OVIEDO, Fla. – With the coldest air of the season forecast for Central Florida this weekend, people are being urged to protect their plants from possible frost damage.
Workers at Lukas Nursery in Oviedo have been advising customers on the best measures to take for cold sensitive plants.
“Any sort of tropical plant, I would definitely say the precautions need to be taken a little more seriously,” Austin Coates said. “Frost damage can occur around 37 degrees if left exposed for more than 4 hours.”
[EXCLUSIVE: Become a News 6 Insider (it’s FREE) | PINIT! Share your photos]
Plants that are sensitive to cold include all tropical blooming flowers, tropical fruits, ferns and some palms.
To protect plants from damage, a frost blanket can be used, as well as a cotton sheet or wool blanket.
Coates said an important thing to keep in mind is that covers are made of natural materials.
“You want to avoid tarps, plastics, anything like that,” he said. “That’s going to create a reverse igloo effect and it’s actually going to get colder underneath that tarp and it’s going to shock and execute your plants.”
Covers should also be allowed to drape freely to the ground to trap in heat and not tied at the base of the plant.
“Your plant isn’t going to get the most effective heat retention if you were to tie the base of it, so just drape it over to where it’s a nice covered old-school car kind of look,” Coates said.
Cold hardy plants include deciduous trees, evergreen trees and shrubs, native plants, and perennial flowers.
“A lot of your landscaping hedges like your viburnum and your ligustrums, if they’ve been in the ground for 10-15 years, unless it’s getting 25 degrees out or something ludicrously cold, you really shouldn’t have to protect them,” Coates said.
For further details about Lukas Nursery, visit https://lukasnursery.com/
Get today’s headlines in minutes with Your Florida Daily: