How to protect your plants during Florida’s cold snaps

TO THE MOON AND MARS. ALL RIGHT, WHETHER YOU’RE NEW TO FLORIDA OR YOU’VE CALLED IT HOME FOR YEARS, IT’S SO IMPORTANT TO KNOW HOW TO TAKE CARE OF YOUR HOME. WHEN WE GET REALLY COLD. WESH TWO ANCHOR SANIKA DANGE TALKED WITH SOME EXPERTS TO FIND OUT HOW TO KEEP YOUR PLANTS AND POOL SAFE. WELL, WE’RE CERTAINLY NOT USED TO WEATHER LIKE THIS, WHICH MEANS YOUR POOLS AND YOUR PLANTS LIKELY AREN’T. ALSO, AND EXPERTS SAY, ESPECIALLY IN THE NORTHERN VIEWING AREAS OF CENTRAL FLORIDA, YOU’LL NEED TO PAY CLOSE ATTENTION TO THESE TIPS. LET’S START IN THE GARDEN. THE FIRST THING YOU SHOULD FIGURE OUT IS HOW LONG YOUR PLANTS WILL BE EXPOSED TO THE COLD. YOU GET ANYTHING LONGER THAN A FOUR HOUR SPAN, YOU’RE DEFINITELY GOING TO WANT TO COVER IT. WITH YOUR HANDY DANDY FROST BLANKET, IF YOU DON’T HAVE A FIBERGLASS FROST BLANKET, YOU CAN USE BATH TOWELS OR BED SHEETS. STICK WITH NATURAL FIBERS LIKE COTTON OR WOOL. AVOID TRASH BAGS, TARPS, OR ANY SORT OF POLYMER, PLASTIC OR VINYL SHEETING BECAUSE IT CREATES A REVERSE IGLOO EFFECT. PULLING OUT THE HOT AIR. YOU WANT TO JUST CREATE A NICE PROTECTIVE DOME OVER TOP OF IT, SO THAT IT MAKES A LITTLE POCKET FOR THE RISING WARM AIR FROM THE SOIL. WHAT PLANTS SHOULD YOU COVER? THINK TROPICAL OR SEMI-TROPICAL PLANTS LIKE PROTON EXORA OR BIRDS OF PARADISE. ANY PLANT IN A POT IS ALSO AT HIGHER RISK. THEY ARE MORE SENSITIVE TO THE COLD BECAUSE THOSE PLANTS IN THOSE POTS DON’T HAVE THEIR ROOTS IN THE NICE WARM GROUND. JASON LLOYD PENNY POOL, PATIO AND SPA SAYS IF THERE’S A HARD FREEZE IN YOUR AREA, TURNING ON YOUR POOL PUMP WILL KEEP YOUR POOL EQUIPMENT FROM FORMING CRYSTALS. YOU JUST RUN IN AT THE LOWEST SPEED, KIND OF LIKE IF THE PIPES ARE GOING TO FREEZE IN YOUR HOUSE, YOU LEAVE IT TRICKLING. BUT LLOYD SAYS, DON’T OVERTHINK YOUR POOL. IN FLORIDA, YOU DON’T CLOSE POOLS LIKE YOU DO UP NORTH. POOL MAINTENANCE THIS TIME OF YEAR IS PRETTY EASY. WE ALSO SPOKE TO THE RED CROSS ABOUT SPACE HEATER SAFETY. ALWAYS KEEP THEM ON A FLAT, SOLID SURFACE AWAY FROM KIDS OR PETS, AND NEVER USE YOUR OVEN OR STOVE AS A WAY TO HEAT YOUR HOME. BACK TO YOU, LUCAS NURSERY ADDS PLANTS LIKE ROSES, ELM TREES, AND OAK TREES ACTUALLY DON’T NEED TO BE COVERED. IN FAC

As Florida experiences colder weather, experts are advising residents how to protect their plants and pools from the cold. The first step in the garden is to determine how long plants will be exposed to the cold.Austin Coates, contract department manager at Lukas Nursery, said, “It’s going to take at least four hours for cold damage to occur, and so if you get anything longer than a four-hour span, you’re definitely going to want to cover it with your handy dandy frost blanket.”If a fiberglass frost blanket is unavailable, Coates suggests using bath towels or bedsheets made of natural fibers like cotton or wool. He warns against using trash bags, tarps, or any polymer, plastic, or vinyl sheeting, as they can create a reverse igloo effect by pulling out the hot air. “You want to just create a nice protective dome over top of it, so that it makes a little pocket for the rising warm air from the soil to help keep those temperatures somewhat above the freezing point,” Coates said.Tropical or semi-tropical plants, such as croton, ixora, or birds of paradise, should be covered, as well as any plant in a pot, which is more sensitive to the cold because its roots are not in the warm ground. “They are more sensitive to the cold because those plants in those pots don’t have their roots in the nice warm ground,” Coates said.For pool maintenance, Jason Lloyd, manager at Pinch A Penny Pool Patio and Spa, advises turning on the pool pump during a hard freeze to prevent equipment from forming crystals. “If you have a variable speed pump, which a lot of pools do, now, you just run it at the lowest speed, kind of like if the pipes are going to freeze in your house. You leave it trickling,” Lloyd said. He added that pool maintenance is relatively easy in Florida during this time of year, as pools do not require much chemical adjustment. “Pools are pretty easy this time of year… in Florida, you don’t close pools like you do up north. So they don’t take much chemical. You’d want to make sure you’re still keeping the chemical in them, because, you know, chemicals getting out of balance can be detrimental to other things in the pool, but pool maintenance this time of year is pretty easy,” Lloyd said.The Red Cross also emphasizes space heater safety, advising to keep them on a flat, hard surface and away from children or pets, and warns against using ovens or gas stoves to heat homes. Lukas Nursery notes that plants like roses, elm trees, and oak trees do not need to be covered, as roses, in particular, enjoy the occasional cold.

As Florida experiences colder weather, experts are advising residents how to protect their plants and pools from the cold.

The first step in the garden is to determine how long plants will be exposed to the cold.

Austin Coates, contract department manager at Lukas Nursery, said, “It’s going to take at least four hours for cold damage to occur, and so if you get anything longer than a four-hour span, you’re definitely going to want to cover it with your handy dandy frost blanket.”

If a fiberglass frost blanket is unavailable, Coates suggests using bath towels or bedsheets made of natural fibers like cotton or wool.

He warns against using trash bags, tarps, or any polymer, plastic, or vinyl sheeting, as they can create a reverse igloo effect by pulling out the hot air.

“You want to just create a nice protective dome over top of it, so that it makes a little pocket for the rising warm air from the soil to help keep those temperatures somewhat above the freezing point,” Coates said.

Tropical or semi-tropical plants, such as croton, ixora, or birds of paradise, should be covered, as well as any plant in a pot, which is more sensitive to the cold because its roots are not in the warm ground.

“They are more sensitive to the cold because those plants in those pots don’t have their roots in the nice warm ground,” Coates said.

For pool maintenance, Jason Lloyd, manager at Pinch A Penny Pool Patio and Spa, advises turning on the pool pump during a hard freeze to prevent equipment from forming crystals.

“If you have a variable speed pump, which a lot of pools do, now, you just run it at the lowest speed, kind of like if the pipes are going to freeze in your house. You leave it trickling,” Lloyd said.

He added that pool maintenance is relatively easy in Florida during this time of year, as pools do not require much chemical adjustment.

“Pools are pretty easy this time of year… in Florida, you don’t close pools like you do up north. So they don’t take much chemical. You’d want to make sure you’re still keeping the chemical in them, because, you know, chemicals getting out of balance can be detrimental to other things in the pool, but pool maintenance this time of year is pretty easy,” Lloyd said.

The Red Cross also emphasizes space heater safety, advising to keep them on a flat, hard surface and away from children or pets, and warns against using ovens or gas stoves to heat homes.

Lukas Nursery notes that plants like roses, elm trees, and oak trees do not need to be covered, as roses, in particular, enjoy the occasional cold.