After a week of cold weather,this past weekend it turned downright freezing!
Last night brought a hard freeze to TheGreatWall,and tonight is to be a repeat of the same.
This morning,I bundled up and ventured out to survey the damage.Depending on the thermometer,the temperature was either 16 degrees or 28 degrees.Either one reads COLD! to me.
Some of the damaged plantings………
reading clockwise,starting with the lower left: hibiscus,frozen and fallen banana tree, porterweed,plumeria that had started to bloom,a birdbath frozen solid,and in the center,the Angel’s Trumpet.)
All should rebound with the return of warm weather.
But all is not lost.Some of the plantings look as if the cold never bothered them.
l-r: spathyphyllum(protected by the large Norfolk Island pines),rose,Staghorn ferns(protected by the large oaks),The Chief of Security enjoying the warmth of the sun,while protecting a Croton,Bulbine,Angel’s Tears(which actually seem to flourish in the cooler temps)
And some seemed to have not been touched at all……
As this Bird-Of-Paradise was sitting out in the open with no protective cover,I was surprised that it seemed to show no damage.But tonight may prove to be another matter…..
Any orchid that was in bloom was relocated to the laundry room.The rest were moved up to the covered patio.There was no way I was going to have to explain to my Dad that his orchids froze to death!Better to be on the safe side.
Trying to look on the bright side,I am looking forward to ripping out all the dead plantings,and replanting with more Florida natives.Of course,some tropicals will be returned to TheGreatWall.I just cannot bring myself to give those up,entirely.
And it will be the ideal opportunity to rearrange/relocate the gardens.
But we still have one more night of hard freeze to get through,before the temperature returns to being more seasonable.
Fingers and toes crossed……..
Thankfully,this past week,I took cuttings of the most cold-sensitve plants.And they now are growing quite happily in the laundry room.
Now,I am looking forward to the return of more normal temperatures.
3 comments:
That has got to be so frustrating to see when it is something that shouldn't happen. I hope nothing else is damaged tonight.
Looks like we're all going to have our work cut out for us this spring. Fortunately, most of our plants will rebound.
Brrrr and GRRRRR!!! After tonight we should get back to normal but so many of my plants that made it through last week got hit very badly last night. Sorry about all the damage you've had... I am all about the Bulbine even more than I was! That stuff is tough as nails... and the gaillardia! Amazing! Loves the sun and made it with flying colors through those temps last night. I'm a BIG(GER) fan now!
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