How is everybody handling the big chill?
25F tonight 20 F tomorrow night. Got my C9, Christmas tree lights and Three flood lights installed on the big Meyer's lemon and one on the much smaller Select Brown. The Select Brown is soil banked as well. Poles driven in the ground around the tree then then wrapped that with plastic used for shipping pallet wrap to cover the bottom 1/3 then topped the tree with DuPont frost blankets. This will work to 25F. For the 20F I will lay a vinyl drop cloth on top to hold in the heat.

I use the same technique to cover my in-ground pineapples.

I think the Christmas tree lights do a better job of protection sice they can be strung throughout the tree than the spot lights.
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After Christmas when Christmas stuff goes on sale I will do my shopping for lights next year.

Cold, good for apples; bad for citrus.

Randy

I remember Home Depot here having the C9 lights very cheap right after Christmas last year.

Ned

Ned, last year our walmart had switched all the Christmas lights to LEDs which is no help for us. This year, they have the C9s back.

I have been getting the Christmas lights remote controls so I can turn on the lights to each tree as needed from the warmth of my house.

The flood light post are useful and a timer works well if you can't be at home.

I found at walmart last year a box of plastic post that you push in the ground to hold each C9.

I am not 100% sure but it seems like where I string the C9s, is where I get the most blooms in the spring.

Charlie stock up for sure.

Randy

Last night the wind kept the temperatures from falling far but tonight with calm winds the temperature will likely drop more. Low temperature tonight expected 25F to 29F. Tonight will likely be the coldest night so far.

I have 2 strings of C9 lights on my 2 Meyer lemons planted about 2.5 feet apart I have them covered with a soon to be to small portable greenhouse. When I wrapped it up about 3 weeks ago the exposed side of the tree was in full bloom. I tried to tie the branches together so that the leaves were not touching the plastic cover. Where that wasn't possible, I used some large 'bubble wrap between the branches and the plastic of the greenhouse. This has kept the fruit from freezing in past winters.

As far as the C9 lights are concerned, they are going the way of the dinosaur and here in Canada, LEDs have taken over the market - I haven't been able to find any. Even the replacement lamps for the old C9 light sets are LED. After Christmas I will be sure to pick up some light sets when go south of the border. It might be a good idea to spread the word amongst your friends as many people will gladly give you their old C9 strings (saves them from going in the land fill)

Good luck! (and keep the door closed )

When all else fails, check ebay.

It looks like the low will be 20F tonight and tomorrow night. Burrrrrr!
The lights are off till the temperature starts down, then lights on then the vinyl plastic drop cloths.

The vinyl is more expensive but seems to hold up better.

Randy

Wunderground just lowered tomorrow nights temperature to 18F.

I will leave the plastic on all day tomorrow to try to build the heat up.

Randy

Be careful leaving the plastic on during the daytime. The heat can build up awful fast when the sun shines.

Hard freeze deep into FL tonight and the next. Lots of citrus trees will be lost. Orange juice prices will fall then go up I would think.

Thanks Ned for the reminder. I use one of those Radio Shack remote read thermometer to track the temperature. Off with the lights first then off with the plastic second.

You are right though I have seen the temperature inside jump to 95 in a hurry on a cold sun shiny day.

Good luck to all our friends in the "warm" south. Here is hoping that your trees survive with as little damage as possible. Here in Colorado every night will be between 0 F ( or lower) and around 25 F. These temperatures will continue until approximately the 1st of March. - Millet (763-)

Seems that Ocala, FL, broke record low of 0 °C (2004) by far.
This morning there was -4 °C according to Wunderground data.
Good luck and take care you people there.