You may have noticed that the temperatures in Florida have been dropping. Everyone is bundling up in their warmest light weight jackets and drinking hot cocoa to stay warm. A few layers and a hot beverage might be the answer to warming us up – but what about our lawns and plants? There are a few simple things you can do to help minimize the effects of the cold temperatures.

• First, enjoy the cold! Think about temperatures in May, June, July, August, September…I think you get the idea.
• Then, BEFORE freezing temps hit, run your sprinklers for 15 minutes per zone (rotor heads) or 5 minutes per zone (spray heads). Repeat this the following day  if temperatures warm up above freezing.
• Cover your cold-sensitive shrubs and ornamentals with old sheets or blankets (NOT PLASTIC!).
• If you see frost on your lawn – don’t mow or walk across it.

Just so you know, the weatherman IS predicting freezing temperatures tonight – so grab your ski cap, head outside and turn on those sprinklers!

Tags: Avoid Freeze Damage, Freeze Warning, Freezing Temperatures in Florida

This entry was posted on Monday, January 11th, 2010 at 10:53 pm and is filed under Lawn and Landscape. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.