost a plant to cold, even when we dipped into the 20's. Then again, I don't keep many tropical things around. Most of my garden takes care of itself in the Winter.

I do have a few plants that will be covered, lit, or brought in... the young fig, coleus, several tender herbs, a couple of shrubs.

To those of you with more tropical tastes or more northernly locales, best of luck and stay warm!

To Ariel,
How could you run out of cutting pots? Don't you use newspaper pots? Or, don't they work for you? I usually quit making mine when they pose a fire hazard. :-)
ron

Interesting thread, y'all. I haven't decided what I'm going to do yet. But the weather prediction for Sanford keeps changing. Yesterday, it said 30 degrees for Wednesday night. Today it says 35. That's a big difference where plants are concerned. Plus with our big oak tree hanging over all, we seem to stay a couple of degrees warmer anyway.

My normal rule of thumb is that if it can't make it through the freeze, tough luck. But I do have a couple of things I want to save this year, like my starburst clero, and my 75 little pots of rooted coleus that I was planning to start my beds over with when I finally get outside. I might bring the coleus in. Or I might just order new this year, if I lose them. It depends on how I feel on the day in question.

I have other cuttings I definitely don't want to lose, but I think they will be okay. Like several of my OGR's, and some things I got from Felix. (That little dwarf bamboo is still in a pot and doing well, Felix.)

I'm going to check out the frost blankets for the clero. Can I get them from Home Depot or Lowes? Anyone?

Marcia

Since we have freezing every year I bought this small greenhouse (9X10 ft.) 3 years ago and I am very happy with it. It spends summer folded in the garage and outside from Nov. to March. My orchids move there and in case of freezing all other potted plants, like my brom. whom I am very fond of. In really cold nights I turn on small heater. It's enough to keep temp. 40+. I got greenhouse in eBay , made a new cover myself, heater is from Wall Mart for $9.99 so it's all actually very unexpensive.
Maria


{{gwi:987151}}

Maria, that's a perfect setup! I'm sure that tiny heater does just right and it isn't large enough to overheat anything. Very low fire risk too. And your plants look great!

We'll be doing the blanket contortions to get the orchid trellis covered. Anything in the garden is on it's own. Toughen up or die, that's the motto here. Now I wish I hadn't put the trellis quite so close to the screen because it's hard to get a blanket on the backside where it's really needed. I don't mind leaving it open on the poolside because I think the heat from the pool adds a couple positive degrees. Time to get creative!

maria,
what material did you use to cover it? that'd be a breeze to make with conduit (i LOVE the stuff)

Marcia,
I was wondering about the coleus.

Mine always come back up from the soil line........ BUT I just had the common garden types.

Now I have all those hybrids that everyone so graciously shared. Would hate to have them die.

So you took cuttings ?....... I have tall , leggy plants in 3 gallon pots (>-I with you on the tough love philosophy....... the tropical stuff will start looking bad soon. Then we will trim the middle of March.

But orchids....small cuttings, I will baby them.

I have always had luck with old sheets and bricks. But I think next year I am going to order the bags from the company that Lisa suggested.

D`Ann

an_ill-mannered_ache, I bought poly from Reef Inndustries, this one: http://www.reefindustries.com/uploads/pdf/specs/tx1200.pdf. It was a little over $100 for this greenhouse, including shipment.
Maria

Marcia, I bought my first frost covers at Home Depot. They are called "Plant Protection Bags", made by Easy Gardener. I was so pleased with them that I ordered larger versions for all my tender tropicals.

No more cold wet blankets slapping me in the face(G).

Lisa

Ron,
What are newspaper pots?

This is my first year taking cuttings to over winter. I didn't take cuttings of all my plants, just the ones that I know are more sensitive and hard or expensive to locate. I figure it will save me money from buying the same plant next year. That way I have more money for other plants

I have hired a team of eleven illegal aliens, all at least 6' tall, for $8.50 an hour. I've purchased a large blue tarp from someone who finally got their roof replaced (Wilma 2005) which the illegals will be holding up around the garden's perimeter for 48 hours. Of course, I'll be cooking pulled pork and baked beans for them. The resultant gas they will produce should raise the temperature of the garden by at least five degrees. (They'll be facing out from the garden as they hold the tarp against the cold north winds.)

If this technique works, I'll be contacting the various presidential candidates to let them know I've solved the immigration problem along with global cooling.

hahahahahahahaha.....I'm dying here, Ricky! And seriously...I think that's better than any plan I've heard in campaign speeches!

*still laughing*
Marcia

"TAKING A LOOK AHEAD TO THE WELL ADVERTISED COLD FRONT ON NEW
YEARS DAY - THIS WILL BRING THE COLDEST AIR OF THE SEASON TO THE
AREA. IF FCST LOWS VERIFY THU MORNING...IT WILL BE THE COLDEST
SINCE FEB 19TH 2007. IT WILL FEEL EVEN COLDER GIVEN THE VERY WARM
DECEMBER WE`VE BEEN EXPERIENCING. OF MOST CONCERN WITH THIS FRONT
IS THE CONTINUED DISTINCT FREEZE POSSIBILITY FOR NORTHERN
INTERIOR AREAS....GLADES/HENDRY/INTERIOR COLLIER/WESTERN PALM
BEACH COUNTIES. MOST PRONE IS GLADES/HENDRY. PARAMETERS CONTINUE
TO SUGGEST FREEZING TEMPS ARE POSSIBLE THU MORNING. 12Z MEXMOS IS
QUITE AN EYE OPENER...DEPICTING 26 AT PUNTA GORDA THU MORNING!
UPDATED THE FREEZE OUTLOOK WITH LITTLE CHANGE IN WORDING AS THIS
IS STILL OVER 3 DAYS AWAY AND A FEW DEGREES WILL MAKE ALL THE
DIFFERENCE IN THE WORLD...BUT ODDS AT LEAST AT THIS POINT IN TIME
SEEM TO BE FAVORING A FREEZE FOR AT LEAST PARTS OF THE OUTLOOK
AREA. STAY TUNED. /GREGORIA
"

So it looks like Miami will stay above 40? 18z GFS (American weather model) is spitting out a low of 47F for Miami, so we shall see. Its going to feel cold! Last night low in Miami was what, 74F...crazy!

It was 87 here yesterday! Almost NINETY degrees at the end of December! And now we have this freeze warning hanging over our heads. Go figger. But hey, that's winter in Florida, right? Latest Sanford forecast is 37 Tuesday night, 34 Wednesday night. So, it is surely going to be COLD, even if it doesn't actually freeze.

Hey, I'll be able to light my fire! Yippeeee. Have only had one fire this year so far, and of course, haven't had the heat on at all. (Not in the 3 1/2 years we've been here, in fact. I'm not even sure if it works!) But a cheery, crackling FIRE...I love that!

Marcia

Yes, it was friggin' hot here in Ft. Lauderdale yesterday. So much so I was even tempted to retreat inside all day and not bother with the yard. I want cool weather!!!

My plants are so confused. And so am I. I have buds on my starburst clerodendrum that I may lose and the caladiums are up (very weird). Even my jasmine hedge seems disoriented and is blooming sporadically. After Tues., who knows what will happen. I will bring in my orchids and my new clove and allspice trees, though. They're too young to die!

I'm counting on the intracoastal to keep us from getting too cold. The last freeze we had was in 1989 and my son was a newborn. We put a Santa hat on his bald little head and sat by the fireplace for warmth. For this Miami girl, it was a memorable Christmas.

Julie in WPB

Ariel,
Sorry I took so long to answer. Newspaper pots are simply pots made from newspaper. I've made what I think are improvements on the articles from Googling the subject. Here's what I do.

1. Find a smooth sided round container of appropriate size: beer bottle, soda can, etc. Something that the newspaper will slide off easily, without a ridge at the bottom.
2. Take single page of newspaper.
3. Fold in half lengthwise, spray with water and wrap around container leaving enough excess below the bottom to fold in and make the bottom of your pot. Now really SOAK the excess paper part and fold in. SOAKING stops it from wanting to unfold.
4. Let dry and slide off container.
5. SOAK top to depth wanted and fold in pressing firmly.

When dry fill with soil and treat like a normal pot.
When ready to go into the ground plant the whole thing, no need to disturb the roots.
ron

Ron,
Thank you, I was not familiar with these. I think I will give it a try.
Ariel