It's 40°F here this morning! That is really cold for South Florida although not a record. I brought in my plants that were small enough to do so last night ie; seedlings, orchids in pots, etc. and I covered two small trees (Garcinia spp.) that are in the ground already. Unfortunately, some of my large trees are to big to do anything with (covering is impossible) and they were on their own last night. I prepared all week by irrigating days before the cold but, I'm sure there will still be plenty of damage. Normally, when it get this cold my Soursop (Annona muricata) completely defoliates and it is flowering, arghhhh! Only time will tell the true damage. It's supposed to be the same temperature tonite with highs in the upper 50's today. I'll be documenting any damage caused by this cold. I am recording data for growing these species here, daily high and low temperatures, daily rainfall and yearly damage caused by cold events on a scale from zero(no damage) to five(plant killed). This will help me with my research and help me to become a better grower. There are two very useful pdfs supplied by the Tropical Research and Education Center (TREC)
Cold Protection 2008 (pdf)
Utilizing Climate and Weather (pdf)
These both have valuable information on how to prepare and protect your fruit trees from cold. I'm already implementing the procedures described in the handbook. I'm curious to see if my preparations helped to prepare the plants for the cold.
