Deb,

I am worried as I have over 40 potted succulents (yes, I'm addicted) sitting around in the gardens that I will need to get up on the porch or inside before the cold comes. I am about 15 miles from the Gulf so I do stay just a tad warmer than Gainesville. Hopefully they're wrong about the temps.

Rhonda

You can't take chances, though, Rhonda. I learned that the hard way a few years back when we had a freeze in SW FL. I also was 15 miles from the Gulf and a whole zone warmer, but I lost a lot of stuff, so you have to protect them.

rvird: you could buy some tarps to keep them covered. Your temps are scheduled to drop to 35 on Sun, and it probably won't go that low. (famous last words!)

Rhonda, depending on what type of succulents you have of course but some of them can take below freezing temps for a few hours. I have mostly Jades and ones closely related to Jades and they've survived down in the upper 20's. It also helps when the soil is quite dry. But...if in doubt bring them right up against the house to be safe :o)...Good luck all, hopefully it won't be as cold as the forecast says...

Accuweather now says 31 on Sunday, Weather.com says 34 and Weather Underground says 35. I'm bringing the tropicals in that don't like being below 40 and leaving the rest to Mother Nature.

Rhonda, don't forget to take the tarps off first thing in the morning. Covering things with plastic is not advised, because it heats up so fast once the sun comes out.

Sunday night/Monday morning. From what I'm reading, it will get down into the 30s around midnight. Sunday and go down to the low by 7 a.m. Monday.

Yep, I'll definitely do that. Thanks for clarifying the weather.

Best of luck to Rhonda & others in the possible freeze zone this weekend.

pattybee, I'm not stressing over it this year. Last year, I only had a few plants, so I had to protect them, but this year, I'm just going to let everything take its chances. I'm redoing all the garden beds next year anyway, so no need making my apartment look like a jungle in the meantime.

According to the hourly stats on Accuweather, it will only be 32 or below for a couple of hours here in Gainesville. It will go down to 32 between 5 and 6 a.m. and hit the low between 6 and 7 a.m., then it will quickly go back up once the sun rises. This is good news. This is not a killing frost, although you may get some leaf burn or annuals freezing back. I'm hopeful for my bananas and angel trumpets, which are both right up next to the outside walls, so should stay a little warmer.

The BAD news is that it's going down to 33 tomorrow night (if it doesn't change), so I'd bring in or protect any tropicals you have.

Well, I spent all day out in the yard getting everything in the ground heavily mulched (thank goodness for free longleaf pine straw which is very lightweight), carrying all the potted succulents up onto the porch along with the cuttings, and covering the tender perennials in the ground. Then, I have to get up early before work and uncover everything. Tomorrow, it will be dark when I get hoe and I'll recover everything. The cold weather is very early this year, hope this is the last for a while

Rhonda

Winter has farted an ill wind over South Florida. 57 degrees on the
patio just before dawn. The heat is on and I'm wearing jeans, a
sweatshirt, and flip-flops. Some day we will live in Jamaica and not
worry about such things. I will burn my jeans on the beach on that day.

The low was 40 outside my window in North Port overnight. Kind of early to be that cold--hope it doesn't foreshadow more of the same to come!

Marcia

Seem I dodged the bullet here. Not even a bit of leaf damage. It helps that I'm surrounded by other buildings, especially the two-story condos in front of me, and the most exposed area has that lovely South-facing wall that holds heat and seems to protect everything in that bed from all but the worst freezes.

Rhonda, looks like only one more cold night here, and then back to normal temps for awhile. Fine with me. I have all my tender plants in the LR, so you can imagine how crowded that is. Not as crowded as it was last year, but still crowded. Every year, I say I'm going to get rid of all these plants and every year, I don't.

Ricky, feeling your pain

Marcia,

I think it's going to be warmer for at least the rest of the month, and into January, but things seem to change daily here.

38 was the low this morning...but it didn't last long, maybe half an hour it warmed up quickly...

The low here was 41 overnight--that's enough winter for me!

Marcia

Not very impressed with this cold front,new said 40's,still haven't gone below 50

Me either, but the first cold fronts are usually like this. I'm actually hoping we don't get a really bad days-long below 25F cold front this year, but it seems to be cooler than last year, so who knows?

Well, my plants fared just fine....as far as I can see, not one leaf damaged. It was 34 yesterday morning when I got up at 5 and 40 this morning. I uncovered everything both mornings before I headed to work.

I know this is stupid, but I was so excited that everything survived that I went to one of my favorite nurseries at lunch and treated myself to 5 Leonotis leonurus - Lion's Ear :) I'm hoping to have an over wintering hummingbird or two and these are late bloomers and hummer favorites.

Glad to hear that everyone fared well.

Rhonda

rvird01(9a Williston, Florida) Can you fit a small cheap $10 heater from WalMart or Dollar General under that plant table, stand, whatever it is? Turned on low it would keep frost away and not cook the plants.

Greenthumbs,

Good idea, but no. The shelving I put the succulents on is on the front porch against the vinyl siding on two sides so I'd be afraid to put a heater there.

However, I might purchase one to put in my shade garden to keep some if the potted plants warm.

Thanks,

Rhonda

Today's high is 85,no rain for a month,i hope this front that is coming brings good rain and a nice cool down.i don't like doing Christmas stuff when it's 85.