I am getting ready for a major freeze tomorrow night. Forecast have been dropping fast. Two day ago we were suppose to get into the mid 20s, yesterday the forecast was for low 20s, now the forecast is for upper teens. I hope they don't drop it anymore!

I dug two bananas up and put them inside the shop. All of the seedlings will go in the shop as well. I am about to go to HD and get some more composted cow manure and pine bark for banking and will be stringing Christmas lights wherever I can. I will pick a lot of the fruit, but will leave the green kumquats and some of the lemons (will juice them if they do freeze).

We're supposed to drop to 24 F. Hope no lower, but everything is ready for the blast... Next week back up in the 70's...

Ed Piotrowski is telling me 28 - 30... I'm bringing my containers (owari & limequat) into the garage. Not sure about the christmas lights, probably save those for tomorrow night.

Hope you fare well.

Myrtle Beach is warmer than Florida? Has the world turned upside down?
Actually, I guess it is not that surprising-- looking at the USDA zone map we are both in zone 8.

I have everything covered for tonight-- banked all the trees with bags of cow manure and put Christmas lights on the lemon. All Containers are inside. According to the hour by hour forecast we will only be below freezing for a couple hours in the morning. They dropped the predicted temp for Thurs morning to 18, so I may add water to the protection tomorrow (buckets of water under the covers). This will be the first temps below 20 in over 5 years.

Here is wishing Skeet and other southeastern growers good luck. Here in Colorado we have not seen a temperature as high at 28F at night for over a month. Tonight will be around -5F. It will freeze every single night until sometime towards the end of February or early March. - Millet

Thanks Millet, we will need it-- our by hour predictions have us below freezing for about 14 hours tonight.

Same here skeet, down to 25 tonight. I am going to take off early to finish wrapping everything up and say goodbye to my papaya and bananas.
Karl

Even the freezing nights in the low 20's are seldom a bother to most citruses if they have been gently hardened. the gradual cold hardening has helped my citruses survive the arctic blast of 20 deg F for more than 10 hours, and then the low 20's for almost a week.

But the sudden coming of low 30's are more damaging if the citruses were bathe in warm weather for weeks before the low 30's (A lot worse if the low 20's follow right after the sustained warm weather.)

Even though the low 30's should have been nothing to worry about in Central Florida, but it was the weeks of warm weather followed by this temperature that worries the citrus growers. It can be damaging. Fortunately, the citrus fruits have been boxed, and they are praying that it won't get very cold to damage the blooms that are about to form for the next crop.

And you'll do fine Skeet! Just tell us how did it go, a week later. Usually the damages, if ever, are not apparent immediately.

Thats the problem Joe. It has been in the 70's the last few weeks & now we get this blast... Next week it will be back up in the 70's once again...

Oh, it is widespread up to South Carolina! Hope your citruses will make it without damage.

Here in SE Texas, 28F was predicted for last night, 33F actual. Tonight, 29F. I spent all day yesterday preparing. We shall see! It is COLD out right now, 40.6 as of 7PM.

It is like Lazz said we have been pretty warm. Since my seedlings have slow release fertilizer, many of them are in the middle of a new flush with the warm weather. It was already freezing at 5 PM--three hours earlier than expected and it is not expected to go above freezing until 9 AM. The local TV weather has the predicted low at 17, where I am I don't think it will go that low, but I have things pretty well protected anyway.

Most of my trees have been banked with the composted cow manure and covered with 2 to 3 layers. In addition many have at least a 5 gal bucket of water under the covers. My Lemon tree has a kiddie swimming pool full of water and Christmas lights in addition to 2 layers of cover.

Here in E. Texas 28f.,21f.was predicted.

We only dropped to 28 F this morning. One more night and we go back up.